This publication is your guide to supporting all employees through menstruation,

miscarriage and menopause. We hope to provide you with the following:

• A comprehensive understanding of what each issue is and their symptoms.
• An overview of how this might impact employees and their performance.
• Guidance on how to have open and honest conversations free of judgement.
• Examples of reasonable adjustments to your workplace to support employees.
• An outline of the legal responsibilities workplaces have to support employees going through these issues.
• Health advice and how this can be applied to the workplace.
• Support groups and organisations that can provide further support.

Our aim is for managers and employees to have an awareness of what M³ means; Menopause, Menstruation and Miscarriage, and to help create understanding and open workplaces. It’s also important to acknowledge that not everyone experiences these issues in the same way; we need to support everyone, even when the impacts are different from person to person.

These topics must not be taboo or hidden in your workplace, and all employees should have the opportunity to discuss them openly and without embarrassment.
To do this organisations must first create a safe environment to encourage people to feel confident in discussing their health and wellbeing matters if they wish to.
The first step to achieving this is that employees should not feel that discussing these sorts of issues will have any negative impact on their employment.
It is the responsibility of the workplace to provide this.

Managers, while providing support, should ensure that they do not make any assumptions and remain impartial and bias free.

We also must be aware that menopause, menstruation and miscarriage do not only impact the person going through it but can also have an impact on the employee’s colleagues, families and/or partners. Creating an open and safe environment in your office will allow all employees to better discuss what they are going through, either directly or indirectly, and ask for the support they need without judgement.

To show your commitment to providing a safe and inclusive working environment for all, join the MPA in becoming a signatory of the Wellbeing of Women’s Menopause Workplace Pledge.