Zora Health / Employer guide / Austria
Support your experienced employees through menopause, and help them stay at their best.
In Austria’s largest workplace menopause study, more than two thirds of working women said symptoms affect their work, and almost one in four had taken sick leave because of them. Zora Health helps you build practical menopause support, from workplace policies and manager training to confidential care navigation and access to 128+ partner clinics in 16 countries, around your workforce and budget. Companies including Hilton, LinkedIn, Sanofi, HSBC, Mastercard, Carousell and Singapore Management University work with us.
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Five things Austrian HR leaders should know
- In a 2024 survey of 1,720 employed women in Austria, more than two thirds said menopause symptoms affect their work.
- 23.1% had taken sick leave because of symptoms, 20.8% had cut their hours and 8.3% had taken early retirement.
- 59.8% felt unsupported by their employer, and only 4.1% of companies offered information on menopause.
- 55.3% of women aged 55 to 64 were in work in 2025, below the EU average of 60.8%.
- Employers pay full salary for at least 6 weeks of sick leave, rising with length of service.
Why menopause is a business problem for employers
Menopause rarely announces itself at work. It looks like a senior manager who slept four hours, a wave of heat in the middle of a client meeting, a word that will not come in front of the board. Symptoms come and go for years. Many women do not link them to menopause, and fewer tell their manager.
So the cost stays out of your reports. It shows up instead as:
- Sick leave and lost hours. In the MenoSupportAustria study of 1,720 employed women, 23.1% had taken sick leave because of symptoms and 20.8% had cut their working hours (MenoSupportAustria, 2024).
- Leaving early. 12.5% had changed jobs, 15.2% had taken a career break and 8.3% had taken early retirement, rising to 14.4% of women over 55.
- Little support. 59.8% felt unsupported by their employer, and only 14.8% said menopause was discussed openly at their company.
- Managers want training. 72.2% wanted managers to be trained, yet only 4.1% of companies offered any information on the topic.
What employers gain
Keep the people who know how your business runs
Replacing an employee costs one-half to two times their annual salary, according to Gallup. Only 55.3% of Austrian women aged 55 to 64 were in work in 2025 (Eurostat), and 8.3% of women in the MenoSupportAustria study had retired early because of symptoms. A written policy, trained managers and quick access to the right doctor can help address barriers that contribute to employee attrition.
Stand out to experienced women
With only 4.1% of companies offering information on menopause, a clear offer, explained in your benefits pack, stands out to senior women weighing their next move.
Make menopause support financially predictable
Aon projects Austria’s medical trend at 2.5% for 2026 (Aon, 2026 report). Employers pay full salary for at least 6 weeks of sick leave, so earlier care also protects your own costs.
Zora helps employers set an annual allowance or top-up around public health insurance and your benefits, so HR can run the programme within an agreed budget. The benefit works alongside your existing insurance.
Want to see what this would look like for your Austrian workforce?
What menopause care costs, and what the state pays
Employees are covered by public health insurance. Patients pay a prescription fee per item and an annual e-card service fee.
| Item | Public support | What the employee still carries |
|---|---|---|
| Prescription medicines | Covered by public health insurance | A prescription fee of €7.55 per item in 2026 |
| e-card service fee | Annual fee for public health insurance access | €25 for 2026; €26.85 for 2027 |
| Time off for appointments | Employer pays full salary for 6 to 12 weeks depending on service, then half salary for 4 weeks | No menopause leave |
From WKO, January 2026, oesterreich.gv.at and USP. We could not confirm HRT reimbursement rules or private consultation fees. These are published examples, not guaranteed current prices: actual costs depend on cover, clinic, doctor and treatment, so confirm fees with the provider before budgeting.
Almost one in four working women in Austria had taken sick leave because of menopause symptoms.
We have found no menopause workplace law or guidance in Austria. For employers, the practical opportunity is to help employees recognise their symptoms, understand their options and reach appropriate clinical advice sooner.
Menopause support that fits your workforce and budget
You do not need to overhaul your existing health insurance to support employees through menopause. Start with awareness and manager education, add confidential one-to-one support, or introduce a fuller programme across your offices. There is no minimum company size.
