The change employers have been warned about for years finally lands this month

Menopause at work: your new protection from October 2026

Updated 19 October 2026

Three rights land at once for workers experiencing menopause symptoms. First, an employer who treats you less favourably because of those symptoms can be ordered to pay compensation in an employment tribunal. Second, your employer has to think about reasonable adjustments when your symptoms meet the test for a disability, and many will. Third, Acas has published a menopause at work guide that tribunals will look at, and your employer is expected to follow it from 18 October 2026. This matters because for years the only route was to argue that severe menopause symptoms were a disability under the Equality Act 2010, which is a high bar and a slow fight. From this month, the picture is more straightforward in three concrete ways.

What changes on 18 October 2026 for menopause at work

On 18 October 2026, the new framework for menopause at work comes into force in Great Britain. The protected characteristic of "sex" already covers much of this in theory, but the change is that menopause is now treated as a standalone ground that does not need to be argued as a disability first.

In practice you now have three concrete rights at work:

1. The right not to be treated less favourably because of menopause symptoms, including perimenopause. This is direct discrimination, and there is no length of service or minimum hours requirement to bring a claim.

2. The right to ask for reasonable adjustments where your symptoms have a long term and substantial impact on day to day activities. The test is the same as for any other disability, but the Acas guidance is explicit that menopause symptoms will often meet it.

3. The right to raise a formal grievance using a route that the Acas menopause code names, and to have that grievance considered by a manager who has been trained on the issue.

The government has been consulting on whether to go further and list menopause as a protected characteristic in its own right. That consultation closed earlier in 2026 and primary legislation has not yet been brought forward. So the change in October is a statutory framework built on top of the existing Equality Act, not a new characteristic.

For you as an employee, the practical difference is that bringing a claim is less of a fight. You do not have to win the argument that your symptoms are a disability before you can win the argument that you were treated less favourably.

Does this apply to me from day one of a new job

Yes, for the discrimination and reasonable adjustments routes. There is no qualifying period for an Equality Act claim, and the menopause framework does not add one. If you started yesterday and your manager makes a comment about your symptoms tomorrow, you can raise a grievance and, if it is not resolved, bring a tribunal claim within three months of the act you are complaining about.

One point that is often missed: you are also protected if you are treated less favourarily because someone assumes you are going through menopause, or because you are perceived to be, even if you are not. The same rules apply to perceived disability adjustments.

You do not need to tell your employer about a specific diagnosis to be protected. You do need to be able to point to symptoms, or to a pattern of treatment, that supports what you are saying.

What counts as less favourable treatment because of menopause

The Acas menopause code, which takes effect alongside the framework on 18 October 2026, gives a long list of examples. The common ones we are already seeing in casework are:

Being passed over for promotion after telling your line manager about symptoms.

Being performance managed for sickness absence that is linked to symptoms, when equivalent absence for another reason would not have triggered the same process.

Being disciplined for mistakes that are linked to concentration problems caused by symptoms.

Being made to carry on working in a hot, poorly ventilated area with no adjustment.

Comments from a manager about your performance, mood or reliability that reference your age or your hormones.

Not being considered for a role because the hiring manager assumes you will take a lot of time off.

If you are in any of those situations from 18 October 2026, you have a route through the grievance procedure and, if needed, to an employment tribunal. You do not have to prove the protected characteristic of "menopause" exists as a separate category. You bring the claim under sex, age or disability as appropriate, and you rely on the new code and the framework to show that the treatment was because of your symptoms.

Reasonable adjustments for menopause at work in 2026

Reasonable adjustments are changes your employer has to make so that you are not at a substantial disadvantage compared to colleagues who do not have your condition. For menopause, the test is the same as for any other disability, and it sits in section 20 of the Equality Act 2010.

The 2026 framework does not lower the legal test. What it does is set out, in the Acas code, the kinds of adjustments a tribunal will expect to see an employer consider. If your employer has not considered any of them and you can show a substantial disadvantage, that is evidence the adjustment was reasonable.

Typical adjustments that have worked in 2025 and 2026 tribunal cases include:

Moving you to a desk near a window or away from a heat source.

Providing a desk fan, a quiet room for breaks, or access to a fridge for cooling products.

Allowing more frequent short breaks.

Flexible start times so that you can commute when symptoms are less severe.

Changing shift patterns to avoid long stretches without a break.

Allowing home working on bad days.

Adjusting performance targets where concentration or memory is affected.

You can ask for any of these adjustments even if you do not think of your symptoms as a disability. The Acas code says the employer should start the conversation, not wait for you to put it in a formal letter.

What if my employer just ignores the request

Put the request in writing, even if you have already raised it verbally. Keep the wording factual: what the symptoms are, how they affect your work, what you are asking for, and why. Send it by email so you have a date stamp. Give your employer a reasonable time to respond, usually two to three weeks depending on the size of the organisation.

If they refuse, ask for the refusal in writing and the reason. If the reason is cost or impracticality, that is not in itself a defence. The employer has to show that the adjustment was not reasonable, not just that it was inconvenient.

If the refusal stands, you can raise a grievance under your employer's procedure, citing the Acas code. If the grievance does not resolve it, you can bring a claim in the employment tribunal for failure to make reasonable adjustments. The time limit is three months from the date of the refusal, not from when you first asked.

You do not need to be represented to bring the claim, although most people use a solicitor or a law centre. The fee for issuing a claim is still in place in October 2026, although there are exemptions for people on low income and for claims about discrimination.

Can I be performance managed while a reasonable adjustments request is open

Short answer: probably not, not in a way that ignores the request. If your employer starts a performance management process that is connected to the symptoms you have asked to be adjusted for, that is potentially victimisation or disability discrimination.

