Female employees at Unum will be offered access to Bupa’s menopause plan. Unum says this announcement, on International Women’s Day, is designed to remove the taboo around women’s health.
This plan offers staff 45 minutes with an experienced menopause-trained GP to hep identify symptoms, and advise on potential treatments; a follow-up check in 12 weeks later to discuss changes and improvements and access to a 24/7 nurse-staffed advice line for 12 months.
In addition, all employees and their partners can access a menopause-trained GP Unum’s health and wellbeing app, Help@hand
The remote GP service allows them to book an appointment after narrowing down their choice of doctor to those with a speciality in female reproductive health and/or menopause.
Unum points out that one in 10 employees working in financial services is currently experiencing menopause, which can often cause distressing symptoms.
With this in mind, Unum has made this move to encourage conversations about reproductive health and improve support to reduce stress, improve productivity and workforce productivity.
Results from a government women’s health survey last year found that fewer than one in 10 women feel they have enough information on the menopause.
Unum’s new policy also offers help for employees and their partners who are undergoing fertility treatment. Unum is offering five days of paid leave to attend fertility appointments or have treatment.
Unum also recognises that menstruation can also cause significant disruption to regular activities and is a legitimate ongoing health condition and so are offering flexible arrangements for those suffering with heavy, painful periods or other exacerbated symptoms.
Jane Hulme, HR director at Unum UK says: “Our ethos is to put people at the heart of employee benefits and ensure that they can bring their whole self to work.
“To do that, we need to ensure we have policies that respond to the needs of our people, especially when it comes to topics surrounding reproductive health such as menstruation, menopause and infertility that are too often seen as taboo. As a growing company, we want to ensure we nurture and retain the best talent through different stages of their working life”.
