UK Menopause at Work Statistics 2026
Every menopause at work statistic that UK employers, HR teams and journalists actually need, in one place, with every figure tied to a named source. Compiled and verified by DaisyHR, July 2026. Free to cite with a link.
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Bolton, Manchester, North WestAround 13 million women in the UK are peri- or post-menopausal. 73% of working women aged 40 to 60 have experienced menopause symptoms, and menopause costs UK employers an estimated 14 million lost working days and £1.88 billion in lost productivity every year. Only 24% of women say their employer has a menopause policy or support in place.
Menopause at Work: The Key UK Statistics
Twelve figures, one line each, every source named. Journalists and HR teams: lift freely, link back.
How Many Women in the UK Are Affected by Menopause?
Around 13 million women in the UK are peri- or post-menopausal at any one time, a Wellbeing of Women estimate that equates to roughly a third of the entire UK female population. The average age of menopause in the UK is 51, perimenopause symptoms typically begin in the mid-40s, and around 1 in 100 women reach menopause before 40 (NHS).
The workforce numbers are what make this an employer issue rather than a health page footnote. Around 4.5 million women aged 50 to 64 are in employment, and women over 50 are the fastest-growing group in the UK workforce. If you employ anyone, the safe working assumption for any UK employer is that menopause is on your payroll right now.
How Common Are Menopause Symptoms?
The CIPD’s 2023 survey of more than 2,000 working women aged 40 to 60 found 73% had experienced menopause symptoms. The British Menopause Society’s Ipsos MORI survey found women experience an average of seven different symptoms, and that one in two women go through menopause without consulting a healthcare professional, which means employers frequently see the workplace effects before any doctor sees the woman.
Severity is not marginal. In the Fawcett Society’s 2022 survey of over 4,000 women, 77% rated at least one symptom as “very difficult”. Asked which symptoms held them back at work, 84% said difficulty sleeping, 73% said brain fog and 69% said anxiety or depression. Fawcett also found 45% of women had not spoken to their GP about symptoms, and 31% said it took multiple GP appointments before they were properly diagnosed.
How Does Menopause Affect Women at Work?
In the CIPD’s 2023 research, 67% of women with symptoms said they had a mostly negative effect on them at work. The specific effects: 79% felt less able to concentrate, and 68% reported increased stress. Over a quarter, 27%, said menopause had a negative impact on their career progression — an estimated 1.2 million women.
The retention figures are the ones that should reach your board. 17% of women told the CIPD they had considered leaving work because of a lack of menopause support, and 6% had left. The Fawcett Society’s figure is starker: one in ten women who worked during the menopause left a job because of their symptoms. Support changes the number — the CIPD found women were around five times more likely to have left work if they felt unsupported.
What Does Menopause Cost UK Employers?
Research by Health & Her, cited in the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee report on menopause and the workplace, estimated 14 million working days are lost to menopause in the UK every year, equivalent to £1.88 billion in lost productivity. At the individual level, a 2026 Benenden Health survey of 2,000 UK working women aged 40 to 65 put the average at 5.5 working days lost per year to menopause-related illness. Government analysis of survey data found women with severe symptoms take an average of seven days of menopause-related absence per year, and estimated the economic impact of severe-symptom absenteeism at £191 million per year, with presenteeism adding £22.4 million.
A note on honest use of these figures: they come from different studies measuring different things (all-symptom productivity loss versus severe-symptom absence), so do not add them together. Cite one, name its source, and you will be more credible than most of what gets published on this subject.
How Many UK Employers Have a Menopause Policy?
Only 24% of women told the CIPD in 2023 that their employer has a menopause policy or other support measures in place. 43% said their employer does not, and a third did not know, which for practical purposes is the same answer. Among organisations that do offer support, written policies (47%) and menopause support networks (46%) are the most common forms.
The Fawcett Society found the same gap from the employee side: eight in ten women said their employer had not shared information, trained staff, or put a menopause absence policy in place. That is the whole opportunity in one line: support is rare, cheap and provably retains staff. Our menopause action plan template and the wider guidance in our complete guide to menopause at work show what closing the gap looks like.
