Good employers must do the right thing for menopausal women

Commenting on new guidance issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission to employers about their legal obligations to women undergoing the menopause, UNISON head of equality Josie Irwin said today (Thursday):

“The emotional and physical changes of the menopause can be overwhelming. As can their effect on women’s ability to do their jobs.

“All good employers must ensure the best possible ?working environment for all their staff.? Women ?should be able to do their jobs in comfort and not made to feel ashamed or embarrassed.

“A clothing workplace policy that helps stop women from overheating, including suitable uniforms, is a must.

“And flexible working can make a real difference too?. Employers shouldn’t penalise ??women who have to take time off if it’s down to the menopause.”

Notes to editors:
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk

The article Good employers must do the right thing for menopausal women first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Good employers must do the right thing for menopausal women

Commenting on new guidance issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission to employers about their legal obligations to women undergoing the menopause, UNISON head of equality Josie Irwin said today (Thursday):

“The emotional and physical changes of the menopause can be overwhelming. As can their effect on women’s ability to do their jobs.

“All good employers must ensure the best possible ?working environment for all their staff.? Women ?should be able to do their jobs in comfort and not made to feel ashamed or embarrassed.

“A clothing workplace policy that helps stop women from overheating, including suitable uniforms, is a must.

“And flexible working can make a real difference too?. Employers shouldn’t penalise ??women who have to take time off if it’s down to the menopause.”

Notes to editors:
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk

The article Good employers must do the right thing for menopausal women first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Women’s health at work is a UNISON priority says conference

Women’s health at work was a key focus of UNISON’s national women’s conference, held in Brighton last week.

Delegates passed motions with a specific focus on reproductive health, including one that called on the union to investigate and report on the needs of women workers in relation to endometriosis, menopause and menstruation.

Another motion called on the union to campaign for paid leave for pregnancy loss. During the debate, several speakers shared their experiences at work after suffering miscarriages. One delegate described her line manager as saying to her: “Why are you crying? It wasn’t a real baby, just cells”.

Conference also passed a motion on Black women’s maternity care, which urged UNISON to work closely with Maternity Action to improve and protect maternity care for Black women, who are five times more likely to die in childbirth or shortly afterwards than white women, and at a 40% increased risk of experiencing a miscarriage.

Racism in healthcare was a key feature of the speech delivered by Abena Oppong-Asare MP (pictured above), the shadow minister for women’s health and mental health, on the final day of conference.

Ms Oppong-Asare, the Labour MP for Erith and Thamesmead, was previously a UNISON workplace steward and former women’s officer for the Greater London Authority. She told delegates: “Women of colour face racism in health services. As staff within the NHS, women of colour face racism. As patients, we face racism”.

She went on to cite a recent Observer report that found “deeply ingrained medical misogyny and racial biases are routinely putting people in need of treatment at risk, the government’s patient safety commissioner in England has warned”.

The NHS safety chief Dr Henrietta Hughes has said neonatal assessment tools and pulse oximeters “work less well for darker skin tones’.

Ms Oppong-Asare also spoke about the importance of employers understanding the menopause. “Thirteen million of us are affected by menopause by an average age of 51, yet employers fail to recognise it, the treatments are in short supply, women are mocked and dismissed, and the risks of endometrial cancer increase.”

Outlining Labour’s plans to improve “the health of the nation”, she said: “When the next Labour government starts to get the NHS back onto its feet, after a decade on the floor, we will need to root out racism in the health system, challenge attitudes, stand up to power, reform education and training, recalibrate diagnostics and treatments to include everyone and create systems which recognise women’s health needs, and not assume the ‘typical’ NHS patient is a white man”.

The next Labour manifesto will contain a pledge to tackle health inequalities and create “a fairer Britain, where everyone lives well for longer”. 

Ms Oppong-Asare said: “Someone like me, a Black working-class woman, has as much right to a long, healthy life as a white, middle-class man.”

Her speech also outlined Labour’s new child health action plan, which includes measures to:

  • cut waiting times for paediatric services
  • deliver 700,000 extra urgent dental appointments per year
  • ban vapes from being branded and advertised to appeal to children
  • put a free breakfast club in every primary school.

