Zora Health / Employer guide / Germany
Support your experienced employees through menopause, and help them stay at their best.
Poor sleep, fatigue and difficulty concentrating can hit your most experienced employees at the height of their careers, and many cut their hours or retire early rather than ask for support. 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.
Book an employer consultation Explore the cost calculator
Five things Germany HR leaders should know
- The average age of menopause in Germany is 51. The employment rate for women aged 50 to 64 was 74.9% in 2025.
- In the MenoSupport survey of 2,119 women in Germany, 24% said symptoms influenced a decision to reduce their hours and 10% had retired early because of them.
- 29% of the same women fear being disadvantaged if colleagues know about their symptoms, and 56.9% want support from their employer.
- Statutory health insurance has no billing code for menopause counselling. After a national dialogue in October 2026, the Health Ministry asked the system’s self-governing bodies to consider paying for it.
- The Federal Anti-Discrimination Commissioner has called for a national menopause strategy and a legal clarification that discrimination law protects women in menopause.
Why menopause is a business problem for employers
Menopause rarely announces itself at work. It looks like a team lead 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:
- Reduced hours and early retirement. In the MenoSupport survey of 2,119 women in Germany who had been employed in the past five years, 24% said symptoms influenced a decision to reduce their hours and 10% had retired early because of them, rising to 19.4% among those aged 55 and over (HWR Berlin, 2024).
- Lower performance. In a 2025 HWR Berlin and BARMER study, 74% of women reported concentration problems, and around 11 million women aged 40 to 59 live in Germany, about 80% of them in work (HWR Berlin and BARMER, June 2025).
- Lost working time. HWR Berlin estimates menopause costs the German economy about €9.4 billion a year in lost value added and about 40 million working days. This is a modelled estimate based on US and UK data (zm-online).
- Silence at work. In the MenoSupport survey, 29% fear being disadvantaged if colleagues know about their symptoms, and 3.2% had been signed off sick while 29.4% took unpaid leave.
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 Germany was 74.9% 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.
Stand out to experienced women
In the MenoSupport survey, 56.9% of women wanted support from their employer, and in the HWR Berlin and BARMER study leadership training (76%) and flexible hours (73%) were rated the most helpful measures. Large employers including SAP and Vodafone have started menopause initiatives in Germany (mind RH, March 2026).
Make menopause support financially predictable
Aon projects German medical trend at 7.2% 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 statutory and private health insurance, 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 Germany workforce?
What menopause care costs, and what the state pays
Most menopause care in Germany is outpatient: a GP or gynaecologist visit and, where suitable, hormone therapy on prescription, covered by statutory health insurance (GKV) for most employees.
| Item | Public support | What the employee still carries |
|---|---|---|
| GP or gynaecologist visit | Covered by statutory health insurance | Doctors have no billing code for menopause counselling, so longer conversations may be short or charged privately |
| Prescription medicines, including hormone therapy | Covered when prescribed under statutory insurance | Co-payment of 10% of the price, at least €5 and at most €10 per item |
| Time off for appointments | Employers continue full pay for up to six weeks of incapacity, after four weeks of employment | No menopause leave |
Co-payments from section 61 of the Social Code Book V (gesetze-im-internet.de); billing code gap reported by epd, October 2026; continued pay from the Continued Remuneration Act. 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.
Women are stepping back rather than asking for help. One in five women over 55 in the HWR Berlin and BARMER study had considered early retirement because of menopause.
The policy debate is moving. The Health Ministry’s dialogue process on menopause, concluded in October 2026, aims to anchor menopause in medical training and add menopause counselling to what statutory insurance pays for (epd). 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 Germany:
- 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 fit our workplace health management and risk assessments under the Occupational Safety and Health Act?
- 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 menopause consultations, longer counselling not paid by statutory insurance and co-payments. 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: €30,120 to €91,174 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 Germany. The default salary is close to median gross earnings for full-time employees in Germany (€54,066 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 Germany
Zora’s clinic and doctor directory does not list providers in Germany 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 Germany can still use Zora’s education and the Zora app. Ask us how your team in Germany would use Zora before you launch. See Zora’s employer guides for every country.
Rules and eligibility in Germany
Continued pay during illness
Under the Continued Remuneration Act, an employee unable to work through illness keeps their regular pay for up to six weeks, once they have been employed for four weeks without interruption (section 3 EntgFG).
General Equal Treatment Act
The AGG protects against discrimination on grounds including sex, disability and age (section 1 AGG). Menopause is not named. In October 2026 the Federal Anti-Discrimination Commissioner said the legal position is unclear and called for clarification, plus employer measures such as flexible hours, suitable temperatures, toilet access and occupational physician advice (evangelisch.de).
Part-time work
Employees with more than six months’ service at an employer with more than 15 employees can request reduced hours in text form three months ahead. The employer can refuse only for operational reasons, in writing, at least a month before the start date (section 8 TzBfG).
Risk assessment
The Occupational Safety and Health Act requires a risk assessment that includes psychological strain (section 5 ArbSchG). Menopause is not named, but heat, ventilation, breaks and workload fall within a normal assessment.
National menopause strategy
A CDU/CSU motion for a national menopause strategy, including menopause in workplace health management, was referred to committee in October 2024 (Bundestag). There is no statutory 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 German employers have to give menopause leave?
No. There is no statutory menopause leave. Employees use sick leave with continued pay, annual leave or flexible arrangements unless their employer offers more.
Is menopause covered by the General Equal Treatment Act?
Not by name. The AGG protects sex, disability and age, among other grounds, and some menopause-related situations may overlap with these. The Federal Anti-Discrimination Commissioner has called for a legal clarification.
Does statutory health insurance pay for menopause care?
Doctor visits and prescribed medicines are covered, with a co-payment of €5 to €10 per prescription item. There is currently no billing code for menopause counselling, which the Health Ministry has asked the system to address.
Can an employee reduce their hours because of menopause symptoms?
Employees with more than six months’ service at employers with more than 15 staff have a general right to request part-time work, which the employer can refuse only for operational reasons.
How much does menopause cost German employers?
HWR Berlin estimates about €9.4 billion a year in lost value added across the economy. The figure is modelled on US and UK data and excludes reduced hours and early retirement.
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 Germany 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 Germany team. No obligation.
Sources
- Federal Ministry of Health, gesund.bund.de, Wechseljahre
- HWR Berlin, MenoSupport survey results, April 2024 (2,119 women in Germany)
- HWR Berlin and BARMER, Menopause@work recommendations, June 2025
- zm-online, The cost of menopause to the German economy (HWR Berlin estimate)
- Bundestag, First reading of motion on a national menopause strategy, October 2024
- mind RH, Menopause initiatives at German employers, March 2026
- Eurostat, Employment rates by sex and age (lfsa_ergan), 2025
- Destatis, Earnings of full-time employees 2025, April 2026
- Social Code Book V, section 61
- evangelisch.de (epd), Menopause in the political spotlight, 13 October 2026
- evangelisch.de, Ataman calls for measures against menopause discrimination, 13 October 2026
- Continued Remuneration Act, section 3
- General Equal Treatment Act, section 1
- Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act, section 8
- Occupational Safety and Health Act, section 5
- Aon Germany, 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