The impact of menopause in the workplace has recently been in the spotlight. On 23 July 2021, the UK House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee opened an inquiry titled “An invisible cohort: Why are workplaces failing women going through menopause?”. The inquiry aims to “scrutinis[e] existing legislation … and as[k] if enough is being done” to support employees experiencing menopause.
The inquiry cites a finding from a 2019 survey conducted by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) that three in five menopausal women, aged between 45 and 55, were negatively affected at work. The inquiry notes that “[w]omen in this age group are likely to be eligible for senior management roles, and so their exit can lessen diversity at executive levels. It can also contribute to the gender pay-gap and feed into a disparity in pensions.”
Menopause is not specifically protected under the Equality Act 2010. However, conduct that puts an employee at a disadvantage or subjects the employee to less favourable treatment because of their menopause symptoms may amount to discrimination under the act on the grounds of one or more protected characteristic(s), such as sex, age, or disability. There have been several calls to make a workplace menopause policy a legal requirement in order to protect women experiencing menopause from discrimination at work.
In recent years there has been increased employment tribunal litigation relating to menopause.
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