25th June 2025
Is Menopause Protected Under the Equality Act? What Employers Need to Know
When the Equality Act was introduced in 2010, the impact of menopause on the workforce received little attention. Over a decade of campaigning by awareness groups, government investment in initiatives such as the ‘Shattering the Silence’ campaign, and several high-profile menopause-related Employment Tribunal cases have brought menopause into the public’s attention.
The impact
It is increasingly recognised that menopause affects women at work. Forth Menopause found that 94% of menopausal women reported experiencing symptoms at work, with 68% reporting that their experience at work had been negatively affected. Symptoms such as hot flushes, tiredness, low mood, poor concentration, and memory issues can have a profound impact on employees’ ability to carry out their day-to-day responsibilities.
Nevertheless, statistics show that the majority of women experiencing these symptoms feel unsupported at work. Despite an estimated 4 million women aged between 45 and 55 being in employment, only around 24% of employers have implemented support measures for employees affected by menopause. There remains a considerable gap in support for millions of working women across the UK.
Lack of support
This lack of support has led to calls for formal legal protections for women experiencing menopause under the Equality Act. There is currently no specific legislation that expressly protects employees experiencing menopause.
While the Equality Act contains nine ‘protected characteristics’, including race, sex, and disability, menopause is not one of them. In 2022, the Women and Equalities Committee recommended that menopause be added as the tenth protected characteristic to provide legal protection for employees going through it. However, in 2023, the UK Government rejected this proposal, suggesting that adding menopause as a protected characteristic would not necessarily prevent discrimination related to menopause symptoms.
The Government’s response highlighted that, although menopause is not formally recognised as a standalone protected characteristic, the Equality Act still offers protection against discrimination related to menopause.
The Equality Act
Under the Equality Act, age, sex, and disability are protected characteristics. This means it is unlawful to subject an employee to harassment or discrimination because of their age, sex, or disability status. Menopause can fall under the characteristics of age and sex, as it affects female employees and disproportionately impacts those aged between 45 and 55.
As highlighted in the case of Ms M Davies v Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (2017), menopause can amount to a disability. While menopause is not necessarily a disability in itself, if the symptoms have a long-term, substantial adverse effect on an employee’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities, it can constitute a disability under the Equality Act.
Case law
In Davies v Scottish Courts, Ms Davies experienced severe menopausal symptoms, including heavy bleeding, emotional distress, fatigue, and cognitive difficulties. These symptoms significantly affected her ability to perform her duties. The Tribunal ruled that her symptoms amounted to a disability and that she had been treated unfavourably as a result of ‘something arising’ from that disability.
In addition to it being unlawful to treat an employee unfavourably due to symptoms arising from menopause, employers must also consider making reasonable adjustments for affected employees.
Reasonable adjustments
Under the Equality Act, employers are required to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to remove or reduce the disadvantage experienced by an employee with a disability. This could include physical adjustments, such as providing a fan, or changes to working patterns, such as allowing remote work. Other adjustments might include:
- Adjusting start and finish times;
- Allowing more frequent breaks;
- Relaxing uniform or dress code policies;
- Ensuring easy access to toilets and washing facilities; and
- Providing rest areas for recovery during severe symptoms.
Employer information
Employers should take a considered approach if an employee’s absence is related to menopause. Under the Equality Act, it is unlawful to treat an employee unfavourably because of ‘something arising’ from a disability. Where menopause symptoms amount to a disability, and an employee requires time off work as a result, the sickness absence itself constitutes the ‘something arising’. Employers should ensure that absence management procedures are applied sensitively and lawfully. Where absence triggers are used to initiate disciplinary action or formal procedures, employers should record menopause-related absence separately to avoid treating employees unfavourably.
While menopause is not expressly protected under any specific piece of UK employment legislation, employees experiencing menopause may be protected under the Equality Act through the characteristics of sex, age, and disability. For employers, this means that supporting employees through menopause is not only good practice—it may also be a legal obligation. In particular, where menopause symptoms amount to a disability, employers must avoid treating employees unfavourably because of those symptoms. This includes carefully managing sickness absence and making reasonable adjustments to support employees who are affected in the workplace.
