Women over 50 are the fastest growing section 1 of the UK workforce. They are often in senior positions, with years of valuable experience behind them.
Supporting them through the menopause can help businesses retain key talent, protect productivity and continuity, boost staff engagement, and support Equality and Diversity goals.
The menopause in numbers
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- 13 million 2 – the number of women in the UK who are currently perimenopausal or menopausal
- 51 – the average age women through menopause in the UK
- 80-90% 3 of women in menopause will experience symptoms, with 25% describing them as severe
- 4.6 million 4 women aged 50 to 64 are employed in the UK
- 7 years 5 – Menopausal symptoms or perimenopause lasts on average for more than 7 years, before a woman’s periods totally end
- 1/3 6 of women experience long term menopausal symptoms – over the 7 year average
- >34 7 – the number of menopausal symptoms women can get, ranging from night sweats to concentration issues, joint pain, insomnia, vaginal dryness, headaches, itchy skin, irritability, heart palpitations, urinary and digestive problems
- Up to 10 8 – the number of times women have visit their GP before receiving adequate help or advice
- 67% 9 of women (aged 40 to 60 in employment) with experience of menopausal symptoms say they have had a mostly negative effect on them at work
- 53% 10 were able to think of a time when they were unable to go into work due to their menopause symptoms.
- 44% 11 12 of women said their ability to do their job had been affected by their symptoms, 61% had lost motivation, 52% had lost confidence
- 14 million working days 13 are lost each year, due to the menopause.
What does the law say about the menopause?
The menopause is covered under the Equality Act 2010 under sex, gender and disability discrimination, and is at the centre of an increasing number of UK employment tribunals.
In July 2021 the Minister for Social Mobility, Youth and Progression asked members of the roundtable on older workers to look at menopause and employment. The subsequent report and Government acceptance 14 underlined the importance of menopause support at work, leading to the Women in the Workplace 15 inquiry and corresponding policy paper 16 in 2022.
Menopause also features in the Government’s Women’s Health Strategy 17 for England, published in August 2022. In October 2025 18 the Government announced the Women’s Health Strategy would be renewed 19 in a drive to improve access and tackle inequalities. That included a pledge to include menopause questions in the NHS health checks 20 , to help millions of women get the care they need.
What can businesses do about the menopause?
Here’s five things your organisation can do now:
1. Start talking about the menopause
If your organisation isn’t already talking about the menopause, it’s time to start. That might look like pulling together a committee of colleagues who can begin to think through what your menopause policies should look like.
2. Raise awareness
Raising awareness and educating people about the menopause is essential in bringing it out into the open. It might be you create a wellbeing campaign around Menopause Awareness Day in October, pull together articles for your intranet, or create your own menopause in the workplace resources.
3. Invest in training and accreditation
It’s really important to make sure your HR team and line managers throughout your business understand the menopause, know how to talk about it, and know what options are available to help women manage symptoms in the workplace.
There’s great advice from CIPD 21 (the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) on how to start conversations, how to undertake risk assessments, make practical accommodations that can help create a menopause-positive work environment, and how to manage performance and support people to thrive at work.
Meanwhile, menopause in the workplace leader Henpicked 22 have CPD accredited menopause training tailored for managers, HR professionals and colleagues, best practice toolkits and tools that can help you with awareness raising.
4. Develop and standardise menopause accommodations
Small changes can make a really big difference to people. That might be agreeing flexible working or increased breaks for women experiencing heavy periods due to the menopause, providing sanitary products in bathrooms, or providing fans, alternative uniform options or cooler working spaces for those suffering from hot flushes.
Other accommodations might include changes to working hours, tasks or duties, time off for medical appointments, or organising a stress risk assessment.
5. Remind people about their Equipsme plan
Typically, private medical insurance doesn’t cover the ongoing management of menopause symptoms, but there are ways Equipsme can support women in your organisation struggling with symptoms.
