Employee Benefits poll: A quarter (26%) of organisations have a dedicated menopause policy in place to support affected staff, according to an online survey among Employee Benefits readers.
Almost one in 10 (9.5%) had a menopause champion and offered staff training, and 12.3% implemented employee focus or support networks. Meanwhile, 10.9% of employers paid for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) prescriptions for those in need, 2.7% had signed up to a menopause pledge, and 8.2% put on awareness events for their workforces.
A total of 12.3% offered something other than the above options, but 8.2% did not provide any menopause support at all.
Earlier this month, Employee Benefits reported that train network Southeastern received menopause-friendly employer accreditation by Henpicked: Menopause in the Workplace. It was recognised due to its support structures for managers, which enabled them to help members of their team, and its combined actions that brought conversations about the topic into the open, resulting in an increase in staff reaching out to its Women in Rail Empowerment group for support.
Southeastern also introduced a suite of guidance documents on its intranet, provided e-learning training to all line managers, created menopause kits for its senior leadership forum, and introduced Menopause Matters drop-in sessions.
Maureen Dominey, chair of the Women’s Network Group at Southeastern, said: “We have more than 500 female employees aged 40 or above but it’s important to remember that it’s not just women that the menopause affects, it’s everyone around them as well. When we first started talking about the menopause, some people were uncomfortable but that’s no longer the case, it was important to remove that taboo.”