Why menopause support matters: The business case

Menopause is often framed as a wellbeing issue. For employers, it's also a retention, productivity and reputation issue, and one with a clear financial case for acting on it.

Menopause affects a large and growing part of your workforce

Around four million women aged 45 to 60 are in the UK workforce. Most people going through menopause are in work, and many are at the most experienced stage of their careers. Menopause isn't a niche concern affecting a handful of employees. It touches a large group of people who hold senior roles, specialist knowledge and client relationships that are hard to replace.

What unmanaged menopause costs employers

When symptoms go unsupported, the costs show up in places HR teams already measure:

• Talent loss. Around 1 in 10 women leave a job because of unmanaged menopause symptoms. Replacing an experienced employee usually costs far more than supporting them.
• Absence and performance. Fatigue, poor concentration, sleep disruption and joint pain can all affect attendance and output. Around two-thirds of women with symptoms say they have a negative effect on their work.
• Hidden impact. A third of working women say they actively hide their symptoms. That means the problem is often bigger than absence data suggests.
  
  

Why the Employment Rights Act raises the stakes

Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, employers with 250 or more employees will need to publish a menopause action plan. Those plans will be publicly visible. Employees, candidates and competitors will be able to see what each organisation is doing, and what it isn't.

That shifts menopause support from an internal wellbeing decision to a public test of how an employer treats its people. Employers who invest early will have outcomes to point to. Those who wait will be publishing plans without evidence behind them.

→ For a step-by-step guide to building your plan, read our practical guide to menopause action plans.

What specialist support delivers

The strongest return comes from giving employees direct access to specialist clinical support, not just a policy document or an EAP line few people use. With Peppy, severe menopause symptoms reduce by 58% within 180 days, and menopause-related work impairment drops by 15% within 90 days.

For employers, that means people stay in role, perform at their best, and have a support offer they actually use.

Making the case internally

If you're building a business case for leadership, focus on three points:

• The cost of doing nothing. Estimate what losing even a small number of experienced employees would cost in recruitment, onboarding and lost expertise.
• The compliance timeline. Mandatory action plans are coming, and outcome data takes months to build.
• The reputational upside. Published plans let you show publicly that you take employee health seriously.

→ For practical guidance on day-to-day support, see how to support employees with menopause at work.

See how Peppy helps employers deliver specialist menopause support. Book a call.