Menopause can affect concentration, sleep, temperature regulation, confidence, attendance and the ability to work comfortably, but no two people will need the same support. A manager's job is not to diagnose symptoms or make assumptions based on age. It is to create a safe route for a private conversation, understand the effect on work and agree proportionate steps that are actually reviewed. This guide sets out the current position for employers in Great Britain and clearly separates today's duties from the action-plan requirement expected for larger employers in 2027.
Start with the individual, not a standard list
Do not wait for an employee to use the word menopause before offering a confidential conversation. A change in attendance, concentration, confidence or performance may have many explanations. Ask an open question about whether anything at work is contributing and what support may help, without pressing for unnecessary medical detail.
Offer a private setting and let the employee choose whether they would prefer to speak with a different manager, HR contact or wellbeing champion. Explain who needs to know about an agreed change. The supervisor may need practical instructions, but they will rarely need a diagnosis or full account of symptoms.
Record the agreed action, owner and review date. Symptoms and needs can change through perimenopause, menopause and postmenopause, so an arrangement that works this month may need revisiting. Keep the conversation respectful and inclusive: people can experience menopause at different ages and for different reasons, including medical or surgical treatment.
Related guide: practical manager checklist for employee health conditions →
Understand what the Equality Act does and does not say
Menopause is not a separate protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. That does not leave the issue outside equality law. Treatment connected with menopause symptoms can amount to discrimination, harassment or victimisation where it relates to an existing protected characteristic, particularly disability, age or sex.
Symptoms may meet the legal definition of disability if they have a substantial and long-term adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities. When that test is met, the employer has a duty to make reasonable adjustments and must avoid discrimination arising from disability. Do not require the employee to present a particular label before considering support; address the disadvantage and obtain occupational-health advice where the effect or adjustment is unclear.
Age-related remarks, jokes about hot flushes or dismissing symptoms as a women's issue can also create discrimination or harassment risk. Apply standards consistently to employees, workers and managers, and act when inappropriate conduct is reported rather than treating it as harmless workplace banter.
Equality Act 2010 ↗ · EHRC: menopause in the workplace guidance ↗
Choose adjustments that fit the job
Useful adjustments depend on the work and the symptom. Options can include flexible start and finish times after disrupted sleep, additional or differently timed breaks, easier access to toilets and cold drinking water, a private rest area, a desk or workstation with better temperature control, a temporary change to duties, or home working where the role genuinely permits it.
Look at uniform and PPE as well as office conditions. A heavy, close-fitting or non-breathable uniform may worsen discomfort, but any alternative still has to provide the protection the risk assessment requires. In a Teesside workshop, care setting or hospitality venue, the workable answer may be a different approved fabric, extra uniform allocation, planned cover for short breaks and access to a cooler recovery space—not simply issuing a desk fan.
Agree what will happen operationally, not just the principle. Tell the relevant supervisor how breaks or shift changes will be managed, set a review date and check whether the measure works. If a longer-term change to hours or location is requested, consider whether it should also be handled through the statutory flexible-working process.
Related guide: rest breaks at work → · Related guide: workplace temperature law → · Related guide: flexible working requests →
Give managers a clear process for agreeing support.
HR + SAFETY can help assess the employment and workplace issues, document proportionate adjustments and give managers a practical review structure.
Discuss menopause support at workHandle absence and performance without losing context
Acas recommends handling menopause-related absence sensitively and recording it separately from other sickness absence because applying an ordinary trigger without context could be unfair or discriminatory. That does not mean attendance cannot be managed. It means reviewing the reason, considering adjustments and avoiding an automated warning that ignores a possible disability-related absence.
The same applies to performance. Before starting a formal process, establish the expected standard, identify the specific shortfall, ask whether health or workplace conditions are contributing, and consider whether an adjustment or reasonable period of support could remove the problem. Keep expectations clear while allowing agreed measures time to work.
There is no general statutory right to time off for a menopause-related medical appointment. Check the employment contract and relevant policies, then consider a reasonable and consistent approach. A rigid refusal may undermine an adjustment or make a health issue harder to manage.
Related guide: occupational health referrals → · Related guide: performance improvement plans →
Connect HR support with workplace risk assessment
A general workplace risk assessment should consider conditions that could aggravate symptoms, including heat, poor ventilation, restricted toilet access, unsuitable rest arrangements, long or inflexible shifts and uncomfortable clothing. Where one person's needs are not adequately covered, complete a proportionate individual assessment with them and feed the agreed controls into the relevant workplace arrangements.
Do not create a medical questionnaire disguised as a risk assessment. Focus on the work, the reported effect and the control. Facilities may own ventilation or drinking-water actions, while HR and the line manager own working arrangements and confidentiality. Record who will do what and revisit it when the job, symptoms or workplace changes.
Know what changes for large employers in 2027
In 2026, employers with 250 or more employees can voluntarily publish an action plan alongside gender pay gap information, covering steps to address the pay gap and support employees experiencing menopause. Current government guidance says publication is expected to become mandatory from spring 2027, subject to secondary legislation.
That future requirement is not a current reporting duty for small employers. SMEs can still use the same practical themes—manager training, workplace adjustments, occupational-health access, policy review and measurement—without building a disproportionate reporting process. Check the final legislation and commencement details before treating the 2027 timetable as settled.
Menopause at work checklist
- Give workers a confidential route to speak with a trained manager, HR contact or alternative contact.
- Ask what effect the workplace or job is having instead of assuming what the person needs.
- Consider disability, age and sex discrimination risks before making absence or performance decisions.
- Agree specific adjustments, responsibility and a review date in writing.
- Check temperature, ventilation, water, toilets, rest space, uniform, shifts and break arrangements.
- Use occupational-health advice where functional effects or safe adjustments are unclear.
- Address jokes, intrusive comments and dismissive conduct promptly.
- For employers with 250+ staff, distinguish the voluntary 2026 action-plan regime from the expected 2027 duty.
Good menopause support is ordinary management done properly: listen privately, identify the work-related disadvantage, make sensible changes and review whether they work. Keep equality, absence, performance and health-and-safety decisions connected so the employee does not have to retell the same issue to several disconnected processes.
This guide provides general information for UK employers. It is not legal advice and should not replace advice based on the facts of a specific matter.