Cornwall Marine Network's Menopause Policy

Anyone can be affected by hormonal changes during their lives for a number of reasons, including pregnancy, fertility treatment, gender transitioning, conditions needing hormone treatment, and menopause. These can bring about symptoms which could affect a colleague at work.

CMN aims to support all team members experiencing menopausal symptoms and help colleagues and line managers understand how they can support colleagues experiencing such symptoms.

This policy focuses on menopause, and uses a few key terms:

• Menopause: the point at which a woman’s oestrogen levels decline, and she stops having periods.
• Menopausal symptoms are typically experienced for several years so it’s best described as a ‘transition’ rather than a one-off event.
• Perimenopause: this is the phase leading up to the menopause when a woman’s hormone balance starts to change, and when she may begin to experience menopausal symptoms. For some women this can start as early as their twenties or as late as their late forties.

Should anyone wish to reproduce the policy or utilise it as best practice please contact Mark Williams.