Breaking Taboo | Changes at work for the Menopause

As businesses seek to improve retention and recruitment in today's challenging work environment, whilst also providing productivity improvements, more and more businesses recognise the value of a diverse and inclusive workforce. It is important that they take into account the unique needs of their employees at different stages of life.

Fully recognised in law are the changes required when workers are young or old, or whether they are pregnant, but until recently one area that seemed taboo, and therefore was often overlooked, is the menopause and its impact on women in the workplace.

This year, the two main parties in the UK have both considered these requirements and come to different ways forward. Whichever way the political stance of the country sways, there can be no doubt that each could transform how organisations manage this previous taboo.

Last summer the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) published a report; Menopause and the Workplace. The Conservative Government’s response to the report was published earlier this year in which they accepted some recommendations and rejected others.