Menopausal NHS staff can work from home

Women may be given lighter duties as health chief urges other employers to follow suit

MENOPAUSAL women working in the NHS will be able to do their jobs from home if their symptoms require it, the head of the health service has said.

Issuing the first ever national NHS guidance on menopause, Amanda Pritchard said that other employers should follow suit to help middle-aged women “thrive” at work.

“Flexible working patterns” – including lighter duties – will be considered for those struggling with symptoms.

Writing in The Daily Telegraph today, Ms Pritchard says female health workers who are “silently suffering,” should not be expected to “grin and bear it”.

The guidance instructs NHS employers to consider “any reasonable adjustments to their working pattern” – including shorter hours, flexible breaks or remote working.

The changes come at a time when a record 7.1 million people are stuck on NHS waiting lists, with staff shortages at a record high. One in 10 posts is unfilled, leaving hospitals struggling to catch up with backlogs that swelled during the pandemic.

The changes could mean thousands of staff take time off front-line duties at a time of record pressures.

However, Ms Pritchard insisted that allowing menopausal women more flexibility when they needed it would boost the workforce in the long term.

“Menopause is not a health condition, it’s a stage of life, and I want all women in the NHS who are facing this transition to receive the right support to stay in and thrive at work,” says Ms Pritchard, who is the chief executive of NHS England.

The NHS is the biggest employer of women in Britain. Of its 1.3 million staff, more than 1 million are female. One in five of all employees is a woman of menopausal age.

“Menopausal women should not have to put up with feeling uncomfortable at work, or feel any shame in talking about a transition that is a part of life,” Ms Pritchard writes.

“With symptoms ranging from muscle aches and joint pain to hot flushes, anxiety, difficulties sleeping and brain fog, the menopause has a huge impact on a woman’s ability to work and go about her daily life,” she continues.

Ms Pritchard said the new guidance would mean “practical measures” to support female workers.

“Simple steps – such as flexible working patterns, fans to help make temperatures more comfortable, cooler uniforms and staff training – can make a big difference and I want to see this happening across the board,” she writes.

The new guidance says NHS managers should support women experiencing symptoms to discuss “whether it would be helpful to consider any reasonable adjustments to their working pattern: for example, asking if working flexibly would support them in the workplace”.

These could include “opportunities to switch to lighter duties” if a risk assessment supports them, with managers told to ensure mechanisms to “manage remote working” are in place.

Managers are also asked to consider whether start and finish times could be adjusted, or flexible arrangements introduced so that women struggling with symptoms can take breaks when it suits them best.

Ms Pritchard said that women aged between 45 and 54 made up a fifth of the NHS workforce – with up to 260,000 experiencing the menopause at work.

Health officials said the new guidance, launched at the Confederation of Business Industry’s annual conference, was designed to be transferable to all

workplaces. Research suggests that the menopause costs the economy £10billion a year in sick leave and replacing those who leave work.

The study by the Fawcett Society found that one in 10 women is forced out of her job because of a lack of suitable support.

Ms Pritchard said that making changes to support menopausal women could keep more in work at a time of record vacancies in the NHS.

Carolyn Harris, chairman of the Allparty Parliamentary Group on Menopause, welcomed the moves, for which she has campaigned for many years.

She said: “This isn’t about every woman going through menopausal symptoms working from home – or wanting to. That adjustment wouldn’t always be possible. But what we have said to employers for a long time is that there is always something you can do.”

Those who thought the policies meant extra perks for women knew little of the realities of menopause, Ms Harris suggested.

“Any man who thinks that is a walk in the park has got another thing coming,” she said.