'Menopause issues caused me to leave police force'

A police employee says she was unfairly discriminated against due to her menopause symptoms.

Alice, who asked not to be named, said Gloucestershire Police failed to make adjustments which would have made it easier for her to carry out her duties and threatened her with performance-monitoring measures.

The non-uniform employee, who has since left, is calling for the police to make changes and offer greater support to women living with the menopause.

Gloucestershire Constabulary said it "always listens to and takes seriously" employees' concerns.

The force said it understands the menopause is an "important time of life which can have a huge impact on a woman's mental and physical wellbeing".

Alice said the end of her time at the force had a profound impact on her mental health.

"[the force] need to work out what the hell they're doing. It's just wrong to be treating people like this."

Alice took up her final role with the police in 2020. Within a year her menopause symptoms escalated, causing acute pain across her body which left her unable to carry out basic tasks such as cooking, gardening or getting dressed on her own.

She said she also became forgetful and suffered "brain fog".

These issues were raised with her line manager, she added, and she asked for the flexibility to work from home as the noise and environment of the office was making it difficult for her to do her job, but this was denied.

Instead, she was given a leaflet on the menopause.

Alice said things got worse in 2022 when she was threatened with having her performance monitored, despite having previously won awards for her work.

She said her manager also told her it might be time for her to "leave the department" during an informal meeting.

After twice taking time off sick due to the stress and symptoms, she handed in her notice in 2023 despite having no job to go to.

Alice said she felt she had no option but to leave, and claims she is still living with the emotional impact of how she was treated by the constabulary.

"It really pummelled my self-confidence and all of my faith in my skills," she added.

"I felt like what they had done was [to] completely wipe me out. They laid waste to me, and the organisation really didn't acknowledge what had happened and the severity of the outcome of it."

Symptoms of the menopause vary in intensity between women, and can include low mood, loss of concentration, hot flushes, trouble sleeping, headaches and muscle aches among others.

Research carried out by the Fawcett Society found one in 10 employed women questioned left the workforce due to menopause symptoms, and eight out of ten said their employer hadn't shared information, trained staff, or put in place a menopause absence policy.

The menopause is not currently a protected characteristic under UK law, unlike age, sex and disabilities.

Gloucestershire Constabulary has a menopause policy which states it is "committed to ensuring appropriate support and assistance is given to workers going through the menopause or peri-menopause".

This includes considering agile working requests to change the location of where people are based.

In a statement the force said: "We run training programmes in supportive leadership and have an internal occupational health unit and wellbeing advisers, as well as an external employee support programme, who can provide additional help and advice when requested.

"We encourage that records of all one-to-one discussions are made and we have an agile working policy that allows for flexible working arrangements including working from home where appropriate.

"If employees feel they have been unfairly treated, they will be given the option of starting grievance proceedings should they wish."

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