My legal life: Michael Kerrigan, Debenhams Ottaway

I was drawn to the law at a young age because I enjoyed debating and trying to understand things from each side of an argument. My mother remembers me announcing that I wanted to be a lawyer at the age of seven or eight. This was surprising as most of my family are involved in the construction industry so the law was not a traditional pathway.

I was drawn to employment because it is an interesting, unique area where you often have to see things from both sides regardless of whether you are acting for the employer or employee. Although I now concentrate mostly on employer-led work, one of my earliest cases involved negotiating a settlement for a client who had been dismissed in a very heavy-handed way shortly after giving birth to a stillborn child. Securing an enhanced settlement for her – and for other employees who have been badly treated – was very rewarding.

When I act for employers I always take an ethical approach. So while the aim is to protect clients from legal claims, I always advise employers to follow best practice when it comes to employment law. In the long run this will bring them commercial success by reducing staff turnover and reputational risk, as well as saving on legal fees. This is also a rewarding aspect of my work as an employment lawyer.

After a law degree, I worked as a paralegal at a London firm before securing a training contract with Debenhams Ottaway in 2007. I’ve been with the firm ever since. I qualified into the employment team, which was new, so I’ve grown with the firm and seen employment become a well-established practice area serving clients locally in Hertfordshire but also in London and across the south-east.

I was drawn to the issue of menopause after the topic emerged in the mainstream media thanks to female celebrities such as Davina McCall. I found it shocking that women were being forced to leave their employment because of a lack of support. For example, GPs have mandatory training around pregnancy but not, I believe, around menopause even though the latter will affect all women. In the same way, although employers will have workplace policies covering all sorts of issues, menopause is rarely covered even though it will affect most female employees at some point. This seemed crazy.

'It never occurred to me that it might be seen as unusual for a man to champion menopause rights in the workplace. I simply see it as an issue which affects my employer and employee clients'

Last year I conducted a survey with Hertfordshire CIPD (a group of local HR professionals) on menopause in the workplace. It revealed that over 40% of employers were aware that female employees faced difficulties or had even resigned because of menopause. Furthermore, although almost 80% of respondents who had implemented measures to support women going through menopause felt they had had a positive impact, only 25% of respondents had a workplace menopause policy. So, although the issue is more mainstream and women are prepared to talk about their struggles with menopause and their rights, employers are lagging in terms of offering adequate support which means the risk of legal claims is heightened. Clearly a lot more needs be done.

It never occurred to me that it might be seen as unusual for a man to champion menopause rights in the workplace. I simply see it as an issue which affects my employer and employee clients. It  was only when I started speaking at events, particularly high-profile ones such as AllBright’s ‘Changing the Face of Menopause at Work’ campaign in partnership with No7, that I realised the audience might have expected a female spokesperson. But the response has been overwhelmingly positive. I think people find it refreshing and valuable because I see things from the male perspective.

I’m able to emphasise how important it is for employers to take the issue seriously and to make a proper commitment – it should never be seen as just a box-ticking exercise. Employers need to undertake all-staff training and appoint menopause champions. While menopause may only happen to women, I don’t see it as a uniquely female issue in the sense that colleagues, partners and wider family will be impacted if someone is having debilitating symptoms. Training will help employees understand the issue and to be able to support people inside and outside of work.