Menopause support in the workplace

Why menopause support at work matters

Two thirds of women aged 40 to 60 who've gone through menopause symptoms say it has mostly had a negative effect on them at work, and more than half have been unable to go in at some point because of it. Only around a quarter say their employer offers any support or policy at all (CIPD, 2023).

Many people get through two or three years of poor sleep, lost words and lower confidence without telling anyone at work, and some leave rather than ask for help. For an employer, that often means losing experienced people at the point they're most valuable.

What the government now expects from employers

In March 2026 the government published guidance on menopause action plans. Employers with 250 or more staff are being asked to publish a plan voluntarily from April 2026, and it's expected to become a legal requirement from 2027. Each plan needs at least one action to support employees with menopause symptoms.

Smaller employers don't have to publish a plan, but the same expectations apply to how people are treated. The Equality and Human Rights Commission's guidance explains that menopause symptoms can count as a disability under the Equality Act, which means employers may need to make reasonable adjustments. The most useful things any employer can do are the same whatever the size: support that fits the person, and managers who feel able to have the conversation.

This is general information, not legal advice. For your own situation, speak to your HR adviser or an employment solicitor.

How it helps the person going through it

Nobody has to name a symptom, fill in a form or tell anyone at work. They choose what they want to work on, and everything they get is written around that choice.

• If sleep is the problem, their affirmation tracks and daily practices focus on sleep.
• If their confidence has dipped, the focus is on confidence and backing themselves again.
• If their words keep going just before a meeting, there's a 5 minute reset they can listen to right then, with headphones in and nobody else needing to know.

They can change their focus whenever they like, so the support changes as they do.

How it helps managers

For most managers the hard part is the conversation itself, and the worry about saying the wrong thing. Managers get their own set of 5 minute resets, including one for the difficult conversation they've been putting off. It helps them get their own thoughts straight in the few minutes before they walk in, so they go in calmer and listen better.

There's also a tool for planning a short team session, so wellbeing is something the whole team talks about rather than something people handle alone. Sessions never single anyone out.

How it fits with what you already do

It sits alongside your HR policy, your occupational health provider, your Employee Assistance Programme and any adjustments you already offer, and it doesn't ask anything of them. When someone asks what support you have, you can point to something real and ready to use.

• Private. You never see what anyone writes. Each month you get a simple report showing how many people are using it and whether they say it's helping.
• Nothing to run. One invoice and one team code. People sign up in a minute, with no app to install.
• Flexible. Add places whenever you need them, and free a place up when someone leaves so you can give it to someone else.

If you're going through menopause yourself

You don't have to wait for your workplace. You can make your own personalised track today, written around whatever you want to feel better about, whether that's sleep, confidence or feeling like yourself at work again.

Make a track for sleep or make a track for confidence. One off payment from £7.

You can also ask your workplace to offer it to everyone, and we'll write the message for you.

What we are, and what we aren't

Menopause isn't an illness, and we aren't a medical service. We don't diagnose anything, treat symptoms or give medical advice, and nothing here replaces a GP, occupational health or your HR policy. NICE guidance says talking therapies can help with some menopause symptoms, alongside or instead of HRT. We aren't therapy either. We help people with the everyday side of it, the things they say to themselves at 3am or just before a meeting.