Menopause at Work - 6 Essential Modules for HR Advisers

Introduction

Six in ten women say that the menopause has had a negative impact on their ability to work. Some women will have relatively mild symptoms, but for some women the menopause will have a significant impact on their work and life.

Presented by Paul Jennings and Kathy Daniels, this modular webinar series comprises 6 bite-sized webinars and is the ideal way for HR professionals and people managers to keep up to date with all the latest developments and best practice in this evolving area of employment law.

What You Will Learn

This webinar will cover the following:

Module 1 - Purpose & Content of a Menopause Policy

Organisations need to have a menopause policy which clearly sets out what support is available to women, and how they can access the support. There also needs to be support for line managers, so that they understand what steps they should take if there are any problems.

Drawing on the latest guidance and best practice, this module will cover the following:

• What to include in a policy
• Support for a woman
• Line manager duties
• Link to the grievance policy
• Harassment and bullying
• Implementing a policy
• Consulting with those affected
• Information campaign
• Training for line managers

Module 2 - Sex, Age & Disability Discrimination

A woman who has been treated unfairly because of menopausal symptoms could potentially bring a claim relating to sex, age or disability discrimination. Looking at a range of recent reported cases, this module will look at the potential claims and how an organisation can avoid such situations arising.

• Sex discrimination
• Direct and indirect discrimination
• Sexual harassment
• Steps to take
• Age discrimination
• Direct and indirect discrimination
• Harassment on the grounds of age
• Steps to take
• Disability discrimination
• Direct discrimination
• Harassment on the grounds of disability
• Reasonable adjustments
• Steps to take

Module 3 - Training Your Workforce

Line managers need to understand the menopause, and how to manage women who are struggling with this in an effective way. Drawing on recent guidance and best practice, in this module we work through a short training course that could be presented to line managers, giving tips and guidance on how to present the material so that you can then deliver this to your line managers.

• An outline of what the training course covers with key tips
• The content of the course
• Who should attend?
• Thinking about the learning needs of the attendees
• The content of the course
• Working through the key messages
• Managing discussions
• Interactive sessions
• Assessing the training course
• Immediate assessment of the course
• Longer term measures of the success of the course

Module 4 - Recent Case Law

This module will focus on recent key cases and judgments involving menopause in the workplace and will provide valuable insights into where risks can arise and what employers must seek to avoid.This module will cover the following:

• Recent decisions from the Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal
• How disability is being defined with reference to the menopause
• Age and sex discrimination
• Key risk factors
• Liability
• The cost of ‘getting it wrong’
• Key lessons emerging from the case law

Module 5 - What is on the Horizon & Examples of Best Practice

This module will focus on the legislative and policy developments on the horizon as well as focusing on some of the best examples of employers acting proactively to create inclusive and supportive workplaces.

• Equality and Human Rights Commission guidance for employers (2024)
• Government response (2023) to the Women and Equalities Committee’s ‘Menopause and the Workplace’ report (2022)
• What is on the horizon from a legislative and policy perspective?
• Upcoming and important appellate decisions
• Best practice - case studies of employers who are setting the standard

Module 6 - Andropause in the Workplace

The Andropause is a stage that men go through in their 40s/50s. It is accompanied by both physical and psychological symptoms. It has been called the ‘male menopause’, but this does not fully explain what is meant by the term.

This module will cover the following:

• An explanation of what is meant by the andropause
• Support that men might require during the andropause
• What we can learn from the experiences of supporting women through the menopause, and how we can apply this to the andropause.

This webinar was recorded on 5th November 2024

You can gain access to this webinar and 1,700+ others via the MBL Webinar Subscription. Please email webinarsubscription@mblseminars.com for more details.