Menopause Benefits for Employers in Italy

Written by Anna Haotanto, Founder, Zora Health. Last reviewed: November 2026. General information, not legal or medical advice. This guide covers what your employees go through, what care costs, what the rules ask of you and how to build menopause support.

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:

• Reduced hours and lost promotions. In the Menopausa e Lavoro survey of 1,576 working women aged 45 to 65, 23.98% had changed how they work; of those, 30.09% cut their hours or went part-time and 18.25% gave up a promotion (Fondazione Onda and parliamentary intergroup on menopause, October 2025).
• Lower performance. 64.28% currently had symptoms, fatigue was the most intense symptom at work, and 68.9% reported a medium or high impact on their work.
• Silence at work. 37.69% had told no one, and only 2.66% had told only their employer. 14.3% had taken leave or sick days because of symptoms.
• Little employer support. 59.25% rated employer support as low, and 83.63% said their organisation had run no menopause initiative.

What employers gain

What menopause care costs, and what the state pays

Most menopause care in Italy goes through the national health service (SSN): a GP, a specialist gynaecology visit with a ticket co-payment, and medication.

Ticket and tariff from Altroconsumo, September 2026; drug class from Torrinomedica, citing AIFA; sick pay from the INPS guide. Reimbursement varies by product, and some sources say some licensed bioidentical hormones are reimbursed, so check each prescription. 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.

Most women manage alone. In the 2025 Menopausa e Lavoro survey, 37.69% had told no one about their symptoms.

Italy has no national menopause directive for workplaces (Domani, March 2024), and the survey above was run with a parliamentary intergroup on menopause. 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.

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

Plan your menopause benefit budget

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

1. Kick-off, week 1. Agree goals, countries and which employees are eligible.
2. Policy and benefit design, weeks 2 to 4. Draft or update your menopause policy and flexible work guidance using our templates.
3. Launch, typically weeks 4 to 6. A launch talk for employees and managers, plus a communications pack for HR to send.
4. Live support. Employees book care navigation calls and use the Zora app.
5. 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 Italy

Zora’s clinic and doctor directory does not list providers in Italy 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 Italy can still use Zora’s education and the Zora app. Ask us how your team in Italy would use Zora before you launch. See Zora’s employer guides for every country.

Rules and eligibility in Italy

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.

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Zora Health helped me to reclaim my confidence to thrive at work!

Questions HR teams ask us

Do Italian employers have to give menopause leave?

No. There is no menopause leave. Employees use sick leave, annual leave or smart working unless their collective agreement or employer offers more.

What sick pay applies?

INPS pays 50% of average daily pay from day 4 to day 20 and 66.66% from day 21 to day 180. Days 1 to 3 and any top-up depend on the collective agreement.

Can an employee request smart working because of menopause?

Smart working is agreed between the parties. Menopause is not one of the priority grounds in law, so the answer depends on company policy.

Is hormone therapy reimbursed?

It depends on the product. Some, such as certain estradiol gels, are Class C and paid in full by the patient, so check each prescription.

How common is employer support in Italy?

Rare. In the 2025 Menopausa e Lavoro survey, 83.63% of working women said their organisation had run no menopause initiative.

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.

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