In order to support any of its employees that are impacted by the menopause, Anchor has developed a specific guidance document to facilitate conversations around reasonable adjustments for perimenopause and the menopause.
The housing and care provider for people in later life serves more than 65,000 residents in 54,000 homes across almost 1,700 housing locations. The majority of its 10,000 employees are employed in its residential care services.
The document features an explanation of the condition and types of workplace support it offers, including its employee assistance programme (EAP), advice for line managers and legal requirements.
As part of its commitment to providing reasonable adjustments for its staff to support them throughout their career, Anchor created dedicated online pages with information and resources to help its employees openly discuss perimenopause and the menopause. Its senior leadership also actively engage with its Let’s Talk Menopause workplace group, while a specific e-learning course has been developed for all managers and teams to access.
As well as signposting to external resources such as Menopause Matters and Queermenopause for people who identify as LGBT+, the employer also has a free confidential 24/7 employee helpline, and support portal and app which staff can use for information.
Teagan Robinson-Bell, equality, diversity and inclusion manager at Anchor, explains: “Anchor is passionate about highlighting the importance of employee wellbeing, encouraging discussions about subjects including the menopause and making sure that the health and care of all staff is taken seriously.
“We are an organisation that is 82% female, so it was very important to us to recognise conditions that will have an impact on the majority of our workforce. Anchor’s commitment to supporting staff experiencing perimenopause and the menopause has been recognised with menopause-friendly accreditation from Menopause in the Workplace in 2022 and 2023. We’re also proud of achieving the Inclusive Employer Gold status in 2023.”
Regarding the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s new workplace menopause guidance, Anchor welcomes any advice on supporting employees experiencing menopause.
“The guidance provides us and other employers with a clear understanding of their responsibilities in supporting employees experiencing menopause and what steps they can take to provide this support,” Robinson-Bell concludes.