BS ISO 45010: menstrual health in the workplace

What is menstrual health in the workplace?

Menstrual health in the workplace is the culture, policy and practical support that lets employees who menstruate do their jobs without disadvantage or stigma. It covers five things: a culture where the cycle can be mentioned without embarrassment or career risk, policies that name menstrual health rather than leaving it unspoken, practical provision (facilities, menstrual products, temperature and rest), flexibility to adapt work when the cycle demands it, and training so managers respond well. BS ISO 45010 (ISO 45010:2026) is the current international guidance on menstruation and menopause in the workplace, published 7 September 2026.^[4]

Employees choose whether to disclose personal health information. Support should respect privacy and individual needs, with clear ways to ask for help.

Why does menstrual health matter at work?

The evidence is consistent across studies and countries:

• In a 2022 study of 1,867 women, 89.3% reported a moderate to severe negative impact of their cycle on energy at work, and 45.2% had missed at least one day of work in the previous year because of it.^[1]
• CIPD research found two-thirds of women with cycle-related difficulties experience a negative impact at work, yet just 12% of organisations provide any form of menstrual health support.^[2]
• Retention is on the line: 3% of women have already left a job over a lack of menstrual health support, with a further 5% considering it.^[2]
• The appetite is there: 94.4% of women would or might take part in menstrual health programming if their employer offered it.^[3]

The NHS Confederation puts the cost of work absence from heavy or painful periods, endometriosis, fibroids and ovarian cysts at nearly £11 billion a year for the UK economy. These findings give employers a reason to review access to support and practical menstrual health education.

What do women themselves say?

When Nadi ran a listening survey of 153 women, it never asked about work — yet many raised it unprompted, describing missed days, hiding how they felt, and being expected to carry on. One respondent described taking 19 days off work in a year because of her period, not counting the days she sat on the sofa with her laptop open, pretending to be online. Read what women told us, including the free two-page summary.

What does good menstrual health support look like?

BS ISO 45010 gives employers a recognised framework: culture, policy, environment, flexibility, and training and awareness.^[4] Use those themes to review existing support and agree practical improvements with your team. We explain the guidance and its disclosure, privacy and workplace charter additions in plain English in our guide to cycle-aware working and BS ISO 45010.

Where should an employer start?

1. Measure where you stand. Our free 3-minute workplace scorecard — twelve questions informed by BS ISO 45010 — gives you an instant picture and your two biggest quick wins.
2. Build awareness. A single awareness session gives teams shared language for the four cycle phases and their workplace implications — a low-stakes first step for lunch-and-learns and wellbeing weeks.
3. Make it stick. The Nadi Workplace Cohort is the named time-boxed programme: around 10 women over 4 to 5 months, with before-and-after evidence for your senior leadership team. The session menu covers lighter programmes and the full workplace review.

Where does menstrual health fit in women's health at work?

For a Head of Wellbeing or HR lead building a women's health at work strategy, menstrual health is the everyday foundation: it affects more of the workforce, more of the time, than any other part of women's health, yet it is the piece most strategies skip. BS ISO 45010 treats menstruation and menopause as one continuum of workplace support,^[4] so work done on menstrual health — the culture, the policy language, the manager training — builds the same muscles an organisation needs for menopause support and the rest of its women's health agenda. Nadi's own education focuses on the menstrual cycle; the guidance used to inform it covers the wider picture.

What about each woman's own cycle?

Alongside what the organisation does, every woman can see her own pattern — privately, without disclosing anything to anyone. Nadi adds her four estimated cycle phases to the calendar she already uses, so she can plan her work and life around her own rhythm. Understanding starts with the four cycle phases.

Take the free workplace scorecard

Questions about the evidence base and how Nadi works are answered in the FAQs. Weighing up dedicated leave? Read our honest guide to menstrual leave.