Menopause at work: what are my rights?

A six o’clock care shift after a night of hot flushes can feel impossible. The law does not give you separate menopause leave, but it does give you routes to ask for changes, report sickness and challenge discrimination. Today, write down what is making work difficult and send your manager one specific request. If you have already been warned, disciplined or dismissed, get advice now. A tribunal deadline may be running.

Is there such a thing as menopause leave?

No. The government rejected a proposed menopause-leave pilot in January 2023, along with a proposal for a new protected characteristic. An employer may offer paid menopause leave under its own policy, but that is not a statutory entitlement.

Which rights apply depends on what you need. Sick pay can cover time when you cannot work. Changes to working conditions may help you stay in your job, and the Equality Act 2010 protects against discrimination in Great Britain. Not every request will be a legal entitlement, but you need not wait for a new menopause law to ask.

How discrimination law protects you

Menopause itself is not a protected characteristic. Unfair treatment connected with symptoms may fall within existing Equality Act protections, including sex, age, disability or gender-reassignment discrimination. Employers benefit from a system that makes workers fit menopause symptoms into another legal category before they can challenge unfair treatment.

Early or medically induced menopause can affect younger people, and trans men and non-binary people can experience menopause too. Depending on the facts, age, sex, disability or gender-reassignment protection may apply. You do not have to be a woman in your fifties to ask for help.

Discrimination compensation has no statutory cap and can include lost earnings and injury to feelings. For claims presented on or after 6 April 2026, the injury-to-feelings guidelines run from £1,300-£12,600 (lower band), £12,600-£37,700 (middle) and £37,700-£62,900 (upper), with exceptional awards above that. These are guidelines, not a price list for symptoms.

Is menopause a disability?

Sometimes. Under section 6 of the Equality Act, a physical or mental impairment must have a substantial, long-term adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities. Long-term generally means it has lasted, or is likely to last, at least 12 months. Menopause itself does not automatically meet that test.

Severe hot flushes, insomnia, anxiety, heavy bleeding or difficulties concentrating could meet it. The evidence and their effect on daily life matter. In Rooney v Leicester City Council, the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that a menopause-related disability claim should not have been struck out without proper consideration of the evidence. It did not rule that everyone experiencing menopause is disabled.

If the test is met, an employer that knows, or ought reasonably to know, of the disability may have to make reasonable adjustments. Penalising you for disability-related absence or performance can also be discrimination arising from disability under section 15, subject to the employer’s knowledge and any justification. A warning is not automatically unlawful. What your employer decided and the steps it took before issuing the warning matter.

What adjustments can you ask for?

Describe what makes your job difficult. You do not need to start with a legal label. Gov.uk’s 2026 workplace-adjustments guidance gives practical examples. In a warehouse, that may mean a cooler area or a different task during a flush; in care, a reliable toilet break; in retail, a later start or a place to cool down.

1. Write it down. Explain the effect on your work and the change you want; share only the medical detail you are comfortable giving.
2. Talk privately. A concrete example, such as overheating in a kitchen or being unable to take a toilet break on a care round, is easier to act on than a general request for support. Suggest a trial.
3. Ask about occupational health. A referral can help identify suitable changes, including how absence is managed.
4. Agree what happens next. Get the change, review date and any reasons for refusal in writing. Keep your message and rota.

If you are in a union, contact your rep. UNISON represents many care and health workers; Unite covers hospitality, food and transport; USDAW represents retail and distribution workers; GMB and the IWGB also organise workers across cleaning, delivery and other low-paid sectors. If you have no rep, Citizens Advice or a local law centre can help you understand your options.

If your employer ignores heat, ventilation or other safety risks, report the concern to the Health and Safety Executive. If treatment crosses into discrimination, the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s guidance explains the Equality Act route. Do not wait for an internal process to finish before checking a tribunal deadline.

Time off and pay for symptoms

If symptoms mean you cannot work, report sickness under your employer’s procedure. You can normally self-certify for the first seven calendar days. After that you need a fit note. Check your contract or policy for occupational sick pay, which may pay more than the statutory minimum.