Both of Ms Oppong-Asare’s parents have worked in NHS mental health services. She told conference: “They say it’s never been as bad as today”, before sharing Labour’s plans to tackle the crisis in mental health services for children and young people by “recruiting thousands more staff and putting specialist mental health support for children into every school.

“And we will pay for it by abolishing tax loopholes for private equity fund managers and tax breaks for private schools.”

Closing her speech to a standing ovation from women’s conference delegates, Ms Oppong-Asare said: It is time to restore our National Health Service, free at the point of use, available to all. Time for social justice. Time for equality. Time to let the next generation grow tall”.

The article Women’s health at work is a UNISON priority says conference first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Women’s health at work is a UNISON priority says conference

Women’s health at work was a key focus of UNISON’s national women’s conference, held in Brighton last week.

Delegates passed motions with a specific focus on reproductive health, including one that called on the union to investigate and report on the needs of women workers in relation to endometriosis, menopause and menstruation.

Another motion called on the union to campaign for paid leave for pregnancy loss. During the debate, several speakers shared their experiences at work after suffering miscarriages. One delegate described her line manager as saying to her: “Why are you crying? It wasn’t a real baby, just cells”.

Conference also passed a motion on Black women’s maternity care, which urged UNISON to work closely with Maternity Action to improve and protect maternity care for Black women, who are five times more likely to die in childbirth or shortly afterwards than white women, and at a 40% increased risk of experiencing a miscarriage.

Racism in healthcare was a key feature of the speech delivered by Abena Oppong-Asare MP (pictured above), the shadow minister for women’s health and mental health, on the final day of conference.

Ms Oppong-Asare, the Labour MP for Erith and Thamesmead, was previously a UNISON workplace steward and former women’s officer for the Greater London Authority. She told delegates: “Women of colour face racism in health services. As staff within the NHS, women of colour face racism. As patients, we face racism”.

She went on to cite a recent Observer report that found “deeply ingrained medical misogyny and racial biases are routinely putting people in need of treatment at risk, the government’s patient safety commissioner in England has warned”.

The NHS safety chief Dr Henrietta Hughes has said neonatal assessment tools and pulse oximeters “work less well for darker skin tones’.

Ms Oppong-Asare also spoke about the importance of employers understanding the menopause. “Thirteen million of us are affected by menopause by an average age of 51, yet employers fail to recognise it, the treatments are in short supply, women are mocked and dismissed, and the risks of endometrial cancer increase.”

Outlining Labour’s plans to improve “the health of the nation”, she said: “When the next Labour government starts to get the NHS back onto its feet, after a decade on the floor, we will need to root out racism in the health system, challenge attitudes, stand up to power, reform education and training, recalibrate diagnostics and treatments to include everyone and create systems which recognise women’s health needs, and not assume the ‘typical’ NHS patient is a white man”.

The next Labour manifesto will contain a pledge to tackle health inequalities and create “a fairer Britain, where everyone lives well for longer”. 

Ms Oppong-Asare said: “Someone like me, a Black working-class woman, has as much right to a long, healthy life as a white, middle-class man.”

Her speech also outlined Labour’s new child health action plan, which includes measures to:

  • cut waiting times for paediatric services
  • deliver 700,000 extra urgent dental appointments per year
  • ban vapes from being branded and advertised to appeal to children
  • put a free breakfast club in every primary school.

Both of Ms Oppong-Asare’s parents have worked in NHS mental health services. She told conference: “They say it’s never been as bad as today”, before sharing Labour’s plans to tackle the crisis in mental health services for children and young people by “recruiting thousands more staff and putting specialist mental health support for children into every school.

“And we will pay for it by abolishing tax loopholes for private equity fund managers and tax breaks for private schools.”

Closing her speech to a standing ovation from women’s conference delegates, Ms Oppong-Asare said: It is time to restore our National Health Service, free at the point of use, available to all. Time for social justice. Time for equality. Time to let the next generation grow tall”.

The article Women’s health at work is a UNISON priority says conference first appeared on the UNISON National site.

UNISON welcomes British standard on menopause support at work

UNISON has played a key role in the development of a new British standard on menstruation and menopause in the workplace, published today. 

This new standard draws on UNISON’s guidance on menopause, designed to assist branches in ensuring that workplaces consider how menopausal symptoms can impact on women, trans and non-binary people.

