Manager Training Module — Menopause Workplace Support
60-minute facilitator runsheet + script. Delivered live (virtual or in-room) for cohorts of 8–24 line managers. A recorded version of the same script exists for asynchronous teams.
Outcomes
By the end of 60 minutes a line manager can:
- Recognise common menopause-related signs in a work context without diagnosing.
- Run the "Notice → Offer → Document" script.
- Offer the 5 default adjustments without HR escalation.
- Document agreed adjustments without breaching privacy.
- Know the escalation pathway (HR / OH / EAP / GP) and when to use it.
Cohort + facilitators
- Cohort 8–24 managers.
- Lead facilitator (L&D) + Lived-experience co-facilitator (LEC) — held slot in the run-sheet at minute 25. The LEC slot is what makes the practice land.
Runsheet
| Min | Slot | Owner | What happens | Slide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–5 | 1. Frame | Lead | Why we're here. Cite EHRC 2024. State the boundary: spotting + adjusting + signposting, never diagnosing. Confidentiality rule. | S1–S3 |
| 5–15 | 2. The legal frame | Lead | Equality Act 2010 — sex, age, disability. EHRC 2024 guidance in one slide. HSE risk-assessment duty. Framed as "your protection if you do this well", not compliance theatre. | S4–S8 |
| 15–25 | 3. What you'll see at work | Lead | Common workplace impacts (temperature, sleep, focus, confidence). Worked from the 5-Adjustment map, NOT a clinical symptom list. | S9–S14 |
| 25–32 | 4. Lived-experience punctuation | LEC | 7 min. LEC tells their or a colleague's story of disclosure — what helped, what didn't. They speak in the middle, not as decoration. | S15 |
| 32–47 | 5. Notice → Offer → Document | Lead | Teach the script (see 02-manager-quick-card.md). Live demo by Lead + LEC. Then pairs: each manager runs the script with one of three scenarios. Plenary at 45 — "what did your partner skip?" | S16–S22 |
| 47–55 | 6. Escalation pathway | Lead | When HR, OH, EAP and GP each enter. The phrase to know cold: "I want to make sure you get the right kind of support, and I'm not it." | S23–S27 |
| 55–60 | 7. Commitment + CTA | Lead + LEC | Quick-card handed out (not earlier). Each manager identifies one default adjustment they'll proactively offer in the next 30 days. LEC closing line. | S28–S30 |
Live-practice scenarios
Pairs run "Notice → Offer → Document" with one of these. Facilitator listens for the most common skip (Document — managers over-document symptoms instead of adjustments).
- Sarah, 51, ops manager. Mentions the meeting rooms have been "really hot" and she's been sleeping badly. Doesn't use the word "menopause".
- Dev, 47, finance. Trans man, three years on HRT, asks for a private conversation about whether the brain-fog they're experiencing is something he can mention without being treated differently. (Use this scenario only with cohorts who have done baseline inclusion training; otherwise use Scenario 5.)
- Priya, 49, account director. High performer, just declined a promotion she'd previously wanted. Has had two unexplained sick days. Mentions "I just need to get through the next three months".
- Liz, 54, warehouse team leader. Tells her manager night shifts have become impossible. Wants to know if she has to disclose to anyone other than him.
- Marian, 52, designer. Asks her manager (you) directly: "Is there a menopause policy?" You haven't read it. What do you say?
Debrief notes for the facilitator
After scenarios, listen for these skips and name them in plenary without identifying who:
- Skipped Notice — manager went straight to "are you menopausal?" (clinical, intrusive, illegal in some framings)
- Over-promised at Offer — manager promised shift changes they don't have authority to deliver
- Over-documented — manager wrote down symptoms instead of adjustments
- Skipped Escalation — manager held the whole disclosure alone instead of routing to HR/OH where required
- Avoided the word "menopause" — manager treated it as taboo. Use the word. Not naming it is the problem we're solving.
Materials checklist
- Deck (30 slides)
- Quick-card (handed at minute 55)
- Scenario cards (5 above)
- CPD-attendance certificate (emailed within 48h — same template as Sprint 1 file 07)
- Recorded 60-min version (for asynchronous teams)
Slides required
- S1 — Title: "Menopause at Work — What managers actually do"
- S2 — The boundary (spot, offer, signpost — never diagnose)
- S3 — Confidentiality rule
- S4–S8 — The legal frame (EHRC 2024, Equality Act 2010, HSE duty)
- S9–S14 — What you'll see at work (5 themes)
- S15 — LEC slot placeholder
- S16–S22 — Notice → Offer → Document
- S23–S27 — Escalation pathway
- S28 — Quick-card preview
- S29 — Your 30-day commitment
- S30 — Cross-cutting close (SROI 1-for-1 · CTA)
Quality bar (Lead self-check at end)
- Did the cohort use the word "menopause" by minute 30?
- Did the LEC slot land without being decorative?
- Did every manager identify one adjustment they'll proactively offer?
- Did the room finish on time? (60 min is 60 min. Overrun = trust lost.)
Cross-cutting promise Every UK employee seat in MEM funds a free seat for someone leaving prison. Audited SROI in every board report. Want this adapted for your sector? Book a 20-min discovery call: memacademy.org/corporate/programme