Renfrewshire Council

Menopause Champion, Fiona Sinclair would like to thank everyone who completed the survey about our support for menopause in the workplace.

Fiona has been busy gathering and analysing your feedback, and she's delighted to share with you the top findings and next steps for supporting colleagues with menopause.

Fiona recently caught-up with our Head of People and OD, Raymond Cree to bring him up to speed on what colleagues told us and what we're doing as a result.

Their conversation was recorded and turned into a short animation to be shared with colleagues.

Watch Fiona and Raymond's conversation.

The top three survey findings

Here's the key things you told us:

1. You would like more opportunities to get support from colleagues who are also experiencing menopause.
2. We need more training and support for managers.
3. It's important we keep building a culture where we are open to discussing menopause at work so it's not a taboo subject.
    

What we're doing in response to your feedback
 

Let's Pause—monthly get-togethers

Our first Let's Pause session will take place shortly after the school spring holidays. Taking place over Microsoft Teams, these monthly virtual sessions for colleagues going through menopause are a great opportunity to connect with others and share your experiences in a relaxed and friendly setting.

Sign-up for Let's Pause monthly get-togethers.

Toolbox Talks for managers

People & OD's toolbox talks provide line-managers with everything they need to know to support colleagues going through menopause. Each session highlights the supports available and educates managers on how to recognise the signs and symptoms of menopause. The talks are proving particularly helpful for managers of frontline and non-networked colleagues who don't receive email updates and have less availability for online sessions.

RenTalks recordings

RenTalks about taking care of your wellbeing are always well-attended and sessions that focus on menopause are in high demand. We'll continue to facilitate more of these sessions covering topics like holistic care and Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT).

To help more colleagues benefit from these sessions, we will record as many as we can and make them available to watch on iLearn.

Watch the latest RenTalk session with Time for Talking on supporting menopause (iLearn).

More information on support for menopause at work

We have a range of flexible supports for colleagues going through menopause, including up to five days paid menopause leave. This can be used for time off to seek medical advice, attend appointments with healthcare practitioners and related services, and to recover from more serious symptoms. The leave will be offered on a pro-rata basis, and you can choose to take it as hours, half-days or full days.

Whether you are experiencing menopause yourself, or you are supporting someone who is, we hope you find the support and information we offer helpful.

Find full details about menopause, support at work, and guidance for managers on our 'Supporting colleagues with menopause' webpages.

Published on Thursday 27 March 2025