Recent Employment Tribunal decisions are making one thing increasingly clear:
menopause is no longer just a well-being issue — if mishandled, it presents a clear legal risk.
Two cases from 2023 highlight where employers are going wrong.
In Lynskey v Direct Line (2023), an employee experiencing menopausal symptoms, including brain fog and reduced concentration, was given a “needs improvement” rating and issued a written warning. The Tribunal found this amounted to unfavourable treatment arising from a disability, with compensation awarded at £64,645.
In Farquharson v Jim Clark Ltd (2023), a manager dismissed menopausal symptoms as an “excuse for everything”. The Tribunal concluded that this created a hostile and degrading working environment, resulting in an award of over £37,000 for harassment and unfair dismissal.
The real risk
The issue is not menopause itself — it is how organisations respond to it.
Tribunals are increasingly focused on:
- Whether appropriate medical advice was sought
- Whether reasonable adjustments were considered at an early stage
- How decisions were reached — not just the final outcome
Failings in any of these areas can significantly increase an employer’s liability.
What good looks like
Organisations that reduce risk tend to take a more structured and informed approach. This includes:
- Engaging Occupational Health early
- Keeping medical opinion clearly separate from management decision-making
- Implementing targeted, practical workplace adjustments
- Equipping managers to respond appropriately — not as a tick-box exercise, but as part of effective risk management
Both cases point to a simple but important shift in thinking.
When performance declines, the question should not be, “What is wrong with the employee?” It should be, “What support or adjustment is missing?” Employers who fail to make that shift are increasingly finding themselves on the wrong side of tribunal decisions.
