In September, the British Standards Institution (BSI) and the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) launched BS ISO 45010, a new global standard designed to help employers support employees experiencing menstruation and menopause.

The business case is significant. BSI cites analysis suggesting that greater confidence in raising menstrual and menopausal health issues could achieve a UK productivity benefit worth almost £300 million a year.

The standard gives employers a practical framework for turning good intentions into workplace action.

What does it say?

It covers workplace culture, policies and procedures, manager training, workplace design, job design and practical adjustments. It also deals with how organisations should measure whether their approach works.

Importantly, the new standard deals specifically with disclosure and privacy. Employers need to think carefully about what information employees share, who receives it and what happens to it afterwards.

The standard also includes guidance for smaller employers and a template workplace charter.

The standard is free to access.

What does this mean in practice?

The figures behind the standard should concern senior leaders.

Only 38% of UK employees who have experienced menopause, perimenopause or menstrual health challenges say they feel confident that their employer would support them in finding a solution. Only 10% would feel confident discussing the issue with a male line manager, while 19% would feel confident discussing it with HR. 49% said their employer offered no support.

That is not simply an HR problem. It is a management information problem.

If employees do not feel able to raise an issue, managers cannot respond. Performance may deteriorate without anyone understanding why. Absence can increase. Experienced employees may leave. An organisation can have an impressive policy while the people who need it remain unwilling to use it.

Ask:

Do your managers know how to respond when somebody raises menopausal symptoms?

Can your colleagues discuss adjustments without embarrassment or assumptions?

Do employees trust managers enough to start the conversation?

Can your organisation show that its approach works?

What should you do now?

Review your current arrangements
Check policies, absence processes, occupational health provision and workplace adjustments against BS ISO 45010.
Train managers
A policy cannot compensate for a manager who freezes when somebody mentions menopause.
Look at your business
Consider working patterns, job design and physical working conditions, not just written policies.
Protect privacy
Decide who needs health information and how managers should handle disclosure.
Measure what happens
Look at absence, retention, employee feedback and whether people use available support.
Give this senior ownership
Treat it as a workforce, productivity and retention issue, rather than leaving it solely with HR.

Organisations that handle this well will not simply have better menopause policies. They will be better at keeping experienced people healthy, productive and willing to stay.

Source: Global guidance to help keep women experiencing menstruation and menopause | BSI