Menopause in the workplace: what are my employment rights ?
What are my employment rights related to menopause and what do I need to do if I am an employer to support my employees?
Menopausal women are the fastest growing segment of the workforce. By 2022 it’s estimated that around one in six people in employment will be women over 50.
Are you looking for guidance on how to increase awareness of menopause and perimenopause in your workplace? For too long, menopause has been a taboo in the workplace. Women have suffered in silence with their symptoms, often counting themselves out of career progression opportunities or even quitting successful careers in order to cope.
We offer a range of menopause in the workplace toolkits, training packages and awareness sessions that can help you to:
Menopause predominantly affects women in midlife with 51-years-old the average age of menopause in both the UK & US.
However, premature menopause can affect women at a much younger age, chemical or surgical menopause can affect women at any age, and transgender and non-binary people may also experience menopause too.
The symptoms of menopause will affect women on average for four years, but sometimes for up to 10 years. These symptoms are both physical and emotional - and while for some women they will be mild, for others they could be severe, long-lasting and debilitating.
Often, these symptoms will begin while a woman is in her 40s, in the prime of a career.
Lost confidence, sick leave and tiredness can leave women feeling unable to fulfil their job demands.
The fact is that menopause and perimenopause is already impacting women in the workplace:
Our Founder, Katie Taylor has first-hand experience of trying to cope with severe symptoms of menopause as well as a thriving career.
“I didn’t know I was in perimenopause. It was undiagnosed by my doctor for four years. I was prescribed antidepressants instead for anxiety and low mood yet all the time this was actually symptoms of impending menopause. I was in my mid-40s, successful in my career yet I could not go on working in the end due to these symptoms. In the end, I left my job and gave up my career.”
Katie went on to establish The Latte Lounge in 2016 so that no other woman would needlessly suffer like she did. Since then she has helped hundreds of women in The Latte Lounge community - sharing information, providing support and signposting to expert advice.
Katie is passionate about educating and empowering women and businesses with information that is evidence-based and is backed by a team of medical specialists.
This means that The Latte Lounge can uniquely offer you:
The Latte Lounge offers a range of support for organisations who want to support their employees through menopause.
We deliver all this and more in a format that best suits your organisation:
We'd be delighted to offer our support to your organisation - please do get in touch to find out more about how we can help.
What are my employment rights related to menopause and what do I need to do if I am an employer to support my employees?
Our new survey, in partnership with Fertifa, reveals the impact of menopause in the workplace and the lack of support from employers.
**SURVEY NOW CLOSED** How is your workplace supporting menopausal women? Share your views in our survey & help create change.
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