Where included in the employer programme, eligible employees can use talks and care navigation without paying Zora a separate fee. Care navigation allowances are set in each proposal. Treatment and other third-party costs are paid separately, either by employees or through the allowance their employer provides.
Companies starting the conversation
Essentials
Expert-led talks for employees and managers, menopause policy templates, manager guides and full access to the Zora app. Up to 2 talks a year.
Employees supported one to one
Navigation
Everything in Essentials, plus confidential one-to-one care navigation and access to our partner clinic network.
Large teams across countries
Complete
Everything in Navigation, plus quarterly anonymised reporting, a dedicated account manager and scheduled review meetings with HR.
Optional add-ons can be added to any programme, subject to availability: hormone diagnostics and telehealth with specialists. Pricing is tailored to your headcount, your countries and the services you choose. Most companies start with a single talk.
Request a proposal See how Zora works for employers
Comparing menopause benefit providers? Use our RFP question bank
Our question bank has 40 questions for multi-country benefits teams, with why each one matters, what a good answer looks like and a scoring sheet for three providers. Six of the questions for menopause support in Austria:
- Is menopause support included as standard, or only fertility?
- What access do employees get to menopause specialists and hormone testing, and how quickly?
- How does the programme train managers, given that 72.2% of women in the MenoSupportAustria study asked for it?
- Do you provide fertility and menopause policy templates for our markets?
- How can an employee get help confidentially without telling their manager?
- What individual-level data does HR see?
Your download link appears as soon as you submit. Zora Health may contact you about employee benefits; see our privacy policy.
Plan your menopause benefit budget
Menopause care allowance planner
Model the annual claims budget for a menopause care allowance. Change any number.
This is a claims budget, not a Zora quotation. Zora’s programme fees, implementation and optional services are separate.
It estimates the annual budget for a menopause care allowance from your eligible workforce, expected utilisation and allowance per employee, and assumes each user claims the full allowance. Eligible employees defaults to 15% as a stand-in for women aged 45 and over; use your own headcount data. The default allowance of €500 is an illustrative figure for private consultations, tests and treatment. Utilisation is an editable assumption, not observed Zora data. For a proposal covering both programme costs and employee benefits, request an employer proposal.
Estimate the potential workforce impact of menopause symptoms
A rough planning scenario. It applies a published estimate to your headcount, so it is not a prediction for your workforce, a measured loss or a forecast of savings from any programme.
Range: €28,592 to €86,549 a year, depending on replacement cost.
Assumptions: 13.4% of working women aged 45 to 60 reported at least one adverse work outcome due to menopause symptoms, and those who missed work lost a median of 3 days a year (Faubion et al., Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 2023). This was a US clinic sample, so treat it as a rough benchmark for Austria. The default salary is the 2024 median gross annual income of women working full time all year, €51,261. Use your own. Replacing an employee costs one-half to two times their annual salary (Gallup, 2019); the headline uses the low end. Absence is valued at salary divided by 250 working days. Exit rate is your own assumption.
Already have corporate health insurance? Here is where Zora fits
Your medical plan may cover some consultations and treatment. Employees still need to recognise their symptoms, understand their options and find a doctor who knows menopause care, and many never get that far.
Zora works alongside your existing insurance and benefits. We help employees get reliable information, navigate their care options and reach suitable specialists, and we give HR manager training, policy templates and, on the Complete programme, anonymised reporting. You strengthen menopause support without replacing your medical plan.
How Zora works
For your employees
Employees join the Zora app with a company code, or single sign-on for larger teams. They can learn about perimenopause and menopause, understand what your benefit covers, book a confidential care navigation call and find partner doctors and specialists.
For HR
- Kick-off, week 1. Agree goals, countries and which employees are eligible.
- Policy and benefit design, weeks 2 to 4. Draft or update your menopause policy and flexible work guidance using our templates.
- Launch, typically weeks 4 to 6. A launch talk for employees and managers, plus a communications pack for HR to send.
- Live support. Employees book care navigation calls and use the Zora app.
- Reporting, every 3 months, on the Complete programme. Anonymised usage, common themes and our recommendations, reviewed with your account manager.
