The British Standards Institution (BSI) was the first National Standards body and is the national standards body of the United Kingdom.  BSI produces technical standards on a wide range of products and services and also supplies certification and standards-related services to businesses.

BSI has led the way in authoring the British Standards Guide for Menstruation, menstrual health and menopause in the workplace (BS 30416:2023). 

It is currently the only Guide of its kind.  

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BS 30416:2023 Menstruation, menstrual health and menopause in the workplace is a free guidance standard designed to help organizations identify practical workplace adjustments and activities that reflect good practice for supporting employees who menstruate and experience peri/ menopause symptoms. While the focus is on menstrual and menopausal health, the recommendations are likely to be of benefit to all employees.

Who is the Guide for? 

Managers, HR, OH&S, wellbeing and diversity and inclusion specialists

What does it cover?

It gives guidance on developing policies and practices that are supportive of employees in the workplace experiencing menstruation or peri/menopause.

BS 30416:2023 is a practical tool with many examples of actions and small adjustments that can be made to improve the wellbeing of people at work who are experiencing menstruation or menopause. It can also help organizations identify the misconceptions around menstruation and peri/menopause, and the impact the taboo surrounding them can have on workplace support.

The standard will help those responsible for managing individual workloads, wellbeing or work environments, as there are examples of adjustments for:

Physical aspects of work

Policy guidance and practices

Supportive workplace cultures

Work design

Inclusivity

Evaluation and metrics

There are also practical annexes with checklists and tools to use such as:

Tips for having confidential conversations

Conversation topics and potential workplace adjustments that could be helpful

Team management considerations

Ideas for facilitating culture change

Training considerations

Further reading

NOTE: Implementing the guide’s recommendations will bring benefits to all employees. The recommendations are applicable to all sectors, employee demographics, and small and large organizations, and can be adapted to individual business needs.

Why should you use the Guide?

A lot of misinformation is being used to shape new policies, training materials and practice in this area, which can leave organizations with negative or even legal consequences. BS 30416:2023 provides standardized national guidelines that are authoritative and reliable.

In addition, adoption of the recommendations in BS 30416 can benefit organizations by:

Supporting existing activities around workplace wellbeing and occupational health and safety initiatives

Improving the health and wellbeing of employees

Increasing employee engagement and productivity

Boosting the healthy working life expectancy of employees

Increasing employee retention, and reducing the costs or attrition, recruitment and training

Improving diversity and inclusion objectives by preventing the loss of women and people who menstruate, as well as older, disabled, neurodivergent or chronically ill employees due to inadequate or inflexible working conditions

Demonstrating the organization’s commitment to the Equality Act 2010

Increasing confidence in the organization’s commitment to staff

Strengthening risk management

BS 30416:2023 contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goal 3 on good health and well-being, Goal 5 on gender equality and Goal 12 on responsible consumption and production.