UNISON national women’s officer Bukky Akinwale said: “The majority of our members are women who will experience the menopause. For many, it will be a natural occurrence, but for many others it can affect them profoundly, leading to emotional and health changes that can impact on their work and relationship with colleagues.”

She continued: “Women make up more than 70% of UNISON’s 1.3 million members and activists. They are 48% of the UK workforce. These women will inevitably experience menopause at some point in their lives, and not necessarily in their late forties or early fifties.

“That makes the menopause a workplace issue and therefore a trade union issue, so it’s important to be able to speak openly about menopause at work.”

Menopause usually happens between the ages of 45 and 55. The average age of menopause in the UK is 51.

The new standard recognises that menopausal symptoms “can coincide with significant mid-life challenges and responsibilities”, with research showing that stress and menopausal symptoms are “inextricably linked”. 

Use UNISON’s quiz to see how supportive your workplace is when it comes to the menopause.

The article UNISON welcomes British standard on menopause support at work first appeared on the UNISON National site.

UNISON welcomes British standard on menopause support at work

UNISON has played a key role in the development of a new British standard on menstruation and menopause in the workplace, published today. 

This new standard draws on UNISON’s guidance on menopause, designed to assist branches in ensuring that workplaces consider how menopausal symptoms can impact on women, trans and non-binary people.

UNISON national women’s officer Bukky Akinwale said: “The majority of our members are women who will experience the menopause. For many, it will be a natural occurrence, but for many others it can affect them profoundly, leading to emotional and health changes that can impact on their work and relationship with colleagues.”

She continued: “Women make up more than 70% of UNISON’s 1.3 million members and activists. They are 48% of the UK workforce. These women will inevitably experience menopause at some point in their lives, and not necessarily in their late forties or early fifties.

“That makes the menopause a workplace issue and therefore a trade union issue, so it’s important to be able to speak openly about menopause at work.”

Menopause usually happens between the ages of 45 and 55. The average age of menopause in the UK is 51.

The new standard recognises that menopausal symptoms “can coincide with significant mid-life challenges and responsibilities”, with research showing that stress and menopausal symptoms are “inextricably linked”. 

Use UNISON’s quiz to see how supportive your workplace is when it comes to the menopause.

The article UNISON welcomes British standard on menopause support at work first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Blog: The menopause really is a workplace issue

Today, along with the rest of the world, UNISON marks World Menopause Day. As a union of a million women in public services, we are no longer prepared to shy away from talking about the menopause and the impact it has on just over half of the UK workforce.

What starts as forgetting silly things – going to the supermarket for milk and bananas and coming home with toilet rolls and potatoes, then the feeling of having a heater in your core that ends with a trickle of sweat rolling down the side of your face just sitting on the bus to work, not knowing why you just feel sad, anxious – soon becomes a very lonely place to be.

With people in the public eye like Davina McCall and Michelle Obama openly speaking about the impact the menopause has had on them, one of the long-lasting taboos is finally being broken. Not only that, but men are beginning to ask how they can support the women they know with this natural stage of their lives.

For UNISON, it’s a workplace issue – women make up just over half of the UK workforce and nearly eight out of 10 menopausal women are in work. Almost a million women have left their job, while others are forced to take long-term absence from work because of menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes, night sweats and increased anxiety.

Yet, a few simple changes to the working environment can often make a world of difference – even just talking about the menopause openly can reduce the impact of some symptoms and enable people to continue doing well in their jobs.

The menopause is the definition of a trade union issue. Women must be able to do their jobs in comfort and not feel stigmatised either. There’s no need for women to press pause on their careers because of a natural life event.

That’s why World Menopause Day is important for UNISON and why it should be important for all employers too.

I stand in solidarity with each and every one of you, our members, as we continue to demand employers provide menopause awareness training, flexible procedures for sickness absence and a menopause policy.

UNISON reps up and down the country, men and women are running events on World Menopause Day, to raise awareness and turn policies into action.

We all need to be allies in this – including men.

Our team at UNISON is there to support you. Check the The menopause is a workplace issue: guidance and model policy here

The article Blog: The menopause really is a workplace issue first appeared on the UNISON National site.