Menopausal women shouldn’t be treated differently

Granted, I could be a beneficiary of the latest guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) about women going through the menopause. It advises employers to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ for women who experience symptoms such as broken sleep, brain fog and hot flushes (viz, most of us). This includes possibly relaxing uniform requirements, lowering the temperature in the office, providing quiet areas and protecting the menopausal from humorous observations about any of the above from their colleagues. It’s preposterous guidance from a body which has little notion of the realities of a workplace that isn’t publicly funded. These suggestions will end up pathologising the human condition – at least, as it affects half the population. 

Can you imagine a self-employed hairdresser giving herself a rest room to get over her menopausal symptoms? Me neither. This guidance is going to be yet another of those things which can be merrily exploited in the public sector but which, for a small business, would be quite a good reason to think twice before employing women who might start demanding to work from home because they didn’t sleep properly.