How can employers provide menopause support at work?

Employers can support menopause at work by creating an environment where employees know how to access help, managers understand how to respond, and working arrangements can adapt when menopausal symptoms affect someone at work. The strongest approach is proactive: put the right systems in place before an employee reaches the point of struggling, needing time away from work or raising a formal concern.

Effective menopause support at work is not about introducing one standard solution for everyone. Menopause and perimenopause can affect people in very different ways. During the menopause transition, hot flushes, disrupted sleep, fatigue, anxiety, low mood, changes to mental health and brain fog may affect working life for some employees, while others may need little or no workplace support.

Employers should therefore build a clear framework that gives line managers useful options and gives employees confidence that support will be considered on an individual basis. This can include considering reasonable adjustments, flexible working, occupational health services, manager training, menopause champions, appropriate policies and regular feedback from employees.

At a glance: How can employers support menopause at work?

Build a workplace where employees can speak openly about menopause

Employers can make it easier for employees experiencing menopause to seek support by establishing clear, professional routes for discussing health and wellbeing at work.

This does not mean managers should make assumptions about an employee's age or symptoms. Employers should create an environment in which employees know that they can raise perimenopause/menopause symptoms and concerns if and when they choose to do so.

Practical steps include:

• Making information about menopause support easy to find.
• Providing employees an alternative contact if they do not feel comfortable talking to their direct manager.
• Train managers to understand that health information should be handled confidentially.
• Including women’s health and menopause in relevant wellbeing or equality communications without singling out individual employees.
• Making clear that support is available during perimenopause, menopause and early menopause.

An open culture can help remove menopause as a taboo subject, but employers should respect that some employees will regard it as private health information. The aim is to make conversations possible, not compulsory.

Where an employee has already said that menopausal symptoms are making work difficult, the focus moves from general support to an individual response.

Train line managers to provide consistent menopause support

Line managers are often the first people employees approach when they need a workplace change. Training therefore plays an important part in making menopause support consistent across an organisation.

Managers do not need to become medical experts. They should understand enough to know what the organisation offers, how menopause symptoms can affect working lives and when another form of support may be appropriate, so they can escalate the matter if needed with the employee’s consent.

 Training should help managers to:

• Understand common menopausal symptoms and that experiences vary considerably.
• Carry out sensitive, professional conversations without making assumptions.
• Explain the support and resources available within the organisation.
• Understand how flexible working and reasonable adjustments may help.
• Know when HR or specialist workplace health support should become involved.
• Maintain confidentiality.
• Review agreed support rather than assuming one conversation has resolved the issue.

Consistency matters. Employees should not receive a completely different level of support depending on the knowledge or confidence of an individual manager.

The government's 2026 guidance identifies manager training as one of the evidence-informed actions employers can use to support employees experiencing menopause. Read the government's action plan guidance.

JMW also provides in-house employment law training for employers and managers.

Review the workplace environment and carry out risk assessments

The physical workplace can make some menopause symptoms easier or harder to manage. Employers should consider whether their working environment creates avoidable barriers for employees experiencing symptoms.

For example, hot flushes may be harder to manage in a poorly ventilated workplace. Fatigue can be more difficult where employees have little opportunity to take regular breaks. Restrictive uniforms or limited access to toilets, cold drinking water or rest areas may also affect someone's comfort at work.

A menopause-focused risk assessment can help an employer review these issues systematically. The government's current guidance recommends considering how the workplace and ways of working may exacerbate menopausal symptoms. Read the government guidance on menopause risk assessments.

Depending on the workplace, employers may want to consider:

• Temperature control and ventilation
• Access to cold drinking water
• Toilets and washing facilities
• Uniforms, personal protective equipment or dress requirements
• Access to a quiet or private rest area
• Workstation location and equipment
• Shift patterns and opportunities for regular breaks
• Working arrangements for employees based at home or across multiple sites

Risk assessments should ideally lead to action where appropriate. Their purpose is not simply to demonstrate that menopause has been considered, but to identify practical changes if possible that could improve the workplace environment.

Consider flexible working and practical menopause adjustments at work

Practical reasonable adjustments can help employees manage menopausal symptoms while continuing to work effectively. What is appropriate will depend on the individual person's symptoms, role and workplace.

Employers should avoid relying on a fixed offering of reasonable adjustments for menopause symptoms. Instead, employers should have enough flexibility to consider what could remove or reduce the actual workplace difficulty.

The government's 2026 guidance on workplace adjustments for employees experiencing menopause gives examples including flexible working hours, private rest areas, specialist health advice and changes to temperature and ventilation.