How Equipsme supports menopause
1. Blood tests
One way to establish whether or not hormone levels indicate that menopause is through a blood test. They’re not always 100% accurate as hormone levels change throughout the month, but they can be a useful diagnosis tool to indicate when there might be changes and why.
All Equipsme members have access to blood tests and health checks through our partners at Thriva. That includes a discount off a female hormone blood test, which checks things like oestradiol levels (a type of oestrogen), testosterone, luteinising hormone (LH), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels. It also checks thyroid function, which can also cause hormonal imbalances.
Member information: Find out more about health checks
2. GP Service
If someone is struggling to get in to see their NHS GP, or they’re not getting the support they need, they can contact the Equipsme GP service, provided by Health Hero. Virtual GPs can’t do blood tests or physical examinations, but they can help people discuss symptoms thoroughly and get a plan together for next steps.
Member information: Find out more about the GP service
3. Referrals
If someone is having gynaecological issues related to the menopause, those with diagnosis as part of their plan can get an open referral to see a specialist (if the GP recommends this as the next step). The referral can be from an NHS GP or the Equipsme Health Hero GP service, and can be submitted to AXA Health for them to assess whether the claim is covered, and if they’re suitable to go through to a specialist Menopause Pathway.
While members still can’t use Equipsme plan for routine menopause management - they CAN use it for diagnosis, and if the claim is covered, get to see someone from a network of recognised AXA Health specialists accredited with the British Menopause Society.
Many of these specialists offer remote consultations, offering greater flexibility and access to care.
Member information: Find out more about seeing a private consultant
4. Stress support
Menopause can have a serious impact on people’s mental health. If stress support is part of your plan, members can access counsellors through Health Assured. They can help listen to issues, and offer advice on how to manage mood swings, understand triggers, and cope with other symptoms.. It’s free, it’s confidential, and it can even extend to face-to-face sessions if they’re needed.
Member information: Find out more about the stress support line
5. Nurse support line
Don’t forget that even if you don’t have stress support, there’s still a team of medical professionals at the other end of the phone for all Equipsme members. The Nurse Support Line is staffed by nursers and even pharmacists, who can help by talking through symptoms, advising on how to approach GPs, and even on how to manage HRT medications and side effects.
Member information: Find out more about the nurse support line
Great resources for managers and members:
Henpicked
The Menopause Charity
British Menopause Society
Menopause Support
How to use Equipsme plans
Find out more about using the GP Service
Find out more about how to get physiotherapy support through Equipsme
Find out more about how to use the Stress Support line
Find out how to use Equipsme diagnosis services
Find out more about how to use Equipsme treatment services
Find out more about home health tests
Find out more about the cancer support line
Find out more about the heart health support line
All our information is desk-based research from credible sources only, including the NHS, Cancer Research, and registered medical/disease charities.
Updated: February 2026
References:
1 menopauseintheworkplace.co.uk
2 www.engage.england.nhs.uk
3 NEW-BMS-TfC-What-is-the-menopause-JAN2026-A.pdf
4 www.gov.uk/government/publications/help-and-support-for-older-workers/
5 thebms.org.uk
6 thebms.org.uk
7 Join the dots: A-Z symptoms list - The Menopause Charity
8 www.independent.co.uk
9 Menopause in the workplace | CIPD
10 Menopause in the workplace | CIPD
11 Download.ashx
12 Download.ashx
13 Shattering the Silence about Menopause: 12-Month Progress Report - GOV.UK
14 Menopause and the Workplace: How to enable fulfilling working lives
15 committees.parliament.uk
16 Menopause and the Workplace: How to enable fulfilling working lives
17 Women's Health Strategy for England - GOV.UK
18 Government announces Women's Health Strategy to be renewed - GOV.UK
19 Government announces Women's Health Strategy to be renewed - GOV.UK
20 Major NHS update brings menopause into routine health checks - GOV.UK
21 The menopause at work: guidance for people managers | CIPD
22 Home - Henpicked
