The Abbeyfield Society has officially achieved accreditation as a menopause friendly employer.
Accreditation came courtesy of an external assessment panel appointed by Henpicked, which champions the accreditation through its Menopause in the Workplace campaign. Abbeyfield set up a cross-functional menopause taskforce and put a number of initiatives in place to demonstrate its commitment to being menopause-friendly. These included creating a menopause policy and a dedicated resource section on the company intranet.
A charity providing residential care and housing for older people, The Abbeyfield Society has over 370 homes and houses in the UK and overseas.
Henpicked panel member Suzanne Banks CBE said: “We are delighted to see The Abbeyfield Society achieve Menopause Friendly Accreditation. Theirs was a really excellent application. They set clear objectives to create a culture where menopause is easy to talk about and support is available to anyone who needs it.
“They have demonstrated excellent menopause awareness campaigns and involved everyone in the conversation, supported by excellent training and support. Well done to everyone involved.”
Gail Manley, Abbeyfield HR director, commented: “We have worked hard to achieve this accreditation and are absolutely delighted with the accolade, but most importantly we are proud to be helping our staff through what can be a very difficult part of their lives. Supporting our female employees through the menopause is an integral part of our wellbeing strategy and we are passionate about continuing to ensure we are a menopause friendly employer.”
Paul Tennant, Abbeyfield CEO, added: “As a sheltered housing and care provider, upwards of 80 per cent of our workforce are female and over 40 per cent of our female employees are over the age of 50. Alongside this, our residents can be as young as 55, so we see the wider benefit of promoting menopause awareness in terms of customer service provision. We recognise that menopause affects women in a variety of ways and providing support around these issues is an ongoing priority for Abbeyfield.”
