header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
03 May 2024 / Nabila Mallick
Issue: 8069 / Categories: Features , Employment , Equality , Harassment
printer mail-detail

Menstruation & the menopause: righting wrongs at work

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
169545
Nabila Mallick discusses the law & potential legal developments relating to menstruation & menopause in the workplace
  • Covers case law on employment claims concerning menstruation or menopause.
  • Considers potential for bringing such claims.

Despite women comprising 48% of the workforce, the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010) fails, surprisingly, to provide protection from discrimination or harassment for the specific characteristics of menstruation or menopause, which together span the entirety of the average woman’s working life. This has meant that the issue is ignored by employers in workplace policies and, in turn, female employees often remain silent while suffering from sometimes debilitating symptoms. Most women simply do not know how they could be protected.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) in 2019 found that 73% of women aged 40 to 60 have experienced menopausal symptoms, with more than half able to think of a time when they couldn’t work due to their symptoms. Further, 67% of women identified with negative experiences in the workplace and

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

Fieldfisher partner appointed president as LSLA marks milestone year

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Firm promotes two lawyers to partnership across employment and family

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Firm promotes five lawyers to partnership across key growth areas

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Divorce ‘nuclear weapon’ freezes assets but entangles outsiders
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
NLJ this week: What counts as ‘rent’? Court says labour alone won’t do
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Your magistrates’ court needs you!
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
NLJ this week: Freed but failed—justice system leaves the innocent empty-handed
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
NLJ this week: Clarity on whistleblowing, settlements and tribunal limits
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll