Course Details

CPD COURSE · ENGLAND AND WALES · EDITION SEPTEMBER 2026

Menopause Awareness in the Workplace

Recognition · adjustments · law · policy · conversations · wellbeing · inclusion — for practitioners already working in the field.

EIGHT MODULES · 20-QUESTION KNOWLEDGE CHECK · VERIFIED SEPTEMBER 2026

CPD HOURS

10 hours

ACCREDITED BY

CPD Standards Office

FORMAT

Blended self-paced

SLIDES

PPT Deck

LISTEN

Audio Podcast

QUIZ

Audio Quiz

VISUAL

Infographic

Overview

Menopause affects most women during their working lives, and its symptoms are varied, fluctuating and often invisible at work. Since 2019 the guidance has multiplied — Acas, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the CIPD, a British Standard (BS 30416:2023), NICE guideline NG23 and, from March 2026, government action-plan guidance under the Employment Rights Act 2025. Practitioners are now expected to know what the law requires, what the evidence shows, and what actually works.

This course is a structured, evidence-based programme for people who already hold responsibility for staff wellbeing, employment practice or health and safety. It moves from the essentials of menopause and its workplace impact, through the legal framework in England and Wales, to the practical work of risk assessment, adjustments, policy, conversations, referral and inclusion. Every module ends with an Apply and Reflect task and one checked external source, and every figure carries its source, year and base.

Who this course is for

Assumes working knowledge of employment practice, people management or workplace health. Does not assume prior knowledge of menopause.

▸ HR and people professionals — Policy drafting, absence and performance process design, action-plan ownership, case handling under the Equality Act

▸ Line managers and supervisors — Recognising change, opening and recording supportive conversations, agreeing and reviewing adjustments

▸ Occupational health and wellbeing leads — Referral pathways, fitness-for-work context, mental-health escalation within your own procedures, supporting the supporter

▸ EDI and inclusion leads — Intersectional evidence and its limits, inclusive scope, data ethics, measuring whether support works

▸ Health and safety practitioners — Menopause-aware risk assessment, physical aspects of work and work design (BS 30416), fatigue in safety-critical roles

▸ Learning and development — Delivering the material in-house; the trainer notes and answer key are separable

▸ Trade union and employee representatives — The legal routes, what good practice looks like, and how to raise adjustments and policy with employers

▸ Menopause and wellbeing champions — Role boundaries, confidentiality, signposting accurately, looking after yourself

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, learners will be able to:

✓
Define perimenopause, menopause, post-menopause and premature ovarian insufficiency; state the typical ages and the range of variation; and say who can experience menopause and who is affected indirectly.

✓
Group common symptoms, explain how each can present at work, and quote the current UK evidence on impact, absence and retention with its limits and bases.

✓
Identify the statutes that apply in England and Wales, explain how sex, age and disability protection operate in menopause cases with reference to Rooney, Lynskey and Davies, and set out the flexible-working and Employment Rights Act 2025 requirements with their dates.

✓
Carry out a menopause-aware risk assessment using the standard five steps and match symptoms to practical adjustments across environment, working pattern, role and support.

✓
Distinguish a menopause policy from a statutory equality action plan, draft or review a policy against the eight sections taught, and use culture levers deliberately.

✓
Run a structured, non-clinical conversation about impact at work, record it lawfully, and handle performance and absence without turning support into process.

✓
Recognise how menopause can affect mental health, respond and escalate within their own organisation’s procedures, and signpost accurately to GP, occupational health, talking therapies, EAP and specialist services.

✓
Identify groups whose experience is often overlooked, choose measures that show whether support is working, and build an annual cycle that keeps policy, training and action plans current.

Career path

Menopause awareness is increasingly expected in people-facing roles rather than treated as a niche interest. Employers with 250 or more employees will be publishing equality action plans covering menopause from 2027, and the six recommended menopause actions on gov.uk each need someone competent to own them.

