Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of workplace (a) guidance and (b) protections for employees experiencing menopausal symptoms; and if her Department will issue new guidance to (i) small and medium-sized enterprises and (ii) other employers on reasonable adjustments.

It is important that those who experience substantial and longer-term menopausal effects should be adequately protected from discrimination in the workplace, and that employers are fully aware of the issues their employees may be experiencing at work, and their current legal obligations, including under the Equality Act 2010 (the Act).

Depending on circumstances, the Act provides protection from discrimination on grounds of sex and/or age and/or disability for employees experiencing the effects of the menopause. An employee may bring a discrimination claim under more than one of these grounds, which the courts can then consider sequentially, where appropriate.

As part of the plan to Make Work Pay, the government has committed to publishing guidance, including for small employers, on measures to consider relating to uniform and temperature, flexible working and recording menopause-related leave and absence. Guidance can currently be found on the government’s Help to Grow Site: Menopause in the Workplace - Help to Grow. We will continue to work with stakeholders to ensure the content is relevant and to raise awareness and promote best practice amongst businesses.

As part of the Employment Rights Bill, this government is taking the first steps towards requiring large employers to publish action plans alongside their gender pay gap figures; detailing the steps they are taking to narrow their gap and support employees during the menopause. These will ensure that they recognise and tackle the barriers that women still face, as well as opening up space to have broader conversations about women’s health in the workplace. Organisations will be required to detail the evidence-based steps they are taking, supported by government guidance, with the aim of speeding up progress towards workplaces that actually work for everyone.