Supporting menopause at work: from legal duties to practical action

16 Oct 2026 · @kevin-miller

World Menopause Awareness Day falls on Sunday, 18 October. Much of what you will read this week is aimed at large employers and the equality action plans arriving in 2027. If you employ fewer than 250 people, that requirement will not apply to you.

This guide is for you anyway, because menopause is already affecting your business, whether or not the law asks you to write a plan about it. We have kept it practical: the people side first, the legal duties second, and the 2027 deadline last, for the readers it applies to.

Why this is important to your business

Menopause typically affects women between 45 and 55, and perimenopause can begin in the early 40s. Think about who that is in your business. Very often it is your most experienced people: the ones who know the customers, hold the process in their heads and train everyone else.

When someone in that group reduces their hours or leaves because work has become unmanageable, you lose far more than a headcount. You lose the knowledge, the relationships and the steadiness that a small business runs on.

The numbers suggest that is exactly what is happening. Research cited by the British Standards Institution found that only 38% of UK employees who have experienced menopause, perimenopause or menstrual health challenges feel confident their employer would help them find a solution. Nearly half, 49%, said their employer offered no support at all.

There is a legal risk too, and it is worth being concrete about it. In Rooney v Leicester City Council (2021), the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that the original tribunal had been wrong to conclude that the claimant’s severe menopausal symptoms did not amount to a disability. The case confirmed that severe menopausal symptoms may amount to a disability under the Equality Act 2010.

In Lynskey v Direct Line Insurance Services Ltd, the tribunal awarded £64,645 in 2023 after finding disability discrimination, including failures around reasonable adjustments and the management of performance and absence.

The practical point is that the risk rarely comes from unusual or exceptional claims. It arises through everyday performance, absence and capability decisions, made by managers who did not know, did not ask, or did not think it was their place to ask.

What menopause can look like at work

Symptoms vary enormously. Hot flushes and night sweats are the ones people know about. Less visible, and often harder at work, are disturbed sleep, tiredness, anxiety, low mood, difficulty concentrating, headaches and changes to menstrual patterns.

Someone who was sharp and confident can start to doubt themselves. That is often the first thing a manager notices, without knowing why.

The workplace can make symptoms worse. Hot or poorly ventilated rooms, uniforms that do not breathe, limited access to toilets or drinking water, rigid start times and a management style that treats every dip in output as a performance issue all add to the load.

It is also not only a ‘women over 45’ issue. Surgical and medical menopause can happen much earlier. Trans and non-binary colleagues may be affected. And partners and colleagues of someone going through it will cope better if they understand what is happening.

The simplest people-first step is to assume it is already present in your workforce and plan accordingly.

Start with the conversation

Every piece of guidance says the same thing: train your managers. What it rarely says is what a good conversation sounds like. Here is the shape of one.

Open it gently and privately. Something like: “I’ve noticed you’ve seemed under more pressure lately. I’m not here to assess anything; I just want to check how you’re doing and whether there’s anything at work that would help.” Then let them decide how much to say.

Ask about work, not medical detail. You do not need a diagnosis and you should not ask for one. Useful questions are: what makes a bad day worse, what helps, what would make a difference tomorrow, and is there anyone you would rather have this conversation with.

Avoid the obvious traps. Do not joke, do not assume capability or commitment has changed, and do not promise what you cannot deliver. Agree what you will try, write it down in a short support plan, and set a date to review it.

Know when to bring in help. If symptoms are affecting attendance or performance and you are unsure what to do, occupational health advice is the sensible next step, with the employee’s agreement.

A word for male managers in particular: many assume they are not allowed to raise it. You are. Raising it with care is part of the job, and most people would far rather be asked than quietly managed out.

Keep it confidential

Anything shared in a welfare conversation about menopause is health information. Under UK GDPR it is special category data, which means you need a lawful basis for holding it, a clear reason to keep it and proper security around it.

In practice: keep the support plan separate from the general HR file, limit who can see it, do not share it with the wider team without the employee’s agreement, and do not keep more than you need.

If you would struggle to say where that information lives in your business today, that is the first thing to fix.

Adjustments that actually help

Most useful adjustments are cheap or free, and you can offer them without waiting for anyone to meet a legal threshold.

