It comes as City law firm Shoosmiths is also preparing to roll out similar “wellness rooms” to provide quiet and comfortable spaces for menopausal women.
The rooms were first introduced in Shoosmiths’ Birmingham office last year when the firm relocated to 103 Colmore Row, the city’s tallest office building.
The rooms feature temperature controls, light boxes and beds for employees to lie down.
Alex Bishop, partner and head of Shoosmiths’ Birmingham office, said: “We particularly had some menopausal women saying, ‘I’d really like a space that I could have a lie down after lunch because I tend to get a headache, I tend to get really light sensitive’.
“That got us thinking in a completely different way from perhaps the more obvious diversity and inclusion needs.”
Shoosmiths is now seeking to introduce these so-called wellness rooms across its offices as part of planned refurbishments.
The firm has 1,500 employees across 14 offices and is known for advising Mercedes-Benz, Marston’s and Travelodge, plus a number of FTSE 250 companies.
It follows new guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission that said that menopause symptoms can be considered a disability in the workplace and employers could be sued if they do not make reasonable adjustments.
The watchdog also warned companies in February that they risk breaking discrimination laws if they do not allow menopausal women to wear cooler clothes in the office and work from home on hot days.
It added that women experiencing hot flushes should be given access to fans on their desks and allowed to start work late if they have slept badly.
