An admin worker whose boss ignored her complaints she was suffering from the “Old Lady Disease” has successfully sued her ex-employer for menopause discrimination.
Marie Johnson started working at the “predominantly male” crane rental agency Bronzeshield Lifting in Thames Road, Crayford, near Dartford in December 1995.
She became menopausal in around January 2018 and experienced low mood, anxiety, sleep problems, brain fog and feelings of disorientation, an employment tribunal was told.
Ms Johnson, who lives in Greenhithe, reported it “felt to her like she had a goldfish bowl on her head” and it could happen for hours and days at a time.
She asked her boss Martin Jones for flexible working so she could work a four day week due to the impact the menopause was having on her mental health.
Four days later, Mr Jones wrote to her agreeing she could work 9-5 shifts on a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday until July the following year.
In July, she requested her working hours be changed again, so she would work a half-day on Thursday and have Friday off.
She raised concerns over the traffic on Fridays as the office was very near the Dartford tunnel and a number of major roads including the M25 and so in bad traffic “it could take an hour or more” to get home.
Assessing the link between her medical condition and the traffic, Judge Dyal accepted her “general resilience and ability to cope with life and work had reduced” and her menopause made the “awful” traffic on Fridays “harder to cope with”.
The mum-of-two had also told the court said she had been going through some “challenging things” as she was caring for her elderly parents at the time.
In a meeting on July 7, she told bosses her “mental health is not the same as it was as a result of the menopause” and that her role was not as busy as it used to be.
Mr Jones declined her request to take Friday off as it “could be the business’ busiest day”. He suggested she could take carers’ leave.
It was accepted at the tribunal it would have been problematic for the business for her to have taken Fridays off “especially if combined with Thursday afternoon off.”
However, it was noted that there was no one else to support her parents on Fridays whereas on other days there was.
In oral evidence, Mr Jones admitted he “did not know much about menopause” and he did not ask Ms Johnson what her symptoms were when dealing with the application as he would “not understand” it.
Ms Johnson handed in her notice on July 10, 2022.
She wrote at the time of her “great regret” at the decision and said it was disappointing her change in circumstances had not been taken into consideration, nor a compromise suggested.
She sued the company for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination.
Upholding her claim of disability discrimination, judge Dyal said Mr Jones did not “know much about menopause”.
“[His] evidence was that he did not know much about menopause. His evidence was also that he did not ask [Ms Johnson] about it when dealing with her request. He said he did not do so because he would not understand.”
He added: “He is an intelligent man and he was of course in fact able to understand menopause symptoms if he asked someone about them and they explained them to him in an ordinary way.
“There is nothing inordinately difficult to understand.
“What was needed was not some scientific understanding, but simply how menopause affected [Ms Johnson’s] day to day in life and at work.
“That was easily within Mr Jones’ comprehension.”
The Equality and Human Rights Commission recently issued the guidance to clarify the legal obligations to workers going through the menopause.
Failing to make “reasonable adjustments” amounts to disability discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 if the symptoms have a “long-term and substantial impact” on a woman’s ability to carry out their usual day-to-day activities, the watchdog said.
Symptoms can include hot flushes, brain fog and difficulty sleeping.
