Page 24 - WMPF Federation OCT-NOV 2019-flip_Neat

Support for women

Federation

welcomes new

menopause

guidance

est Midlands Police Federation the menopause as a possible occupational the credible evidence needed to give
has vowed to work with the Force health issue, the need for better guidance to our force leaders.
Wto ensure that women going ventilation, air conditioning and “This guidance will make a difference
through the menopause receive the support temperature control and better access to to so many and I sincerely hope this work
they need. information support at work so I think paves the way for colleagues in the other
The pledge came as the first national some of these can quite easily be emergency services.”
guidance on the menopause in policing was addressed and we will be doing everything Chief Constable Carl Foulkes, the
launched earlier this month to help forces we can to drive forward changes in line national lead for gender at the National
provide better support for officers and staff with this new guidance.” Police Chiefs’ Council, said: “The
at a time when a third of female police West Midlands Police Federation demographic of the police workforce
officers nationwide are aged 45 or over. continues to work with the Force’s branch across the UK is changing with an
“This guidance is long over-due,” says of the British Association of Women in increasing number of female colleagues
Steve Grange, secretary of West Midlands Policing to help shape Force policies in and an aging workforce in key front-line
Police Federation, “It is a major step forward relation to the menopause. roles as well as other roles in our
for the police service and I hope it will mean The guidance includes information for organisations. There are clear health and
women get the help they need to work women experiencing the menopause, line safety implications for women, their
through the menopause but also that it managers and occupational health teams. colleagues and the general public, if we do
raises awareness about the effects of the It also encourages forces to establish not support, understand and deal with
menopause particularly among line formal policies for managing menopause menopause issues properly.
managers. transition and provides a draft risk “As such, this guidance which
“Last year the Police Federation of assessment form and checklist. addresses strategic, line management and
England and Wales carried out the first A working group of strategic individual learning around menopause
nationwide survey on the menopause stakeholders in policing, spearheaded by transition is important to minimise the
among members and the results were quite Hayley Aley, one of the Federation’s potential impact on operational and
shocking with one in five women saying national women’s leads, had commissioned non-operational resilience as well as
they had considered quitting work due to the menopause survey which then valuing and understanding what This guidance is long over-due. It is a major step forward for
the symptoms of the menopause and more provided evidence of the need for the colleagues are going through.”
than three-quarters saying they had found national guidance. The National Menopause Guidance the police service and I hope it will mean women get the
the symptoms either moderately or “Everyone in the policing family got aims to help support and advise
extremely problematic at work. behind PFEW’s survey which proved that individuals, line managers, senior leaders help they need to work through the menopause but also that
“As a police service, we need to be doing forces need to do more to break down the and occupational health advisers.
more to support women through this time barriers that currently exist,” Hayley Find out more. “ it raises awareness about the effects of the menopause
in their lives. Some of the issues raised by explained, “It was iconic for us to aim a Read more about the PFEW
those who took part in the survey included survey not just at our membership but to menopause survey results. particularly among line managers.
a lack of awareness among management of the whole police family and for this to give “

24 federation October/November 2019 www.polfed.org/westmids www.polfed.org/westmids federation October/November 2019 25