World Menopause Day: Know your rights

Menopause symptoms can be severe: they can affect work and work can worsen symptoms. 

Although in January this year MPs voted against piloting menopause leave, employers should still count sick days due to menopause symptoms separately to other sickness absence and should support staff experiencing the menopause.

Employer policy

Does your employer have a menopause policy? A 2023 study of UK women over 45 currently in employment found that only one in ten knew that their employer had one. And half reported that there was none. The same study found that 47% of women did not feel supported during their menopause. There is some protection under the Equalities Act 2010 on grounds of sex, disability or age but menopause should be a protected characteristic in its own right.

A menopause policy in your workplace can help people experiencing symptoms to be better understood and better supported, to fight stigma and improve measures to help. PCS drafted a new menopause model policy with the Cabinet Office which is available on PCS Digital. Its aims are to create a culture of respect through menopause awareness training and it places duties on managers to support workers by making adjustments in the workplace.

Branches and groups can use this policy to negotiate with the employer on all aspects of the menopause to support our members in the workplace.

Resources and training

If you are experiencing menopause and your employer is not supporting you properly or treating you unfairly, you should contact your rep. Further resources on menopause awareness, rights and support for reps and members are on Knowledge, accessed via PCS Digital: search ‘menopause’. 

PCS training is also available: Menopause in the Workplace is a one-hour session to create greater awareness of the menopause as a workplace issue. Check our course listing page on the website for the next course in your area or contact tuedacademy@pcs.org.uk if it is fully booked, at a time you can’t make or has already run in the current tranche of courses.

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