Zora Health / Employer guide / France
Support your experienced employees through menopause, and help them stay at their best.
Hot flushes, poor sleep and fatigue can hit your most experienced employees at the height of their careers, yet most keep their symptoms to themselves at work. 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 France HR leaders should know
- The average age of menopause in France is 51, and about 500,000 women enter menopause each year. 87% of women aged 50 to 65 have at least one symptom, and 20% to 25% have severe symptoms.
- In an OpinionWay survey of about 1,000 menopausal women, 87% felt at least one work-related discomfort from symptoms and 53% talked about it with no one at work.
- The April 2025 Rist report on menopause proposed a workplace guide and adding menopause to the mid-career occupational health visit, but did not recommend menopause leave.
- Gynaecologist visits and most hormone therapy are reimbursed: a €37 secteur 1 gynaecology consultation is reimbursed at 70% less a €2 charge, and common hormone treatments at 65%.
- The Labour Code bans discrimination on grounds including sex, age and health status, and requires a mid-career visit with the occupational doctor around age 45.
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 comité de direction. 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:
- Discomfort at work. In an OpinionWay survey for Astellas of about 1,000 menopausal women, 87% felt at least one work-related discomfort because of symptoms (L’info durable, July 2025).
- Silence and fear. In the same survey, one in four had hidden symptoms for fear of discrimination, and 53% talked about it with no one at work.
- Little employer response. In an AG2R LA MONDIALE survey of 7,879 women employees in food, social economy and hairdressing, about one in two said peri-menopause or menopause affects their work, and fewer than one in four said their company takes it into account (AG2R LA MONDIALE, 2025).
- Low treatment rates. Only 2.5% of menopausal women were on hormone therapy in 2024, according to figures cited with the Rist report (Vidal, April 2025).
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. The employment rate for women aged 50 to 64 in France was 67.1% in 2025 (Eurostat), so more of your experienced women will work through menopause. A written policy, trained managers and quick access to the right doctor can help address barriers that contribute to employee attrition.
Act before the rules catch up
The Rist report proposed a workplace menopause guide, training for occupational doctors and nurses, and menopause in the mid-career visit (Editions Tissot, April 2025). The Health Minister’s Assises de la ménopause in October 2026 set out further measures, including a reinforced prevention check-up for women aged 45 to 50 (Ordre des pharmaciens).
Make menopause support financially predictable
Aon projects French medical trend at 4.5% for 2026 (Aon, November 2025). Much of what helps menopause costs very little: a flexible start time, a desk fan, a manager who knows what to say.
Zora helps employers set an annual allowance or top-up around Assurance Maladie and your mutuelle, 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 France workforce?
What menopause care costs, and what the state pays
Most menopause care in France is outpatient: a GP or gynaecologist, who can be seen directly, and medication. Assurance Maladie reimburses most of the cost, with the remainder usually covered by a mutuelle.
| Item | Public support | What the employee still carries |
|---|---|---|
| Gynaecologist consultation (secteur 1) | €37 fee, of which €23.90 is reimbursed (70% less the €2 participation) | The balance, usually covered by a mutuelle; doctors in secteur 2 may charge more |
| GP consultation (secteur 1) | €30 fee, 70% reimbursed with a médecin traitant | €2 participation per consultation, capped at €70 a year |
| Hormone therapy | Common treatments such as estradiol gel and micronised progesterone reimbursed at 65% | For example, €5.94 for estradiol gel and €7.03 for 15 progesterone capsules before reimbursement |
| Time off for appointments | Social security pays 50% of the basic daily wage after three waiting days, up to €42.97 a day | Employer top-up after one year’s service, after seven waiting days |
Fees and reimbursement from Service-Public (verified December 2024) and Service-Public (October 2026); medicine prices from the public medicines database (progesterone), November 2026; sick pay from Service-Public. 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.
Treatment is rare. Only 2.5% of menopausal women in France were on hormone therapy in 2024.
