MPs call for Menopause Ambassador role to help women in the workplace

The average age of menopause is 51, with perimenopause often starting years earlier. With 4.5 million women aged 50-64 currently in employment, the report emphasises the scale of the problem facing ‘individuals, the economy and society’. Women experiencing at least one problematic menopausal symptom are 43 percent more likely to have left their jobs by the age of 55 than those experiencing no severe symptoms, while research from BUPA claimsthat 900,000 women experiencing the menopause have left work. Significant progress could be made to reduce the flow of women forced out of work, says the report, by appointing a new Menopause Ambassador who would produce model menopause policies and disseminate good practice, in collaboration with employers, unions and other stakeholders.

The report also addresses the significant barriers women face in obtaining an initial diagnosis of menopause or perimenopause. The current postcode lottery determining access to specialist care is, say MPs, ‘unacceptable’, and necessitates a specialist menopause service in every Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

Key findings 

• Stigma, a lack of support and discrimination play key roles in forcing menopausal employees out of the workplace. In a survey of over 2000 women commissioned by the Committee, 67% reported ‘a loss of confidence’ as a result of menopausal symptoms and 70% reported ‘increased stress’. Despite this, only 12% of respondents sought any workplace adjustments, with 1 in 4 citing their worries about an employers’ reaction as their reason for not doing so.
• The current law ‘does not serve or protect’ menopausal women. Witnesses told the Committee that menopause-related discrimination in the workplace is ‘widespread’ and ‘shocking’. Yet, the report finds, the Equality Act 2010 fails to provide adequate solutions, with women forced to frame claims as sex, age or even disability discrimination.
• Many women feel their GP is not well-equipped to properly diagnose or treat menopause. A ‘postcode lottery’ of services means that access to specialist services needed, including bone density scans, womb lining ultrasounds, access to endocrinologists and gynaecologists, is dependent on regional variation in provision.

While waiting for the roll-out of a digital prepayment certificate, which would allow patients to access 12 months’ supply of HRT for a single prescription charge of £18.70, many GPs are unaware they can issue an interim paper prescription, meaning many women are paying more than they should for vital HRT. There have also been severe shortages in supply, with the Government recently issuing a ‘serious shortage protocol’.

Recommendations

• The Government must launch a consultation no later than the end of 2022, exploring how to introduce menopause as a protected characteristic, as with pregnancy or maternity. It is ‘anomalous’ that menopause is not currently included, given all women will experience menopause. The Government must also immediately enact Section 14 of the Equality Act, which would allow claims based on combined discrimination, for example sex and age.
• The Government must launch a visible public health campaign encompassing the symptoms of the menopause, its impact, and how to seek treatment and support at work. This project should consult a wide and diverse range of expert stakeholders to ensure an inclusive and impactful campaign is produced, and that it reaches communities often underrepresented in discussion around menopause.
• A Menopause Ambassador should be appointed. A key task of the Ambassador would be to help to introduce model workplace policies covering how to request reasonable adjustments, advice on flexible working and sick leave, and building a supportive culture.
• The Government should pilot a ‘menopause leave’ policy within a public sector employer, and publish an evaluation, including proposals for further rollout, within 12 months of the scheme’s commencement.
• The Royal College of General Practitioners must make training on menopause a mandatory aspect of continuing professional development requirements for GPs. In the meantime, GPs should ensure that at least one member of their clinical staff has received specific training around menopause. By 2024, there should be a menopause specialist or specialist service in every Clinical Commissioning Group area.

The Government must remove dual prescription charges for oestrogen and progesterone – both components in HRT- and introduce a single charge incorporating both hormones. The Government should also communicate effectively with GPs and patients, letting them know about current guidelines permitting a 12 prescription. Further, it must work with the NHS and the ‘HRT tsar’ to develop a national formulary for HRT, which would help to prevent shortages and blockages in supply, as seen in the Spring of 2022.