• Flexibility on start and finish times, particularly after a bad night
• A cooler or better-ventilated place to work, or a desk fan
• Easy access to toilets, washing facilities and cold drinking water
• Relaxed or breathable uniform options
• Extra short breaks
• Temporary changes to duties, such as fewer customer-facing hours during a difficult spell
• Home or hybrid working where the role allows

Flexible working deserves a special mention because it already has a legal process attached. Since April 2024 every employee has had the right to request flexible working from their first day. They can make two requests in any twelve months and must receive a decision within two months, with a consultation before any refusal.

For many people, a sensible flexible working arrangement is the single most effective adjustment there is.

What not to do

Do not demand a diagnosis or a doctor’s letter before offering support. Do not build a twelve-page policy that nobody reads. Do not medicalise it: most people want a bit of understanding and a few practical changes, not a case file.

Do not leave it to one enthusiastic champion with no backing from the top. And do not wait for a problem.

A one-page statement of how you will handle it, plus managers who are willing to ask, beats a policy in a drawer every time.

Your legal duties in plain English

There is no standalone menopause law. The duties come from existing legislation, and they bite in three places.

Equality Act 2010. Menopausal symptoms can amount to a disability where they have a substantial, long-term adverse effect on someone’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. That depends on the individual, not on the word ‘menopause’. Where the threshold is met, you must not discriminate, harass or victimise because of it, and you must consider reasonable adjustments. The safe approach is not to wait for the threshold: a conversation and a support plan is good practice either way.

Health and safety. You already have a duty to assess workplace risks and take reasonably practicable steps to protect people’s health, safety and welfare. A menopause risk assessment, or adding menopause to your existing assessments, will usually surface the heat, ventilation, uniform and facilities issues described above.

Fair procedures. Absence and performance processes must be applied fairly, taking menopause into account. If symptoms may be affecting attendance or performance, talk to the person first and take medical advice where appropriate before you reach for the capability procedure. This is where most claims start.

The guidance worth knowing

ACAS updated its menopause at work guidance on 7 April 2026. It covers managing menopause, supporting and talking with workers, and discrimination. It recommends an open environment, trained managers, a policy, health and safety checks, appropriate absence management and, where it suits the organisation, menopause champions and confidential support networks.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission published guidance in February 2024 setting out employers’ obligations under the Equality Act and the duty to carry out suitable workplace risk assessments.

In September 2026, BSI and ISO published BS ISO 45010, Occupational health and safety management – Menstruation and menopause in the workplace. It is a practical framework covering culture, policies, manager training, workplace and job design, inclusivity, measurement and adjustments, and it includes specific guidance for small and medium-sized businesses.

If you employ 250 or more people

The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces mandatory equality action plans for employers with 250 or more employees, linked to gender pay gap reporting. Plans are voluntary for the 2026 to 2027 reporting year and the Government intends them to become mandatory from spring 2027. Current guidance gives deadlines of 30 March 2027 for most public authorities and 4 April 2027 for private and voluntary sector employers.

Each plan must include at least one action to narrow the gender pay gap and at least one action supporting employees experiencing menopause. The Government’s recommended actions include manager training, access to occupational health advice, confidential support networks, menopause risk assessments, individual adjustments and a review of existing policies.

Once mandatory, plans are reviewed annually, with interim reviews after one and two years and a fuller review after three.

Smaller employers are not caught by this, but the Government’s guidance is written for everyone, and the recommended actions make a sensible checklist whatever your size.

A practical starter kit

You do not need all of this on day one. Pick the first two and build from there.

Where to start

A few questions to ask yourself this week.

• Could your managers hold the conversation described above tomorrow?
• Do you know where a welfare note about an employee’s health would be stored?
• When did someone last check the temperature, ventilation and facilities in your workplace with this in mind?
• And if one of your most experienced people told you they were struggling, what would you offer?

If the honest answer to any of those is ‘not sure’, that is a good place to begin. Done properly, supporting menopause is not a separate project. It becomes part of how you manage absence, performance, flexibility and dignity at work, and it is one of the simplest ways to show your people that HR done the human way means something.

Talk to us if you would like help with any of this

Whether you want a second opinion on one conversation or a complete set of menopause documents written for a business your size, there are two ways to start.

Book a conversation. A short, no-obligation call with one of the Apex HR team about what support would look like in your business: apexhr.co.uk/contact.

Ready-made templates. Menopause policy and letter templates, plus manager guides, written for small and medium-sized businesses rather than cut down from corporate templates. Available through Apex HR Essentials.