The British Menopause Society Survey: What It Found
The British Menopause Society commissioned Ipsos MORI in 2016 to survey British women aged 45 to 65 who were experiencing or had experienced menopause symptoms in the previous ten years. Two findings still shape how employers should act. First, one in two women went through menopause without consulting a healthcare professional. Second, women reported an average of seven different symptoms, not one. A follow-up BMS survey in 2017 found more than half of women feel negative about their menopause experience. For employers the implication is direct: you cannot rely on a diagnosis arriving before the workplace impact does.
The Fawcett Society Report: What It Found
Menopause and the Workplace, published by the Fawcett Society in April 2022 and based on a survey of over 4,000 women, remains the landmark UK study. Its key findings: 77% of women rated at least one symptom as “very difficult”; one in ten left a job because of symptoms; eight in ten said their employer had not shared information, trained staff or put an absence policy in place; 84% said difficulty sleeping held them back at work, with brain fog (73%) and anxiety or depression (69%) close behind; 45% had not spoken to their GP, and 31% needed multiple appointments before diagnosis.
Menopause Action Plans: The Law From April 2026
The Employment Rights Act 2025, which became law on 18 December 2025, requires employers with 250 or more employees to publish Equality Action Plans covering the gender pay gap and menopause support.
Voluntary publication opens for employers with 250+ employees.
Snapshot date for the first mandatory reporting year (2027/28).
First mandatory plans must be published.
Smaller employers are not directly caught, but the reporting regime will set the benchmark tribunals and candidates measure every employer against.
Full breakdown: menopause employer obligations in 2027What These Numbers Mean for a North West SME
Worked example, using only the sourced figures above — DaisyHR analysis, July 2026. Take a 50-person business in Bolton or Manchester with nine women aged 40 to 60 on the payroll. At 73% prevalence, six or seven of those nine have menopause symptoms. At 67%, four or five of them would say the symptoms are hurting their work right now. At 17%, at least one has thought about resigning over it, and on the Fawcett figures, if she goes she will not tell you why. None of this needs a wellbeing programme to fix. It needs a policy, a trained manager and adjustments that mostly cost nothing. Put your own headcount through our menopause cost calculator to see the absence and turnover exposure in pounds.
The Menopause Statistics Slide Pack
Cite-ready, presentation-formatted. Built for HR teams making the business case.
Every statistic from this page as branded, board-ready slides you can drop straight into a presentation or board pack.
The Menopause Statistics Slide Pack
Every statistic on this page as branded, board-ready slides: one stat per slide, source printed on each slide, the ERA 2025 action plan timeline as a single graphic, and the full reference list at the back. Built for HR teams making the internal case.
Frequently Asked Questions
Around 13 million women in the UK are peri- or post-menopausal, roughly a third of the entire UK female population, according to an estimate by Wellbeing of Women. Around 4.5 million women aged 50 to 64 are in employment, making menopause a live issue in effectively every UK workplace.
An estimated 14 million working days are lost to menopause every year, equivalent to £1.88 billion in lost productivity, according to research by Health & Her cited in the Women and Equalities Committee’s report. Government analysis found women with severe symptoms take an average of seven days of menopause-related absence a year.
73% of working women aged 40 to 60 have experienced menopause symptoms, and 67% of those say the symptoms have a mostly negative effect on them at work, according to the CIPD’s 2023 survey of more than 2,000 working women. The most common work impact is reduced concentration, reported by 79%.
The Fawcett Society found one in ten women who worked during the menopause left a job because of their symptoms. The CIPD’s 2023 figures: 17% of women have considered leaving over a lack of menopause support and 6% have left, rising sharply where women feel unsupported by their employer or manager.
Employers with 250 or more employees can publish voluntary Equality Action Plans, including menopause support, from 6 April 2026 under the Employment Rights Act 2025. Publication becomes mandatory for the 2027/28 reporting year, based on a snapshot date of 5 April 2027, with the first plans due by 4 April 2028. Smaller employers are not directly covered.
Sources and Full Reference List
Every figure on this page comes from one of the sources below, verified 5 July 2026:
How to cite this page: DaisyHR, UK Menopause at Work Statistics 2026, https://www.daisyhr.co.uk/menopause-workplace-statistics. Attribution with a link — no permission needed.
Spotted a newer figure? Tell us. We verify and update this page; statistics last verified 5 July 2026.
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Compiled by Samantha Boyle MCIPD — Fractional HR Director, Bolton & North West. CIPD Chartered (Level 7) with a specialism in employment relations. · Last reviewed: July 2026