"Our aim at Santander is to normalise discussion about the menopause at work."
Santander is supporting the Menopause Workplace Pledge campaign and has signed up to the pledge as part of its work to ensure all staff going through the menopause are properly supported. Here, Christine Palmer, Chief Risk Officer for Santander, explains more.
At Santander, we truly care about the wellbeing of our colleagues, which is why we are delighted to give our support and commitment to the Wellbeing of Women’s Menopause Workplace Pledge.
Our aim as an organisation is to normalise discussion about menopause at work and provide the right information, guidance and practical support to those needing help to manage their own menopause journey.
We have developed our programme of support over the last two years around four key areas: raising awareness and understanding; leader and manager support; building a psychologically safe environment; and guidance and practical support.
‘We have a ‘Let’s talk about Menopause’ site within our online Wellbeing Hub’
As a large organisation, we have created key enablers to help us spread awareness and understanding, including a ‘Let’s talk about Menopause’ site within our online Wellbeing Hub.
This provides a range of resources for colleagues and managers and includes our Menopause Guidelines.
We have also trained a team of passionate colleagues to become Menopause Advocates. Their role is to help signpost colleagues and managers to the support they need and to run menopause awareness sessions across the organisation.
‘Training for managers to understand menopause’
For our managers, we have introduced online training to build their understanding of menopause and provide guidance on how to have discussions with their team.
For practical guidance and support, we work with our Health & Safety team to provide help to colleagues and managers when needed, and we are also proud to have been the first major employer in the UK to partner with Peppy to provide expert clinical advice to those going through menopause via their mobile phone.
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Wellbeing for Women is asking employers to join the Menopause Workplace Pledge and support their colleagues going through the menopause. Find out more about the campaign and how you can get involved.