Case study: Challenging inflexibility to support a member experiencing menopause

Darron Dupre is head of local government for UNISON Cymru/Wales. As a well known male ally in working to create menopause aware and supportive workplaces across Wales, he was asked to join a panel of experts to develop the BSI Standards Publication: Menstruation, menstrual health and menopause in the workplace.

As a menopause workplace support champion and ally I’ve been privileged to work alongside UNISON reps to support members during peri menopause and menopause.

One such member worked in a key administrative role at Board level, taking meeting minutes and making other arrangements to support good governance. She had worked at home successfully during lockdown, but was later instructed to return to the office by her line manager ‘to be seen’ – even though that was not an instruction from her employer.

Working from home to manage menopause systems

As Covid started, she started to have the onset of some hot flushes but no other symptoms of menopause, until one day, she ‘flooded’. Thanks to the work that UNISON and her employer had done around menopause, she understood that this could be a symptom. She didn’t feel able to talk to her line manager (a woman) as she didn’t think she would get any sympathy.

However, working from home, she was able to use the flexibility of working on Teams to deliver the minutes and other requirements within deadlines, sometimes resting during the day and completing work in the evening. If she had a hot flush, was flooding or had some developing brain fog, recorded Teams meetings meant that she could turn off her camera, pop to the loo in dignity and still deliver her essential work, which continued to be impeccable.

When she was told to return to the office, our member said that she didn’t feel that she could and mentioned her disabilities and menopause symptoms. Particularly as she needed to take the train which were always jam packed with no access to on-board toilets.

Managers missing the memo on menopause and flexible working

Due to her line manager’s inflexibility, she went on sick leave. She was devastated and hadn’t asked for any UNISON input until a Stage Three capability hearing was scheduled that would likely have resulted in her dismissal. That was when I got a call from our member who was in floods of tears, worried that at 48 she would lose her job and her career.

Although the organisation had Menopause and Flexible Working Policies, some managers had clearly not got the memo. With the full permission of the member, I got in touch with the organisations Deputy CEO. She was horrified, and promised to personally sort it out – to end the capability process and speak directly to our member to assure her of her support, as well as calling her line manger.

To my knowledge, our member continued to forge a successful career within the organisation. She could so easily have been dismissed, for want of flexibility. Another statistic of menopause – one of the 10% of women with menopause symptoms who leave the workforce every year at the very height of their careers and earning potentials, whatever they do.

Breathing life into policies to shift the culture

We all need to do more to stop that happening – and recognise that the problem isn’t solved just by putting a Menopause Policy in place. That is an output. The outcome is breathing life into the policies and creating the culture right across the organisation, from top to bottom, that will help embed aware, educated and supportive workplaces. Our BS 30416 is packed full of working flexibly advice and guidance to employers to help shift the culture and help to retain this vital and valued section of the workforce.