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UK government ministers have rejected a proposal to introduce “menopause leave” pilots in England, arguing it could be “counterproductive,” and have also dismissed a recommendation to make menopause a protected characteristic under the Equality Act. In July 2022, the Women and Equalities Committee published a report which warned that the impact of menopause was causing the UK economy to “haemorrhage talent,” and said a lack of support was pushing women out of work. In its response to the report, the government rejected outright five of the committee’s 12 proposals, including a recommendation for the government to work with a large public sector employer to “develop and pilot a specific menopause leave policy.” A cross-party group of MPs had argued this could stop women being “forced out of work by insensitive and rigid sickness policies.” The government said it was focused on encouraging employers to implement workplace menopause policies, adding: “We are concerned that specific menopause leave may be counterproductive to achieving this goal.” It also said it would not launch a consultation on amending the Equality Act to introduce a new protected characteristic of menopause “including a duty to provide reasonable adjustments for menopausal employees,” saying such a move could have “unintended consequences which may inadvertently create new forms of discrimination, for example, discrimination risks towards men suffering from long term medical conditions or eroding existing protections.” Conservative MP Caroline Nokes criticized the government response to the Women and Equalities Committee, which she chairs.  “This is a missed opportunity,” said Nokes in a letter to the Minister for Women Maria Caulfield. “The evidence to our inquiry was crystal clear that urgent action was needed across healthcare and work settings to properly address women’s needs, yet government progress has been glacial and its response complacent.”

BBC

Bloomberg