It certainly wasn’t the main talking point in Westminster in the middle of the country’s own meteorological hot flush earlier this month but on 19 July the government published its Response to Menopause and the workplace: how to enable fulfilling working lives, an independent report commissioned by the then Minister for Employment and published in November 2021.
The report had indicated that government backing was key to ensuring that employers provide support to those experiencing menopause, and contained 10 specific recommendations. One of these was for an amendment to the Equality Act 2010 to provide greater protection in respect of menopause. Currently, claims in respect of less favourable treatment on menopause grounds may be covered under one or more of three protected characteristics under that Act: age, sex and/or disability. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 also provides a degree of protection in some cases, but overall the November 2021 report indicated that current laws are felt to be insufficient, and that legislation should go further towards protecting menopausal employees against adverse treatment on those grounds.
However, this month’s Response makes it clear that the government deems any changes to the Equality Act unnecessary in its view since employees already have scope to challenge discrimination under one or more of the existing grounds above. But is that really right?
First, is the menopause necessarily a disability for statutory purposes?...
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