Top Tips for Drafting a Menopause Policy
Emma Hammond
Make it bespoke to your business (prepare by rereading your other applicable policies like absence management, health and safety and data protection (re processing sensitive personal data)) and make it fit with your culture, your values and your people strategy.
Take some time over the introduction to make it feel personal rather than a tokenistic document. Acknowledge that whilst there is a policy in place it’s a reviewable document that will evolve as the organisation, its workforce and the legal landscape evolves.
Add inclusive wording so that it is clear that the policy applies to all those who may experience the menopause, including non-binary and transgender communities.
Set out some information re symptoms and explain key terms (attaching this as an appendix can make it easier). Ensure that you cover surgical and medically induced menopause and a reminder that premature menopause (under 40), whilst rare, can happen and aim to normalise menopause alongside menstruation, as a natural life stage.
If your workforce is sizeable enough, create focus groups (women only and also mixed can be a good idea). Be inclusive (e.g. check ethnic/religious beliefs re levels of comfort around sharing personal details). Address any language barriers.
Use these groups to provide a view on either the content of your draft policy or to provide their views on what they think should be in your policy before it’s drafted.
Training and Education are vital across the workforce and should be gender inclusive. Avoid using off the shelf products and create something which works for your sector or profession (e.g. referring to any potential challenges such as shift work, customer or classroom facing work, physical demands, uniform policy and workplace logistics and how you could make any reasonable adjustments *clarifying that every person affected will be treated as an individual and creative solutions will be explored). See if others in your network or business area would share resources (if they are already championing menopause) and discuss what’s worked well for them (or what hasn’t).
For the managers’ training, keep things simple. The first step is to address and overcome any entrenched mindsets or fear of getting it wrong. Encourage them to hold what may be perceived to be difficult conversations by training through role play and create templates listing key points to cover and what to follow up on.