Rise of the menopause employment tribunal
THE number of employment tribunals citing menopause has surged in recent years – and experts are now warning companies to increase support or face legal action.
Menopause was cited in only five cases in the last nine months of 2018 but jumped to ten mentions in the first six months of 2021, according to figures from HM Courts and Tribunals Service.
Experts say women are increasingly standing up for themselves over menopause-related discrimination and challenging employers who do not acknowledge or offer support for symptoms.
There are 34 recognised menopause symptoms, including brain fog, electric shock ‘jolts’, itchiness, loss of libido, joint pain and a burning mouth, alongside the better-recognised hot flushes and irritability.
Last week Sir Rod Stewart, 76, called for men to have classes informmenopause ing them about the menopause after watching his wife struggle with severe symptoms.
Ex-model Penny Lancaster, 50, has spoken of how she felt she was ‘losing her grip’ and said the menopause can be ‘soul-destroying’.
In Scotland, one woman claimed her boss humiliated her in front of colleagues in relation to her menopause symptoms, including an incident where she was called a ‘dinosaur’, The Times reported. She was awarded £28,000.
In another case, social worker Maria Rooney, 49, accused Leicester City Council of unfair dismissal.
She claimed her anxiety and depression caused by the menopause were disregarded.
And Aggie Kownacka, a recruitment worker, was told by her boss that it was ‘no big deal’ that her cancer diagnosis would trigger early at the age of 37, another tribunal heard.
The HM Courts and Tribunals Service figures relate only to cases that were escalated to a tribunal in England and do not cover a vast number of employment disputes settled privately.
The menopause featured only eight times in employment disputes in 2017, but was mentioned 116 times in the first six months of 2021, according to the consultancy Menopause Experts.
‘The menopause revolution is coming – with growing calls for more awareness and support,’ said Sinead Casey, a partner at Linklaters law firm.
‘Employers need to wake up and leave themselves wide open to legal exposure if they don’t.’
More than five million working women are aged 40 to 55 in Britain and about 80 per cent of those will have symptoms of the menopause while employed.
But despite menopausal women being the fastest growing working demographic in the UK, recognition of the debilitating side-effects is lacking in many workplaces.
Dee Murray, founder of Menopause Experts, told The Times that this absent understanding from ‘outdated and ill-informed bosses’ was ‘dangerous for women’s health’ and ‘unfair to their careers’.
‘The revolution is coming’