Menopause Policy & Guidance Workshop
Menopause policy and compliance to attract and retain senior female talent
Time: 0930 - 1300
Date: Thursday, 2nd May
Price: £275 + VAT per attendee
We do not believe menopause should be classified as a disability; rather, we know that open conversation and workplace policy and adjustments can tangible change the way older female employees feel about their workplaces and can improve retention, recruitment and wellbeing across the board.
With menopause rightly being given serious air-time, there are certain areas which are still causing challenges for employers. We’ve trained hundreds of organisations in this area and have recently had several conversations about the ignorance surrounding perimenopause, and the challenges of designing and implementing a menopause policy that actually goes past a tick-box exercise.
An expert speaker panel will share best practice and recent case studies to ensure delegates leave equipped with the knowledge and confidence to tackle these areas, check their policy or guidance is compliant and workable and learn how to implement guidance.
60% of women said their workplace offered no menopause support
Attendees will learn the symptoms and implications for employees; what they need and what they don’t; how to start conversations and raise awareness and how to establish your organisation as an inclusive employer supporting female talent throughout her working life.
Research highlights:
- 99% of respondents said their perimenopausal or menopausal symptoms had led to a negative impact on their careers, with more than a third calling the impact ‘significant’.
- 59% had taken time off work due to their symptoms: 18% were off more than 8 weeks.
- Reasons for taking time off included reduced efficiency (45%), poor quality of work (26%) and poor concentration (7%).
- Half (50%) of those who took at least 8 weeks off work resigned or took early retirement.
- Overall, one in five (21%) passed on the chance to go for promotion they would have otherwise considered, 19% reduced hours and 12% resigned.
Delegate feedback
"I have found the training content extremely useful and I feel really positive that as an organisation we will make great progress with this."
"As a male manager, I was dreading this training. In fact it was incredibly helpful. The discussions were relaxed and warm and I feel ready to share conversations about menopause with my team."
"I've gained more awareness and understanding on a subject that's been rarely spoken about in my personal life. I am grateful for the opportunity to utilise what we have learnt today to better support my staff and customers. Its nice to be a part of the conversation that my organisation is having around this area. Thank you"
Got a team and would prefer to run this course in-house? We can tailor any of our events to run in-house for your organisation, find out more here
Which functions will benefit from attending
- HR, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION, RECRUITMENT & RESOURCING, POLICY & STRATEGY , OPERATIONS, LINE MANAGEMENT, LEGAL, TALENT, EQUALITY, POLICY, ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, EMPLOYER BRANDING, ENGAGEMENT, EMPLOYEE RELATIONS, PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT, LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT, IMPROVEMENT AND QUALITY
Hear from
Schedule
Introduction, objective-setting and welcome
Elizabeth Smith
Director of Research , Business Forums International Ltd. (BFI)
Elizabeth is director of research and a founding co-director at Business Forums International. She is responsible for all programme content and writing, and researches current areas of interest for senior HR professionals in large organisations. BFI is the UK’s leading HR risk specialist conference and training provider, delivering key and timely information to over 3,000 delegates a year both through public and in-house training courses. Before founding BFI in 1996, Elizabeth specialised in researching corporate financial programmes in Asia and the Middle East, based in Dubai. She also worked in advertising and publishing in the Middle East and London. Elizabeth was educated in the West Indies, Saudi Arabia and Belgium before reading Modern Languages at Durham University. She is currently developing an online training course for line managers to raise awareness of menopause symptoms and ways that employers can work to make their workplaces more inclusive.
Menopause policy and the workplace: legal imperatives to minimise risk
Nicola O'Dwyer
Legal Director - Employment & Immigration , IBB Law LLP
Having qualified in 2003 she has a significant breadth of experience assisting both individuals and commercial clients across a broad range of employment matters. This includes tasks such as drafting and reviewing contracts of employment and staff handbooks, providing support with grievance and disciplinary procedures, managing, capability and ill health processes, handing redundancies, dismissals, settlement agreements, and assisting clients with Employment Tribunal claims. Nicola is also involved in advising on the employment aspects of corporate transactions and TUPE. Nicola takes a pragmatic approach and ensures a thorough understanding of her clients’ needs before offering commercially sound advice. Her experience spans various industries including hotels, restaurants, food manufacturers and charities. Beyond her professional commitments and family responsibilities she enjoys activities such as running and travelling.