It is also important to distinguish good workplace practice from a legal duty. Menopause itself is not a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. However, where menopausal symptoms meet the legal definition of disability, the employer may have a duty to make reasonable adjustments and should be alert to the risk of disability discrimination.

Our guide to menopause at work and employers' legal responsibilities explains the Equality Act position in more detail. You can also take a look at the example case of Rooney v Leicester City Centre Council, in which the case was successfully made that menopause symptoms were sufficient to act as grounds for a disability discrimination claim.

Make occupational health support accessible

Occupational health services can provide specialist workplace advice where an employee's symptoms or support needs require closer assessment.

An occupational health professional can help employers understand how health is affecting an employee's work and suggest reasonable adjustments that may reduce workplace barriers. This can be particularly useful where symptoms fluctuate, where several changes may be needed or where managers need guidance on how long an reasonable adjustment should remain in place.

Specialist workplace health advice can support decision-making, but it does not replace it. An employer should consider the occupational health advice alongside the employee's own experience, the requirements of the role and the employer’s own legal responsibilities.

Employers should also make sure employees know this support exists and understand how to access it.

The government identifies occupational health advice as one of its recommended actions for employers supporting menopause. Read the government guidance on occupational health and menopause.

Where appropriate, organisations can also signpost Employee Assistance Programmes or external support organisations, including services that can support mental health and wellbeing, while keeping workplace support separate from medical advice or treatment decisions.

Consider menopause champions and employee support networks

Menopause champions and internal networks can provide another route to support, particularly in larger organisations where employees may not always want to approach their line manager first.

A menopause champion could help by:

• Signposting employees to workplace resources
• Supporting awareness activity
• Sharing information about internal policies and support routes
• Feeding recurring workplace issues back to HR or leadership
• Helping the organisation understand where employees experience barriers

Peer networks or employee groups can also provide a space for colleagues to share experiences and practical workplace ideas. They can give employers useful insight into what support employees value and where existing arrangements are not working as intended.

Champions and networks should supplement formal support rather than replace it. Menopause champions cannot diagnose symptoms, provide medical advice or take on the role of HR, and therefore clear guidance on their parameters is also important..

Government guidance includes setting up menopause support groups and networks among the actions organisations can take as part of their wider approach to supporting employees experiencing menopause. See the government's list of menopause actions.

Review workplace policies so support works consistently

A menopause policy can make support easier to understand. Ideally, employers should also look at the wider set of workplace policies employees and managers will use in practice.

Relevant policies may include:

• Flexible working
• Equality, diversity and inclusion
• Health and safety
• Absence management
• Wellbeing and workplace health support
• Performance management and capability
• Leave and time off

The aim is consistency. For example, there is little value in encouraging employees to speak openly about menopause if managers cannot identify what workplace reasonable adjustments might be available, or if related procedures do not give them room to consider individual circumstances.

Employers should decide whether they need a standalone menopause policy or whether menopause can be addressed effectively through existing policies and guidance. Whichever model they choose, staff should be able to understand what support is available and how to request it.

The government recommends reviewing policies and procedures to make sure they meet the needs of employees experiencing menopause. JMW's employment policies and procedures solicitors advise businesses on drafting and implementing workplace policies.

Ask employees what menopause support they actually need

Employers should not design menopause support entirely around assumptions about those going through menopause are likely to need. Employee feedback can reveal workplace barriers that senior leaders or HR teams would not otherwise identify.

Organisations can gather feedback through:

• Anonymous staff surveys
• Employee networks or focus groups
• Menopause champions
• Existing engagement surveys
• HR data about recurring requests for adjustments or support
• Follow-up feedback after new initiatives or training

Questions should focus on the workplace rather than asking employees to disclose unnecessary health details. For example, an employer could ask whether employees know where to find support, whether managers are approachable, whether workplace facilities create problems and whether the organisation's policies are clear.

This also helps employers avoid investing in resources that look positive on paper but do not address the specific needs of their workforce.

For employers with 250 or more employees, understanding issues within the organisation is also the first stage of the government's voluntary menopause action-plan process. These action plans are expected to become mandatory from spring 2027, subject to secondary legislation.

What if an employee is already struggling or taking time off?

A proactive framework gives managers and HR teams somewhere to start, but an employer will need a more individual response once an employee says menopause symptoms are affecting their ability to work. At that stage, the focus should be on understanding the specific issue and agreeing appropriate next steps rather than simply referring the employee back to a general menopause policy.

Where menopause-related symptoms have already resulted in sickness absence, employers also need to consider absence management, contact during absence, return-to-work arrangements and any relevant reasonable adjustments. Those issues require a different process from the proactive measures covered in this guide.