The Ministry of Health says 87% of women aged 50 to 65 have at least one symptom (Santé.fr). For employers, the practical opportunity is to help employees recognise their symptoms, understand their options and reach appropriate clinical advice sooner, including through the occupational health service.
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 France:
- 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 work alongside our occupational health service and the mid-career visit under the Labour Code?
- 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 €400 is an illustrative figure for secteur 2 fees, consultations not covered by a mutuelle and unreimbursed 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: €24,542 to €74,290 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 France. The default salary is close to average gross full-time pay in the private sector (€3,693 a month in 2025); 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 France
Zora’s clinic and doctor directory does not list providers in France 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 France can still use Zora’s education and the Zora app. Ask us how your team in France would use Zora before you launch. See Zora’s employer guides for every country.
Rules and eligibility in France
Non-discrimination
Article L1132-1 of the Labour Code bans discrimination on grounds including sex, age and health status (Code du travail). Menopause is not named, so base performance and promotion decisions on documented, job-related reasons.
Mid-career occupational health visit
Employees have a visit with the occupational doctor around age 45, which covers the risk of leaving work for health or age reasons (Article L4624-2-2). The Rist report proposed adding menopause to this visit.
Sick pay
Social security pays 50% of the basic daily wage after three waiting days, capped at €42.97 gross a day. After a year’s service, employers top this up to 90% and then 66.66% of gross pay after seven waiting days, for 60 to 180 days depending on seniority (Service-Public).
Telework
Telework is set by a collective agreement or employer charter, and an employer must give reasons when refusing a request from an employee in an eligible role (Article L1222-9).
Menopause bills
A January 2025 bill proposed a covered consultation at 40 to 45, menopause in the mid-career visit and a three-region trial of sick leave for disabling symptoms; it has not been examined (Editions Tissot). A 2023 Senate report called menopause the last taboo of women’s health at work (Public Sénat). There is no menopause leave.
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 French employers have to give menopause leave?
No. There is no menopause leave. Employees use sick leave, annual leave or telework unless a company agreement offers more.
Is menopause covered by discrimination law?
Not by name. The Labour Code protects sex, age and health status, among other grounds, and some menopause-related situations may overlap with these.
Is hormone therapy reimbursed in France?
Common treatments such as estradiol gel and micronised progesterone are reimbursed at 65% by Assurance Maladie, with the remainder usually covered by a mutuelle.
What did the Rist report recommend for employers?
It proposed a workplace menopause guide, training for occupational doctors and nurses, and menopause in the mid-career visit. It did not recommend menopause leave, citing risks of indirect discrimination.
Can an employee ask for telework because of menopause symptoms?
Yes, where the role is eligible under your telework agreement or charter. The employer must give reasons if it refuses.
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 France 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 France team. No obligation.
Sources
- Santé.fr, Ministry of Health, Ménopause, October 2026
- L’info durable, OpinionWay survey for Astellas, July 2025 (about 1,000 menopausal women)
- AG2R LA MONDIALE, Women’s health at work survey, 2025 (7,879 women employees)
- Editions Tissot, Rist report proposals on menopause at work, April 2025
- Vidal, Menopause proposals, April 2025
- Ordre des pharmaciens, Assises de la ménopause, October 2026
- Eurostat, Employment rates by sex and age (lfsa_ergan), 2025
- INSEE Première no. 2132, Private sector pay 2025, October 2026
- Service-Public, Reimbursement of consultations
- Service-Public, Participation forfaitaire
- Public medicines database, Oestrodose
- Public medicines database, Utrogestan 200 mg
- Service-Public, Sick pay for private-sector employees
- Labour Code, Article L1132-1
- Labour Code, Article L1222-9
- Labour Code, Article L4624-2-2
- Editions Tissot, Bill to improve menopause awareness and prevention, January 2025
- Public Sénat, Senate report on women’s health at work, June 2023
- 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