- Why have a menopause policy? legal and business imperatives
- Quantifying the potential risks
- What other benefits are there?
- Understanding and meeting your legal requirements to support menopausal staff
- Your legal duties to avoid age and gender discrimination
- Potential areas of discrimination to avoid
- Government recommendations
- Risk assessment of the workplace under Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992
- Equality Act 2010 and workplace menopause policy: a checklist
- Writing and implementing a menopause-specific policy
- What should be included
- How do you ensure its implemented and understood company-wide?
- Case histories and lessons learned
- Case studies and war stories
- Q&A
Medical update and issues to be aware of
- Understanding what menopause is and how it affects women in the workplace: Physical, mental, emotional and practical considerations
- Perimenopause and early menopause triggers: what do you need to know to best support your colleagues?
- Traditional and alternative therapies: a snapshot of the pros and cons
- Getting the right treatment: a checklist of talking points for your GP visit
- Forced menopause: what is it and who might be affected: essential workplace support strategies
- Practical workplace adjustments
- Understanding remedies: HRT to daily walking
- Mental health: where should menopause symptoms fit into your overall mental health support strategy?
- Anxiety, depression, mood swings, brain fog, loss of confidence
- How can employers support menopause mental health? Essential strategies that work
- Menopause at senior level: cognitive and physiological changes and how they affect senior managers
- Navigating stigma, ageism and the complexities of working during menopause
- Supporting trans and non-binary colleagues: are you fully inclusive?
Focus: writing and implementing a policy or guidance: essential strategies
Elizabeth Smith
Director of Research , Business Forums International Ltd. (BFI)
Elizabeth is director of research and a founding co-director at Business Forums International. She is responsible for all programme content and writing, and researches current areas of interest for senior HR professionals in large organisations. BFI is the UK’s leading HR risk specialist conference and training provider, delivering key and timely information to over 3,000 delegates a year both through public and in-house training courses. Before founding BFI in 1996, Elizabeth specialised in researching corporate financial programmes in Asia and the Middle East, based in Dubai. She also worked in advertising and publishing in the Middle East and London. Elizabeth was educated in the West Indies, Saudi Arabia and Belgium before reading Modern Languages at Durham University. She is currently developing an online training course for line managers to raise awareness of menopause symptoms and ways that employers can work to make their workplaces more inclusive.
This interactive session will look at symptoms, discuss workplace implications and share best practice across organisations to help delegates ensure their policy and guidance is compliant with current legislation
Perimenopause and menopause can cause symptoms that terrify women; many do not know what is happening to them and they are often fobbed off by a medical profession unfamiliar with this crucial stage in the reproductive cycle. Similarly, some cancer treatments and hysterectomies can also trigger early menopause, leaving women struggling with severe symptoms at a time when their cohorts are not, leaving them isolated and unsupported. Male colleagues struggle to understand and support older colleagues, leading to many women silently quitting or taking early retirement.
Compliant employers will raise awareness of these issues and provide appropriate training and policy.
Issues discussed include:
- Collecting and using data to design and implement the menopause policy that’s right for your employees, brand and organisation
- Challenges and solutions to improve employee diversity
- Key educational points and awareness-raising: essential messages and training for your company
- Physical changes: temperatures, uniforms, flexible working: what initiatives will work and how to find out what to offer
- What does a culturally-competent conversation look like and how can you instigate one?
Comfort Break
Breakout workshops
Delegates each choose a workshop to attend – you will discuss and debate the key topic areas and exchange experiences, potential solutions and challenge some outdated attitudes. Workshop leaders will report back to full group ensuring that all delegates benefit from the findings and conversations.
WORKSHOP A: Starting and Conducting Conversations with Menopausal Colleagues to Ensure their Workplace Needs are Met - open-door policies, compassion and privacy: what works and what doesn’t?
WORKSHOP B: Strategies to Include and Empower Male Colleagues to Support - tackling taboo subjects, stigma and menopause in male-dominated environments
WORKSHOP C: Workplace Adjustments: Innovative Solutions - listening, responding and key messages to communicate
WORKSHOP D: Ethnic, Cultural and Ethical Issues - ensuring you are an inclusive and sensitive employer
WORKPLACE E: Identifying and Establishing Champions, Role Models and Networks
Wrap up
End of workshop
Menopause Support & Guidance: Taming the Rage (#06)
Physical & emotional symptoms of perimenopause
Menopause Support & Guidance: Workplace Initiatives (#07)
Menopause policy & guidance