Direction	Where this course fits	Typical next steps
People and HR practice	Evidence for policy work, case handling and action-plan ownership	CIPD membership levels; employment-law CPD; action-plan lead
Occupational health and wellbeing	Workplace context for referrals and adjustments; supporting managers	Occupational health nursing or advisory roles; workplace wellbeing lead
Health, safety and risk	Menopause within general and individual risk assessment; work design	IOSH or NEBOSH-level development; risk assessment ownership
Equality, diversity and inclusion	Intersectional evidence, inclusive scope and data ethics	EDI lead; network sponsor; reporting to board
Learning and development	A complete, sourced programme to deliver internally	Train-the-trainer; manager-training programme lead
Employee voice and representation	The legal routes and what good practice looks like	Union learning or equality representative; staff network chair

This course is continuing professional development. It does not confer a licence to practise, a clinical or legal qualification, or membership of any professional body. Whether CPD hours or points are recognised depends on the learner’s own professional body and on the provider’s arrangements.

Course structure

1
Menopause: The Essentials

2
Symptoms and Their Impact at Work

3
The Legal Framework in England and Wales

4
Risk Assessment and Workplace Adjustments

5
Policies, Action Plans and Culture

6
Supportive Conversations

7
Wellbeing, Mental Health and Referral Pathways

8
Inclusion, Intersectionality and Embedding Change

Each module has an illustrated opener, 10–12 teaching slides, an Apply and Reflect task and one checked external source; delivery formats include one full day, eight one-hour sessions, or self-study. Module 7 discusses anxiety, low mood, exhaustion and moments of crisis, staying at recognition, response, escalation and referral only, with no method of self-harm described. A practitioner-support note precedes it: nobody is asked to share personal experience and learners may step out at any time without explanation. Support routes include the host organisation’s wellbeing procedure, Samaritans on 116 123 (free, 24 hours), NHS 111 and 999 in immediate danger, plus a 20-question knowledge check with a trainer-only answer key and rationales.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Is this an accredited qualification?

No. It is continuing professional development. Whether a professional body recognises the hours is for that body and your provider to confirm; nothing is claimed here.

Q. Will I be able to diagnose menopause or advise on HRT after the course?

No, and the course is explicit about this. Practitioners recognise, respond, adjust, escalate and refer. Diagnosis and treatment belong to the person and their clinician (NICE NG23).

Q. Does it cover Scotland and Northern Ireland?

No. Law and guidance are stated for England and Wales. The Equality Act, health and safety framework and Employment Rights Act 2025 also apply in Scotland, but NHS routes and guidance differ; Northern Ireland has separate equality law.

Q. How current is the legal content?

Current to September 2026. Several dates fall in 2026–2028 (voluntary action plans from April 2026; mandatory from spring 2027 subject to regulations; first compulsory plan expected by April 2028). These are re-checked before every delivery.

Q. Is the ‘1 in 10 women leave work’ figure true?

The Fawcett Society (2022) found that 1 in 10 surveyed women who worked during menopause had left a job because of symptoms. ‘Left a job’ includes moving jobs; 3% said they retired early. The figure has been challenged (BBC More or Less, 2025). The course teaches what it measures rather than the headline.

Q. Is there a menopause policy template?

No template is supplied. Module 5 sets out the eight sections a good policy contains and the common gaps, and points to Acas, CIPD and BS 30416 for structure. A policy written from a template without consultation is one of the pitfalls taught.

Q. Do the external links need a subscription?

No. All eight are free: Acas, CIPD, EHRC, gov.uk, BSI Knowledge, Women’s Health Concern and a TED talk on YouTube. The full text of BS 30416 is a paid document; a free BSI article is used instead.

Q. What happens if someone in the room is struggling?

The practitioner-support note before Module 7 applies throughout. Trainers follow the host organisation’s wellbeing procedure and never provide clinical advice. Learners can step out at any time.

MENOPAUSE AWARENESS IN THE WORKPLACE · 10 CPD HOURS · ACCREDITED BY CPD STANDARDS OFFICE · EIGHT MODULES

£25.00

Course Features

Lectures 10
Quizzes 2
Duration Lifetime access
Skill level All levels
Language English
Students 2
Certificate Yes
Assessments Self