Statutory Sick Pay changed on 6 April 2026. The lower earnings limit and waiting days were removed. Eligible workers receive SSP from their first full sick day that they would otherwise have worked, for up to 28 weeks. The 2026-27 weekly rate is the lower of £123.25 and 80% of average weekly earnings.

For a GP appointment or HRT review when you are otherwise fit to work, check your contract or agree time with your manager. Annual leave, flexi-time or an adjustment to hours may be options; there is no general statutory entitlement to paid time off for a menopause appointment.

Absence records and the Bradford Factor

Several short absences can trigger a warning faster than one longer illness. The Bradford Factor, used by some employers, weights repeated spells heavily. Ask how your employer records and reviews menopause-related days.

Acas gives separate recording of menopause absence as an example of a reasonable adjustment where symptoms amount to a disability. A different trigger, or a review of the circumstances before a warning, may also be reasonable. Even without a disability claim, a blanket policy could raise an indirect discrimination issue if it puts a protected group at a particular disadvantage and cannot be justified. It is not automatically unlawful.

Can you request flexible working for menopause?

Employees have had a day-one right to request flexible working since 6 April 2024. You can make two statutory requests in any 12 months. Your employer normally has two months to decide, must consult you before refusing, and can refuse only for one of eight statutory business reasons. This is a right to request, not an automatic right to the hours you choose.

Later starts, homeworking days or changed shift patterns may help. Put a statutory request in writing and explain the proposed arrangement. If symptoms meet the disability test, also ask for reasonable adjustments. That duty is separate from the flexible-working procedure. A business-ground refusal does not settle the adjustments question. See our flexible-working guide.

Performance, discipline and dismissal

Menopause does not make dismissal automatically unlawful. If symptoms affect performance or attendance, an employer should investigate the circumstances, consider medical evidence and adjustments, and follow a fair process before deciding what to do. A dismissal, redundancy selection or pressure to resign linked to protected-characteristic discrimination may lead to a claim without a minimum service period.

Your employer can still use repeated-absence and capability procedures. But skipping the medical context or refusing to consider reasonable adjustments can make the decision harder to defend. Disciplinary action during sick leave is not automatically unlawful either.

In Great Britain on 1 October 2026, ordinary unfair dismissal generally requires two years’ continuous employment. The compensatory award is capped at the lower of £123,543 or 52 weeks’ gross pay. The basic award is calculated separately, with a £751 cap on a week’s pay and a £22,530 maximum at 2026-27 rates. The qualifying period and compensatory cap are scheduled to change for dismissals from January 2027. Discrimination compensation has no equivalent cap.

If you are not an employee

Agency workers can have rights against the agency and hirer under the Equality Act. SSP also covers eligible agency and other workers classed as employed for tax, usually through PAYE. The organisation responsible for paying SSP depends on the arrangement. A self-employed person paying tax through self assessment is not eligible for SSP. Your contract’s label does not decide your status on its own. See employee, worker or self-employed and agency workers’ rights.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland shares the Equality Act protections and 2026 SSP changes with England and Wales. The employment tribunal time-limit extension took effect there on 1 October 2026 too, except for breach-of-employment-contract claims, which change on 9 November 2026.

Northern Ireland has different discrimination and dismissal legislation. The Equality Act 2010 does not apply. The Sex Discrimination (Northern Ireland) Order 1976 and Disability Discrimination Act 1995 may provide protection. The Labour Relations Agency offers dispute-resolution help and the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland offers equality guidance. Claims go to a tribunal. Northern Ireland adopted the same day-one SSP rate and earnings reforms from 6 April 2026. Its ordinary unfair dismissal qualifying period remains one year. The planned January 2027 Great Britain change does not automatically apply. Tribunal procedures and deadlines also differ. See Northern Ireland differences.

What is changing

The Employment Rights Act 2025 is being phased in. These are the changes in force and those still planned in Great Britain:

1. 4 Mar 2026Workplace guidance published

   Government guidance on menopause adjustments and risk assessments is available for England, Scotland and Wales. Guidance is not a new leave right.

2. 6 Apr 2026SSP reform in force

   Waiting days and the SSP lower earnings limit ended. The power to require equality action plans covering menopause support also took effect, but publication remains voluntary.

