‘Menopause need not be a time for women to step back, step down or step out of their career’

11 October 2024

PFEW Women’s Health Lead Hayley Aley delves into headline findings from our latest Menopause Survey, including the paramount topic of flexible working.

Perimenopause and menopause need not be a time for women to step back, step down or step out of their career, Helen Tomlinson, the Menopause Employment Champion appointed by the Government recently said.

I could not agree more and this rings true for policing, just as much as any other sector, however the findings from our second Menopause Survey sadly show one in three women are considering leaving their career in the police service because of the debilitating symptoms of the menopause, which is even more than six years ago. This must change.

With more women in the police service than ever before – 35 per cent of the police officer workforce in England and Wales consisting of females, and 62 per cent when it comes to the police staff workforce – the menopause is not a matter just affecting a small proportion, but one that impacts thousands of women every single day – and not necessarily just women in their 40s and 50s.

Some women experience menopause earlier (before 40 years of age). This ‘premature menopause’ may be because of certain chromosomal abnormalities, autoimmune disorders, or other unknown causes. Menopause can also be induced as a consequence of surgical procedures that involve removal of both ovaries.

While perimenopause means "around menopause" and refers to the time during which your body makes the natural transition to menopause - some women notice changes as early as their mid-30s and can also bring symptoms which can be difficult to manage at times.

In fact, 83 per cent of respondents of our Menopause Survey said they had found symptoms of the menopause either moderately or extremely problematic at work, an increase of 7 percentage points from our last one back in 2018 (76 per cent).

The key point is why isn’t this being taken more seriously by many police forces when it impacts such a large chunk of their workforce?

We must continue to educate everyone on how it affects women in the workplace – which extends a lot further than just hot flashes.

Tiredness (85 per cent) and sleep disturbances (81 per cent) resulting from the menopause were cited as the most problematic menopause symptoms when working. In terms of the working environment, recalling detailed information (72 per cent) and having to work shifts (57 per cent) were the top two main aspects of work that make coping with symptoms of the menopause more difficult.

These are really worrying factors given the nature of the roles everyone holds in policing - the potential risk for serious, fatigue related errors and accidents should not be underestimated. Fatigue is thought to be the cause of up to 20 per cent of accidents on major roads in the UK, contributing significantly to the approximate 3000 road deaths recorded annually.

Employers have a legal duty to manage all risks in the workplace. As with any hazard at work, fatigue must be managed through risk assessment and risk management – an important message we will continue to send to forces as we focus on fatigue.

So, what can be done? The National Menopause Guidance highlights there can be ad hoc flexibility in working start times, or line manager discretion on working hours to assist when sleep has been an issue.

Realistically, if it is so bad that an individual is really struggling then there is an opportunity for them to temporarily move role, but they don’t have to go that far.

For instance, if an officer has had a really bad night’s sleep, you wouldn’t want them driving a response car the next morning, because of health and safety and issues with fatigue.

Through greater understanding and support, more officers will feel confident in being able to confide in their line mangers, and line managers should feel empowered to use the tools available, with the ability to issue flexible start times. A good option would be swapping that officer on to the late shift that day, or require them to work later in the day, to give them the opportunity to get that vital sleep.

There is flexibility and it is about using that flexibility in the workplace to balance the demand with the opportunities to ensure the individual is supported and provide a safe working environment. It might affect demand in the short term, but if that’s your only concern, it means you’re being blind to the risks. Everyone should know this is an option.

From the findings of our survey, we can see more managers are becoming confident in giving that support, which is really positive to see, but just half knew whether their force had a formal menopause policy which is deeply concerning, and the vast majority agreed a policy would be really helpful.

We have seen slight development, but we are still not seeing management receiving the training and development, giving them the ability to understand they can utilise flexible working arrangements, and use out of the box thinking, to support their team. Shockingly just 18 per cent of managers said they had been given training on how to support someone going through the menopause.

Information on the intranet is not a solution, as it is already overloaded with information that gets lost. This is such an important topic that it must be made part of the curriculum and be made a key element of training.

We applaud the very few forces who have made this a priority, but there is no consistency.
Disappointment is the word that springs to mind when looking at how little progress has been made over the past decade when it comes to the support provided to women going through the menopause, and their line managers.

These stark findings should be a wakeup call to forces.

We have momentum on striving towards a police service which reflects the communities it serves, with more women being recruited than ever before. Let’s not undo this hard work.

Let’s be a progressive employer, so women can have a long and prosperous career in the police service.