Menopause - our rights at work

[Cetti]

Whilst it's evident that we're all affected differently by the menopause/perimenopause one common theme that emerges is how difficult it is to hold together work and family whilst feeling so bad.

I'm 49 and my personal bugbear is night sweats and disturbed sleep which are having a significant effect on my ability to do my job. I'm on a long journey which started with sage drops and has worked up to HRT (onto second attempt now) over the last eight or so months. I empathise with the desperation shown by so many of you.

Making things worse is the lack of understanding at work where even well-intentioned managers are clueless about what is happening to me. I've been referred for counselling, for example, because I'm perceived as being unable to cope with the relentless nature of my job!

Do you know, however, that we are covered under the 2010 Equality Act? We cannot be discriminated against just because we are females of a certain age and our employers have a duty to try to ameliorate our situation as far as they are able. This is the guidance offered by the TUC:

www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/TUC_menopause_0.pdf

Just having this knowledge has made me a lot stronger and able to fight my own corner; not easy when half the time I just want to curl up in a ball and cry!