Zora Health / Employer guide / Norway
Support your experienced employees through menopause, and help them stay at their best.
Norwegian register data show women’s earnings fall by up to 3.7% in the four years after menopause begins, and long-term sick leave rises. 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 Norwegian HR leaders should know
- The average age at natural menopause in Norway rose from 50.3 for women born in 1936 to 52.7 for women born in 1964.
- Women’s earnings fall by up to 3.7% four years after menopause onset, and up to 5.3% where diagnosis is delayed.
- Symptomatic women who saw a doctor showed no earnings loss.
- 68.5% of women aged 55 to 64 were in work in 2025.
- A January 2026 proposal in the Storting calls for employer guidance on menopause, developed with the social partners.
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:
- Lower earnings. Using Norwegian registers, researchers found women’s earnings fell by up to 3.7% four years after menopause onset, 4.5% for symptomatic women and up to 5.3% where diagnosis was delayed (IZA Discussion Paper 17789, March 2025).
- More sick leave. Long-term sick leave rose by 0.36 months a year by year four, from 0.78 to 1.14 months.
- Care makes a difference. Symptomatic women who saw a doctor showed no earnings loss, which points to the value of early, informed care.
- Many affected. More than 27,000 Norwegian women reach menopause each year, and about 1 in 3 has problems affecting quality of life and working life (KLAR project, University of Bergen).
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. With 68.5% of women aged 55 to 64 in work in 2025 (Eurostat), many of your most experienced employees will go through menopause at work. 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
Bergen kommune has published a menopause guide for employees and managers to help cut sick leave (Bergen kommune). A clear offer, explained in your benefits pack, helps you compete for senior women.
Make menopause support financially predictable
Aon projects Norway’s medical trend at 8.0% for 2026, or 5.8% after inflation (Aon, 2026 report). Employers pay the first 16 days of sick leave, so earlier care also protects your own costs.
Zora helps employers set an annual allowance or top-up around public care and your 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 Norwegian workforce?
What menopause care costs, and what the state pays
Public health care charges user fees up to an annual cap, after which care is free. Many employers add private health insurance for faster specialist access.
| Item | Public support | What the employee still carries |
|---|---|---|
| GP visit, 2026 | Public care with a user fee | NOK 179 daytime, NOK 301 evening |
| Specialist consultation | Public care with a user fee | NOK 443 daytime |
| Annual cap | Exemption card after NOK 3,278 in approved user fees in 2026 | Fees up to the cap |
| Time off for appointments | Employer pays sick pay for the first 16 days, then NAV, for up to 52 weeks | Income above 6 times the basic amount |
From helsenorge.no, August 2026 and NAV. We could not confirm whether HRT is on the blue prescription scheme, 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.
Symptomatic Norwegian women who saw a doctor showed no loss in earnings after menopause.
Norway has no menopause workplace rules yet, but a proposal for employer guidance is before the Storting. 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 Norway:
- 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 help reduce menopause-related sick leave in the employer-paid period?
- 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 NOK 5,000 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: NOK 415,431 to NOK 1,257,520 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 Norway. The default salary is average monthly earnings of NOK 62,070 (November 2025) multiplied by 12. 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 Norway
Zora’s clinic and doctor directory does not list providers in Norway 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 Norway can still use Zora’s education and the Zora app. Ask us how your team in Norway would use Zora before you launch. See Zora’s employer guides for every country.
Rules and eligibility in Norway
Sick pay
The employer pays the first 16 days of sick leave, then NAV pays sickness benefit on income up to 6 times the national insurance basic amount, for up to 52 weeks (NAV).
Storting proposal on women’s health and menopause
Dokument 8:80 S (2025-2026) proposes equal access to treatment including hormone therapy, national clinical guidelines, employer guidance on adjustments and leadership developed with the social partners, and pilots to reduce menopause-related sick leave (Stortinget).
Bergen kommune
Bergen’s attendance project published a menopause guide for employees and managers, saying better knowledge can help bring down sick leave (Bergen kommune, updated September 2026).
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 Norwegian 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 Norway?
The employer pays the first 16 days, then NAV pays for up to 52 weeks, on income up to 6 times the basic amount.
Does menopause affect earnings in Norway?
Register research found women’s earnings fell by up to 3.7% four years after menopause onset, and long-term sick leave rose.
What does menopause care cost in Norway?
In 2026, a GP visit costs NOK 179 in the daytime, with an exemption card after NOK 3,278 in user fees a year.
At what age do Norwegian women reach menopause?
The average rose from 50.3 for women born in 1936 to 52.7 for those born in 1964.
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 Norwegian 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 Norwegian team. No obligation.
Sources
- University of Oslo, Gottschalk, Age at menopause: associated factors and temporal trends, 2022
- Abrahamsson, Barschkett and Flatø, Beyond hot flashes: the career cost of menopause, IZA DP 17789, March 2025
- University of Bergen, KLAR: women’s health, menopause and working life
- Eurostat, Employment rates by sex and age, 2025
- Statistics Norway, Earnings, February 2026
- helsenorge.no, User fees at the family doctor, 2026
- NAV, Sickness benefit
- Stortinget, Dokument 8:80 S (2025-2026), January 2026
- Bergen kommune, Menopause on the agenda
- Aon, Global Medical Trend Rates Report 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