Daily Express columnist Carole Malone has blasted calls for firms to provide extra menopause support as ‘more molly-coddling’ in a furious rant.
It comes after guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) was issued to bosses to clarify their legal obligations to women going through the menopause.
According to Malone, provisions not being in place for menopausal discomfort should not result in lawsuits.
“This is nonsense”, she blasted, “this is part of ageing”.
Carole Malone has hit out at 'molly-coddling' in the workplace
GB NEWS
“Women my mum’s age got nothing, they were told to crack on and go to work, which they did”, she added.
Journalist Nichi Hodgson waded in to add that talk about the menopause has prompted “fear” in women, but believes they should be entitled to “rests” at certain points in the day.
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“If you’ve got a lunch break and you decide to go and have a nap in a special nap room, what’s the problem with that?”, she asked.
Malone hit back against the idea and claimed there is too much “molly-coddling” in the workplace.
“It’s not just your mental health now, it’s the menopause”, she fumed.
Symptoms of the menopause – which include hot flushes, brain fog and difficulty sleeping – can be considered a disability under the Equality Act 2010 if they have a “long-term and substantial impact” on a woman’s ability to carry out their usual day-to-day activities, according to the watchdog.
The controversial new advice was discussed on GB News
GB NEWS
Firms could have to afford more support to menopausal women
GETTY
Bosses should consider how room temperature and ventilation affect menopausal women and think about providing rest areas or quiet rooms, as well as cooling systems or fans for women experiencing hot flushes, the guidance says.
It adds that women could be helped by flexible working, including being allowed to work from home, and start and finish times should be varied if a woman has had a bad night’s sleep or on a warmer day.
Relaxing uniform policies or allowing menopausal women to wear cooler clothes could also be a way of helping them.
Failing to make these “reasonable adjustments” will amount to disability discrimination under the act if a worker’s menopause symptoms amount to a disability, the watchdog said.
Using language that ridicules someone because of their menopausal symptoms could be harassment.
Uniform policies that disadvantage women with menopause symptoms could also amount to indirect sex, age or disability discrimination, the watchdog warns.
A video explaining the guidance says: “The costs of failing to make workplace adjustments for staff can run into hundreds of thousands of pounds when taking into account the loss of talent and costs of defending a claim.”
