Federation supports new menopause guidance
9 September 2019
West Midlands Police Federation has vowed to work with the Force to ensure that women going through the menopause receive the support they need.
The pledge comes as the first national guidance on the menopause in policing is issued today to help forces provide better support for officers and staff at a time when a third of female police officers nationwide are aged 45 or over.
“This guidance is long over-due,” says Steve Grange, secretary of West Midlands Police Federation, “It is a major step forward for the police service and I hope it will mean women get the help they need to work through the menopause but also that it raises awareness about the effects of the menopause particularly among line managers.
“Last year the Police Federation of England and Wales carried out the first nationwide survey on the menopause among members and the results were quite shocking with one in five women saying they had considered quitting work due to the symptoms of the menopause and more than threequarters saying they had found the symptoms either moderately or extremely problematic at work.
“As a police service, we need to be doing more to support women through this time in their lives. Some of the issues raised by those who took part in the survey included a lack of awareness among management of the menopause as a possible occupational health issue, the need for better ventilation, air conditioning and temperature control and better access to information support at work so I think some of these can quite easily be addressed and we will be doing everything we can to drive forward changes in line with this new guidance.”
West Midlands Police Federation continues to work with the Force’s branch of the British Association of Women in Policing to help shape Force policies in relation to the menopause.
The guidance includes information for women experiencing the menopause, line managers and occupational health teams. It also encourages forces to establish formal policies for managing menopause transition and provides a draft risk assessment form and checklist.
A working group of strategic stakeholders in policing, spearheaded by Hayley Aley, one of the Federation’s national women’s leads, had commissioned the menopause survey which then provided evidence of the need for the national guidance.
“Everyone in the policing family got behind PFEW’s survey which proved that forces need to do more to break down the barriers that currently exist,” Hayley explained, “It was iconic for us to aim a survey not just at our membership but to the whole police family and for this to give the credible evidence needed to give guidance to our force leaders.
“This guidance will make a difference to so many and I sincerely hope this work paves the way for colleagues in the other emergency services.”
Chief Constable Carl Foulkes, the national lead for gender at the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said: “The demographic of the police workforce across the UK is changing with an increasing number of female colleagues and an aging workforce in key front-line roles as well as other roles in our organisations. There are clear health and safety implications for women, their colleagues and the general public, if we do not support, understand and deal with menopause issues properly.
“As such, this guidance which addresses strategic, line management and individual learning around menopause transition is important to minimise the potential impact on operational and non-operational resilience as well as valuing and understanding what colleagues are going through.”
The National Menopause Guidance aims to help support and advise individuals, line managers, senior leaders and occupational health advisers.
The PFEW menopause survey results
