National children’s charity Youth Sport Trust has been awarded menopause-friendly accreditation due to the environment in which symptoms are recognised, discussed and managed.
The menopause-friendly accreditation, which was established by Henpicked: Menopause In The Workplace, recognises standards and practices that embrace menopause in the workplace. To achieve it, the charity was assessed by an independent panel and demonstrated effectiveness in culture, policies and practices, training, engagement and working environment.
Around one-third of Youth Sport Trust’s workforce is based remotely across the UK and all employees have a hybrid-working element to their role. To ensure everyone can benefit from the wellbeing initiatives, the charity uses online communication channels and non-work-related group chats to help build relationships and promote decision making.
It was recognised by the menopause-friendly panel due to a complete change in its culture, in which it encouraged staff to talk freely so the subject became more openly discussed. In addition, its senior leadership team has championed its education, training and support programmes, which has helped staff who identify menopause symptoms to seek support and receive help.
Alison Oliver, chief executive at Youth Sport Trust, said: “Over the last two years, the increased awareness of menopause has been welcomed at the Youth Sport Trust. This important, but not often talked about, issue directly affects a high proportion of our workforce, me included. Thanks to an internal awareness campaign, we have noticed a change in the culture and the subject is now openly talked about as a direct result of the menopause-friendly work being done.
“We have some great examples of where employees have felt able to raise concerns and suitable adjustments have been made. We are very lucky to have a group of dedicated menopause champions working to drive our agenda forward and gaining the accreditation is a testament to their excellent work.”
