We’re really excited to share the news that our Menopause Policy is now live internally at Oddbox

It’s not a legal or statutory requirement for us to have a Menopause Policy and a lot of businesses of our size (& some much larger ones) don’t. So why is it important to us?

In all of our surveys, team members have consistently told us that they want to and are proud to be part of a progressive, inclusive and diverse business where everyone is welcome.

Start Ups and Scaling businesses are often stereotyped as workplaces only for younger people and are often thought to have lots more men working in them than women. But at Oddbox we know that’s not the case. Our ED&I survey in 2021 showed us that we have folk of all ages working here and that 62% of our team are women.

We also know that one of the keys to our success is our diversity and that having more diversity in as many areas as possible will make us a stronger and more successful business. The menopause can happen at any time and affects every person differently so it’s important that we have the policy in place to support our team members whether they need it now or in 5 years or in 35 years; and that we can show people who might work for Oddbox in the future that we’re not just all talk and no action.

It’s very likely that all of us will either go through the menopause or will manage or be in a team with someone who will have this experience or maybe both. Understanding how the menopause can impact someone’s life and how we can all support them if and when it does means that we continue to be a workplace that is mindful and inclusive of everyone.

This policy isn’t a list of rules or regulations and as our business changes, like with all of our policies, we’ll review and adjust it when and if we need to.

When creating our policies we always try to take as progressive a view as possible doing what feels right for everyone at Oddbox not just what other businesses are doing. The next policy we’ll be looking at will be a Parental Loss policy that will aim to support our colleagues through the unimaginable; where we want to do more than what the current statutory and employment laws require and provide for. We hope we won’t ever need it, but we want to make sure that it’s there just in case. If you would like to know more about our process or feel you have something to contribute, please do let us know.

We couldn’t have written this policy with the help and support of members of our ED&I Panel who gave feedback, shared their views and directly influenced the content of this policy. We’ll continue to ask the ED&I panel to be involved in our policy creation as an important representation and voice for everyone and as many experiences as possible at Oddbox.