Menopause at work: adjustments you can ask for

Five practical adjustments to discuss

What helps depends on your symptoms and your job. A desk fan is useful for some people; it does not solve an inflexible shift pattern or a day of back-to-back calls. These are conversation starters, not a list of changes every employer must automatically agree to.

Temperature and clothing

A cooler workspace, a fan or more breathable uniform options could make hot flushes easier to manage.

Breaks and facilities

Access to drinking water and toilets, and flexibility to take a short break, can matter more than a general wellbeing initiative.

Working times

A temporary change to start or finish times, or home working where the job allows it, may be worth discussing.

Tasks and concentration

Ask whether duties can be adjusted. Bring a specific example of the task or working pattern that is causing difficulty.

Somewhere to pause

A private place to rest may help if symptoms interrupt the working day.

These options draw on Acas guidance on agreeing changes and government guidance on workplace adjustments.

How to start the conversation with your manager

Before the meeting, make three short notes: what is happening, how it affects a particular part of your work, and what you would like to try. You do not have to give a detailed account of your medical history.

Here is an example you can adapt:

“I’d like to talk privately about some menopause symptoms that are affecting my work. After a disrupted night’s sleep, I’m finding early meetings difficult. Could we discuss a temporary change to my start time and agree a date to review how it’s working?”

Replace the example with your own experience. A useful request is specific enough for your manager to consider, while leaving room to discuss another solution.

Acas recommends private, confidential conversations and written agreements with follow-up discussions. If approaching your manager feels difficult, HR, a union representative or a menopause champion may be another starting point. See Acas’s advice on these conversations.

When are reasonable adjustments a legal duty?

Menopause itself is not a separate protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. However, treatment connected to menopause can amount to discrimination relating to characteristics such as age, sex or disability. Acas explains how discrimination law applies.

If symptoms have a substantial, long-term effect on normal day-to-day activities, they may meet the legal definition of a disability. Where they do, an employer has a duty to make reasonable adjustments. The Equality and Human Rights Commission sets out this distinction.

That does not mean every requested change is automatically required, or that support should only begin after a legal argument. Ask what your employer can put in place now. For advice about your own rights or a dispute, speak to Acas, your union or a qualified adviser.

What about menopause sick leave?

If symptoms mean you cannot work, follow your employer’s sickness reporting procedure and check the relevant policies. Ask how menopause-related absence is recorded, how attendance triggers are applied and what your contract says about sick pay.

Acas advises recording menopause-related sickness separately because including it in an overall attendance record could be unfair or discriminatory. This is not the same as an automatic entitlement to extra paid leave.

Time off for an appointment is a separate question. Acas says there is no general legal right to time off specifically for menopause medical appointments, although your contract may provide paid or unpaid time off and individual adjustment duties may apply.

Leave with something you can follow up

At the end of the meeting, check that you both understand:

• Which change you are trying and when it starts.
• Who will arrange it.
• What information can be shared, and with whom.
• When you will review whether it is helping.

If the answer is no, ask for the reason and whether another option could meet the same need. Keep your notes and any written response so you can return to the actual request, rather than relying on memory.

If you are also preparing to discuss symptoms with your GP, use my appointment checklist. A health conversation and a workplace conversation have different purposes, but the same concrete examples can help you explain what has changed.