Privacy
On the Complete programme, HR receives anonymised, aggregated reports only: how many employees used the programme, which services they used and the common themes. On every programme, HR never sees an individual employee’s health information, bookings or test results, and employees can get help without telling their manager. Employee data is stored on Amazon Web Services in Singapore and handled in line with Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Act.
Clinics and doctors in Austria
Zora’s clinic and doctor directory does not list providers in Austria yet. It lists 421 clinics and 1,185 doctors across 25 countries, mostly in Asia Pacific and the Middle East (browse clinics or browse doctors). Employees in Austria can still use Zora’s education and the Zora app. Ask us how your team in Austria would use Zora before you launch. See Zora’s employer guides for every country.
Rules and eligibility in Austria
Sick pay
The employer pays full salary for 6 weeks, rising to up to 12 weeks with length of service, then half salary for a further 4 weeks. Public sickness benefit starts on day 4 at 50% of the assessment base, rising to 60% from day 43 (USP, March 2026).
Parliamentary motion
Motion 3849/A(E), Put menopause in focus, tabled in January 2024, calls for a national menopause action plan and an awareness campaign (Austrian Parliament).
No menopause workplace rules
We have found no menopause-specific workplace law or guidance in Austria. A written company policy is the clearest way to set expectations for managers.
EU strategy and a new standard
The EU Gender Equality Strategy 2026 to 2030 includes menopause, with a study planned for 2028, and European trade unions launched a campaign for EU menopause-at-work legislation in October 2026 (Euronews). ISO 45010, published in September 2026, gives guidance on menstruation and menopause in the workplace, including risk assessment and individual adjustments (ecnews.it).
Why employers choose Zora
Companies including Hilton, LinkedIn, Sanofi, HSBC, Mastercard, Carousell and Singapore Management University work with Zora Health. We work alongside your existing insurance, helping employees use the cover they already have and find suitable doctors and specialists based on their needs.
Zora Health helped me to reclaim my confidence to thrive at work!
Questions HR teams ask us
Do Austrian employers have to give menopause leave?
No. There is no menopause leave. Employees use sick leave, holiday or flexible arrangements unless their employer offers more.
Who pays sick pay in Austria?
The employer pays full salary for 6 to 12 weeks, depending on service, then half salary for 4 weeks. Public sickness benefit covers the rest.
How does menopause affect work in Austria?
In a 2024 study of 1,720 employed women, more than two thirds said symptoms affect their work and 23.1% had taken sick leave.
What do employees pay for medicines in Austria?
A prescription fee of €7.55 per item in 2026.
Is there a national menopause plan in Austria?
Not yet. A 2024 parliamentary motion called for a menopause action plan and awareness campaign.
Does Zora replace our health insurance?
No. Zora works alongside your insurance. We help employees understand their options, find suitable specialists and use the cover they already have.
How much does menopause support cost an employer?
It depends on the programme, any allowance and expected uptake. Use the budget planner on this page for a first estimate, then ask us for a tailored proposal based on your headcount and countries.
How quickly can we launch?
Typically 4 to 6 weeks from contract to launch, depending on scope and countries. Most companies start with a single talk.
Related guides for Austrian employers
Build a menopause support programme for your team
Whether you are introducing menopause benefits for the first time or improving an existing programme, tell us your headcount, countries and priorities. We will come back within two working days with suitable services, an indicative budget and a practical rollout plan for your Austrian team. No obligation.
Sources
- MenoSupportAustria, HWR Berlin and Wechselweise, September 2024 (1,720 employed women)
- Eurostat, Employment rates by sex and age, 2025
- Statistik Austria, Gender statistics: income
- WKO, Fees and social benefits 2026
- oesterreich.gv.at, e-card service fee
- USP, Continued pay during sick leave
- Austrian Parliament, Motion 3849/A(E), January 2024
- Aon, Global Medical Trend Rates Report 2026
- Euronews, Trade unions call for EU law on menopause at work, 17 October 2026
- ecnews.it, ISO 45010 on menstruation and menopause in the workplace, September 2026
- Gallup, This fixable problem costs US businesses $1 trillion, 2019
- Mayo Clinic News Network, Faubion et al., Impact of menopause symptoms on women in the workplace, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, April 2023