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Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service has been recognised at a national awards ceremony for its commitment and determination to support colleagues going through the menopause.
The Menopause and Menstruation Friendly Employer Awards, held in September, celebrated organisations and individuals who have succeeded in providing support, solutions and resources that normalise menopause in the workplace.
The service won the award for the ‘Most Menopause Friendly Working Environment (Public Sector)’, an award that recognises an organisation that has made real and practical changes to its workplace environment to support menopause.
It was also awarded a Highly Commended certificate in the Menopause Friendly Accredited Employer of the Year category.
Hayley Douglas, Assistant Director for Communication and Engagement and the service’s menopause champion, was individually recognised and awarded with the Carolyn Lazarus award for Best Individual Contribution. The award is an accolade given to an individual who has made a significant impact on changing the way people think about and feel about menopause in or out of the workplace.
Upon receiving her reward, Hayley said: “I am so incredibly proud and humbled to have won the individual best contribution award surrounded on the day by so many other committed individuals, passionate about driving change in their own organisations to support those going through menopause.
“Winning these awards validates all the work we have done over the past few years to understand the impact of menopause symptoms on the many different roles people do in our fire service and to ensure the right support is in place. Our workplace is now somewhere that conversations about menopause and the impact of symptoms can be had without embarrassment or fear of being treated differently. We know we have more to do but to have our work to date recognised and celebrated in this way is fantastic.”
The service introduced mandatory awareness training for all colleagues, updated guidance on menopause, introduced risk assessments to support workplace adjustments and put up posters promoting common symptoms. It has also improved toilet and welfare provisions for firefighters at incidents and ensured period protection packs are available in all toilet cubicles and on fire engines.
Chief Fire Officer Matthew Warren praised Hayley alongside colleagues in the service for these achievements. He said: “The work that Hayley has done over the past few years to improve our support for those going through menopause and make the subject of menopause in our workplace something that everyone feels more comfortable to speak openly about is amazing.”
Hayley also instigated and supported a national conference on menopause for fire and rescue service colleagues across the UK run by the National Fire Chief’s Council, which ran for a third year last month with over 100 delegates.
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