3. 1 Oct 2026GB tribunal deadline extended

   The time limit for most claims increased from three to six months, with the Scottish employment-contract exception noted above. You must still notify Acas within the applicable time limit before claiming. Early conciliation pauses the clock.

4. 30 Oct 2026Harassment reforms scheduled

   From this date, employers are due to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment, and a separate prohibition on permitting third-party harassment will begin. These are not yet in force on the review date.

5. 1 Jan 2027Unfair dismissal reform scheduled

   For dismissals from this date, the GB qualifying period is set to fall from two years to six months and the compensatory award cap is set to go. Discrimination claims already need no qualifying service.

6. 2027, date to be setMandatory equality action plans planned

   Regulations are expected to require employers with at least 250 employees to publish plans that cover support for employees going through menopause. Until regulations take effect, publication is voluntary. The precise duties and timing are not yet settled.

What to do next

1. Check the policies. Look at sickness absence, occupational sick pay and flexible working as well as any menopause policy. Write down dates, symptoms at work, missed breaks, absence warnings and what you have already asked for.
2. Make a specific request today. Describe how symptoms affect your work and propose a change in writing. Ask for an occupational-health referral if medical advice would help. Keep the email or message.
3. Challenge a refusal or warning. Request the reasons. Use the grievance procedure if needed. Contact your union rep, Citizens Advice or a law centre. Get advice before you resign. Constructive dismissal is a demanding claim.
4. Contact Acas promptly if you are considering a claim. In Great Britain, most tribunal limits are now six months, but the start date, claim type and transitional rules matter. Notify Acas for early conciliation within the applicable time limit. Conciliation pauses the clock; it does not give you a fresh deadline. Do not wait for a grievance outcome. See tribunal procedures.

Questions people ask

How many days’ menopause leave are you entitled to?

There is no separate statutory allowance. If you are unfit for work, follow the sickness procedure. Eligible workers receive SSP from the first qualifying sick day, at the lower of £123.25 a week or 80% of average weekly earnings in 2026-27. An employer policy may provide more.

Can you be sacked for menopause-related absence?

An employer can dismiss for ill health or repeated absence after a fair process, but must consider the medical circumstances and any required adjustments. Dismissal may be discriminatory even where you lack the service needed for an ordinary unfair dismissal claim.

Do you have to tell your employer you are menopausal?

No general rule requires you to use that label. Explain the work difficulties and the changes you need. To owe the Equality Act reasonable-adjustments duty, the employer must know, or reasonably be expected to know, about a qualifying disability and the disadvantage.

What if jokes about your symptoms will not stop?

Repeated unwanted remarks can be harassment if connected to sex, age or another protected characteristic and they violate your dignity or create a hostile environment. Record what happened and tell your employer. The stronger sexual-harassment prevention duty and third-party harassment rules are scheduled for 30 October 2026, not yet in force.

Must your employer publish a menopause plan?

Not yet. Equality action plans are currently voluntary. Government plans mandatory publication for employers with at least 250 employees during 2027, but the exact date and regulatory requirements are not fixed.

Sources

1. Menopause and discrimination, Acas
2. Statutory Sick Pay: eligibility and rates, Acas
3. The right to request flexible working, Acas
4. Equality Act 2010, section 6, legislation.gov.uk
5. Employment Rights Act 2025, section 33, legislation.gov.uk
6. Offer workplace adjustments for employees experiencing menopause, gov.uk
7. Conduct a menopause risk assessment, gov.uk
8. Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027, gov.uk
9. Plan to Make Work Pay timeline update, gov.uk
10. Statutory Sick Pay changes in Northern Ireland, Labour Relations Agency
11. Menopause and the Equality Act: employer advice, Equality and Human Rights Commission
12. Rooney v Leicester City Council, Employment Appeal Tribunal
13. Government response to the Women and Equalities Committee menopause report, parliament.uk
14. Updated Vento bands from 6 April 2026, VWV
15. Menopause in the workplace: employee experiences in 2023, CIPD
16. Tribunals Statistics Quarterly: April to June 2026, Ministry of Justice