What you should do is reply to the performance process in writing, point to the open adjustments request, and ask for the process to be paused while the adjustments are agreed. If your employer pushes on regardless, raise a grievance and keep a record. Tribunals take a dim view of employers who run a disciplinary process in parallel with an unresolved adjustments request where the two are connected.

This is the area where the new framework is doing real work. Before 18 October 2026, an employer could argue that you had not established a disability, and that therefore no adjustments duty was triggered. The 2026 code makes clear that the employer has to engage with the conversation, not wait for you to prove the legal test before they will think about it.

Do I have to tell my employer what is going on

No, you do not have to disclose. You are protected from less favourable treatment because of menopause symptoms whether or not your employer knows the cause. The catch is that reasonable adjustments, and the duty to consider them, are triggered when your employer knows, or ought reasonably to know, that you are at a substantial disadvantage.

If you want adjustments but do not want to name the cause, you can describe the symptoms and the impact, and ask for the changes. Many employees find this is enough, particularly for low cost adjustments like a desk fan or flexible breaks.

If you do disclose, your employer must keep the information confidential in the same way as any other health information. Sharing it with the rest of the team without your consent is itself a potential breach of the data protection rules and the Equality Act.

What about time off for menopause symptoms

How to raise a menopause grievance under the new code

The Acas code of practice on menopause at work, which takes effect on 18 October 2026, sets out a three step process that tribunals will look at when deciding whether your employer has handled the issue properly. If they have not followed the code, any compensation you are awarded can be uplifted by up to 25 per cent.

Step one is the informal conversation. You raise the issue with your line manager or HR, you say what the problem is, and you say what you would like to change. The code expects this to be documented, even at the informal stage.

Step two is a written request. If the informal route does not resolve it, you write a short letter or email setting out the symptoms, the impact at work, the adjustment you want, and a reasonable deadline for a response. Two to three weeks is normal.

Step three is a formal grievance. If the written request is refused or ignored, you use your employer's grievance procedure, marking the letter as a formal grievance under the Acas code. Your employer then has to follow its own procedure, which usually means an investigation and a grievance hearing.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you can appeal internally. If the appeal does not resolve it, you can bring a claim in the employment tribunal within three months of the date of the act you are complaining about, or the date of the last internal decision, whichever is later.

What to put in a menopause grievance letter

The code does not require any specific words, but the following structure works:

Date and addressee. The HR manager or your line manager, depending on who handles grievances.

A short statement of the issue. For example, "I am writing to raise a formal grievance about the way my menopause symptoms have been treated at work since April 2026."

A bullet point list of the incidents you are complaining about, with dates and names where you can.

The impact on you, factual and not emotional. Sleeping badly, missing deadlines, needing time off.

What you want, for example an adjustment to your hours, a written apology, training for your line manager, or removal from a performance process.

A reference to the Acas menopause code and the date it took effect.

A reasonable deadline for a response.

Keep a copy and send it by email so you have a date stamp. If you are in a union, send a copy to your rep at the same time.

What if I am too unwell to go through with the grievance

If your symptoms mean you cannot work or cannot go through a grievance, you are protected in two ways. First, you can take time off as sick leave and your employer cannot discipline you for absence that is connected to a protected characteristic. Second, you can ask someone to act on your behalf, for example a union rep, a colleague, or a friend, and your employer has to deal with them in good faith.

If the timeline for a tribunal claim is tight because of your absence, you can ask ACAS for an extension of the time limit in discrimination cases. The test is whether it was not reasonably practicable to bring the claim in time, and the tribunal will look at what you were doing to protect your position while you were off.

You can also ask your employer to pause the grievance process while you are off sick. Most will agree. If yours will not, get that refusal in writing, because it is itself evidence for any later claim.

Will I be believed if I raise this

Compensation and time limits for menopause claims in 2026

Compensation in an employment tribunal for discrimination is uncapped, in the sense that there is no statutory upper limit on the overall award. In practice, tribunals look at loss of earnings, injury to feelings, and aggravated or exemplary damages in serious cases.

For a straightforward reasonable adjustments claim that you win, the award typically covers the pay you lost because of the failure to make the adjustment, plus a small injury to feelings award. For a more serious claim, where you have lost your job or had a long period of sick leave because of the treatment, the figures are higher.

If your employer failed to follow the Acas code, the compensation can be uplifted by up to 25 per cent. That uplift is the main reason to make sure the code is referenced in your grievance letter and in any later claim.

The time limit for bringing a claim is three months from the act you are complaining about, or three months from the date you were aware of it, with an extension for early conciliation through Acas. Early conciliation can add up to about a month to the time limit and is free.

What is the early conciliation step

What to do in the meantime

You do not need to wait for the 18 October 2026 change to take action. If you are already being treated less favourably because of menopause symptoms, the framework now in force gives you a clear route.

Start a written record today. Note the dates, what was said, who was there, and how it made you feel in terms of work. The more factual the better.

If you have not already, write to your line manager or HR and ask for a conversation under the Acas code. Send it by email. Keep the wording factual and short.

If you are in a union, contact your rep. The right to time off for trade union duties from 30 October 2026 will give your rep paid time to help with cases like this.

If your symptoms are affecting your ability to work, see your GP. You do not need a diagnosis to be protected, but a note from your GP helps with reasonable adjustments and with any future claim.

If you are thinking of bringing a claim, contact Acas early conciliation. The clock on the three month time limit runs from the act you are complaining about, not from the date you decide to bring a claim.

And if you can, talk to colleagues. The 2026 code puts a duty on employers to start the conversation, but in many workplaces the change will be driven by workers asking for it.