ESS, part of Compass Group UK & Ireland, has held a menopause awareness event for colleagues, clients and industry partners. The event, which aligned with Menopause Awareness Month and anticipated World Menopause Day on 18th October, aimed to raise awareness and provide practical advice on how to support those affected by menopause. It was hosted by ESS’ training provider, 3t, at its state-of-the-art training centre based in Dyce.
The event featured a diverse panel of experts and stakeholders who led an engaging and insightful discussion on various menopause-related topics. The initiative stemmed from a request by ESS colleagues through the company's engagement forum, seeking information and advice to better support team members, family and friends navigating menopause.
65 attendees joined the session which explored the challenges that menopausal and perimenopausal women and their family, friends and colleagues can face, the potential impacts of these in the workplace and helpful support strategies for everyone affected by menopause.
The panel included Allan Errington, Head of HSSE – ESS; Gillian Simpson, Lead Programme Delivery Manager – Step Change in Safety; Irene Bruce, Head of ESA, Employment & Skills – OEUK; Dr Laura Wyness, Registered Nutritionist; Jennifer McGroarty, Head of HR – ESS and Shauna Wright, Regional Officer for Unite the Union. The event was chaired by Ronnie Kelman, Managing Director – ESS Energy, Government & Infrastructure.
A highlight of the day was a nutrition session delivered by Dr Laura Wyness, Registered Nutritionist and author of Eating Well for Menopause, who shared her expert insights on dietary strategies for menopause. ESS chefs prepared several of her recipes, giving guests the opportunity to sample nutritious recipes that support menopausal health.
The event is part of a broader campaign being led by ESS’ Energy business to raise menopause awareness across the traditionally male-dominated energy sector. Many workers live offshore for weeks at a time and the request for support from ESS’ teams has been embraced as a great opportunity to promote menopause awareness. Other initiatives in place include line manager information sessions and a menopause-friendly menu competition for ESS’ unit teams to develop their own recipes throughout the month.
Dr Laura Wyness, Registered Nutritionist and author of Eating Well for Menopause, commented:
“Nutrition plays an important role in managing menopausal symptoms and supporting health during this life stage. It was great to see the chefs’ enthusiasm for making beneficial menu tweaks and the interest from the audience to learn more about key nutrients and how your diet can support health and wellbeing around menopause.”
Irene Bruce, Head of ESA Employment and Skills at OEUK, commented:
“This event to raise awareness of the menopause was an invaluable opportunity to share experiences. Well done to ESS and their colleague engagement forum for providing an environment where we feel free to ask questions that enable us to continue to learn more and understand each other better. As someone currently living through the menopause, I can relate to the challenges and I’m keen to help broaden understanding of where help and support is available. I believe the chance to speak openly about the menopause, without fear or embarrassment, is a good thing and every day is an opportunity for us to learn more.”
David Newbigging, Senior Key Account Manager at 3t, commented:
“We’re proud to host this important event for ESS - a highly-valued customer of 3t - at our Dyce training facility, providing a platform for open dialogue and awareness around menopause. As a centre for learning and development, we believe in fostering education on topics that impact the wellbeing of our industry’s workforce, and this event is a perfect example of that commitment.”
Ronnie Kelman, Managing Director – ESS Energy, Government & Infrastructure, added:
“When our teams identified menopause awareness as an area where they would like some support, we were keen to maximise the opportunity. As we learned in today’s event, NHS data shows that around 13 million women in the UK are currently menopausal or perimenopausal and almost eight out of ten menopausal women are in work. These are important conversations and today’s event is just the start of our programme of initiatives to equip our team members, whether they are going through menopause themselves or have colleagues, family members or friends who are.”
