Supporting Menopause at Work

14 December 2023

With menopausal women as the fastest-growing demographic in the UK workforce, it is imperative that employers and managers are equipped to support their staff through the menopause. 

Similar to mental health or maternity provisions, supportive frameworks and managers can make a significant difference to staff, increasing productivity and staff loyalty, as well as reducing turnover and absence. 

Join us for ‘Supporting Menopause at Work’ to receive valuable insights from expert speakers into how menopause is experienced in the workplace, creating policies to support staff and training managers to ensure that the best outcomes are secured for your workforce and organisation alike.   

On-demand video recordings of all sessions will be provided to delegates following the event. 

Why attend? 

• Learn how to ensure that menopausal staff, and their managers, are supported to ensure that they can do their best work
• Bring new, innovative ideas around creating a positive and menopause-informed culture in your workplace back to your organisation, with the insight needed to put them into practice 
• Hear from leading figures on adapting workplace policy and practice to ensure that constructive frameworks for supporting menopause are implemented in your workplace
• Enjoy an opportunity to network with expert speakers and your peers

Who should attend? 

Anyone with an interest in creating an inclusive workplace, including: employers; HR managers/officers; wellbeing officers; senior managers; consultants; trade unions, staff network leads and representative groups.

09:00

Welcome from Dods Events

Kiren Kaur, Diversity & Inclusion Portfolio Director

09:05

Chair's Opening Remarks

SPEAKER: Deborah Garlick, Founder of Henpicked: Menopause in the Workplace

09:15

Pause for thought: Why is menopause a workplace issue?

• The business case for supporting menopause at work
• Key facts: what is menopause, and how is it experienced?
• Examining the barriers which traditional practice poses for menopausal individuals

SPEAKER: Professor Jo Brewis, Professor of People and Organisations, The Open University Business School

09:45

Comfort Break

10:00

Duty of care: Developing a menopause policy that protects staff and organisation alike

• Understanding legal responsibilities under the Equality Act and Duty of Care
• Performing a risk assessment and addressing the findings
• Lessons learned from recent tribunals
• Using your existing policies to inform and support new, menopause-focused guidelines

SPEAKER: Jog Hundle, Partner, Mills & Reeve LLP.

10:40

Comfort Break

11:00

Managing Menopause: Enabling managers can support their staff

• 'One size does not fit all': ensuring managers can provide for individual needs
• Performance management: providing guidance on appropriate expectations
• Managing sickness absence and enabling greater attendance
• From fans to flexible working: simple reasonable adjustments that make all the difference

SPEAKER: Haley White, Founder, Menospace

11:45

Comfort Break

12:00

Keynote: You’ve got a friend in me: the importance of being a menopause ally 

SPEAKER: Alan McCleave, Job Centre Customer Service Manager, Department for Work and Pensions 

12:30

Panel Discussion: One-to-one: developing confidence to conduct sensitive conversations and building trust

• Creating an open-door culture of trust and compassion
• The path made clear: enabling staff to tell you what they need
• How familiarity with policy can allow managers to guide staff towards solutions
• Guidance on confidentiality, disclosure and when to act

SPEAKER: Julie Farrow, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero; Menopause Working Group Lead

SPEAKER: Audrey Whelan, Education & Skills Funding Agency; Co-Chair of the DfE Menopause Network

13:15

Break for Lunch

14:15

Changing Culture: Breaking stigma and raising awareness about menopause at work

• What does a menopause-friendly organisation look like?
• How support groups can enable simple yet powerful change: a case study
• Tackling the menopause taboo in male-dominated environments

SPEAKER: Natalie Beresford, Foundation Trainer, Thames Valley Police

15:00

Chair's Closing Remarks

SPEAKER: Deborah Garlick, Founder, Henpicked: Menopause in the Workplace

15:15

Event Close