Zora Health / Employer guide / Qatar
Support your experienced employees through menopause, and help them stay at their best.
Back and neck aches, night sweats and nervousness can hit your most experienced employees at the height of their careers, and few raise them 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.
Book an employer consultation Explore the cost calculator
Five things Qatar HR leaders should know
- In a study of 1,158 Qatari women aged 40 to 60, the mean age of natural menopause was 49.9.
- The most common symptoms in the same study were back and neck aches (49.2%), night sweats (37.2%) and feeling nervous (35.4%), ahead of hot flushes (33.3%).
- Women’s labour force participation was 63.5% in 2023, including 43.5% for Qatari women and 68.4% for non-Qatari women.
- Employers must provide health insurance for non-Qatari employees under Law No. 22 of 2021, in force since May 2022.
- Sick leave after three months’ service is two weeks at full pay, four weeks at half pay and up to six further weeks unpaid. There is no menopause leave.
Why menopause is a business problem for employers
Menopause rarely announces itself at work. It looks like a senior manager who slept four hours, aching joints on a long day, 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:
- Symptoms that look like something else. In a study of 1,158 Qatari women aged 40 to 60, back and neck aches (49.2%) were more common than hot flushes (33.3%) (Journal of Mid-Life Health, 2014). Many women and managers never connect the dots.
- Sleep and mood. In the same study, 37.2% reported night sweats and 35.4% felt nervous, both of which affect concentration at work.
- Experienced women at work. Non-Qatari women had a labour force participation rate of 68.4% in 2023 and Qatari women 43.5% (Planning and Statistics Authority, via GLMM), so many of the women going through menopause are in your workforce.
- Unequal access. Non-Qatari employees rely on employer-provided insurance, and cover for menopause care depends on the plan. We found no published Qatar data on menopause cover in employer plans.
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. Women’s labour force participation in Qatar was 63.5% in 2023. 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
Specialist care is growing: Sidra Medicine opened a multidisciplinary Menopause Clinic in 2022, with gynaecologists, endocrinologists, psychologists, dietitians and physiotherapists (Sidra Medicine). Employers that help women reach this kind of care stand out.
Make menopause support financially predictable
Aon projects Qatar’s medical trend at 10.0% for 2026 (Aon, 2026 report). Much of what helps menopause costs very little: a flexible start time, a fan, a manager who knows what to say.
Zora helps employers set an annual allowance or top-up around your mandatory 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 Qatar workforce?
What menopause care costs, and what the state pays
Qatari nationals use the public health system, while employers must insure non-Qatari employees. What menopause care costs an employee depends on the plan.
| Item | Public support | What the employee still carries |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Qatari employees | Employer must provide health insurance with an insurer registered with the Ministry of Public Health | Cover for menopause care and hormone therapy depends on the plan |
| Specialist menopause care | Sidra Medicine runs a dedicated Menopause Clinic | Fees depend on the provider and plan |
| Time off for appointments | After three months’ service: two weeks of sick leave at full pay, then four weeks at half pay | Then up to six weeks unpaid; no menopause leave |
Insurance law from Clyde and Co; sick leave from Gulf Times. We could not confirm the contents of the basic mandatory package 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.
Symptoms are often not the ones people expect. In a Qatari study, back and neck aches were more common than hot flushes.
We have found no menopause workplace guidance in Qatar. For employers, the practical opportunity is to help employees recognise their symptoms, understand what their plan covers 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 Qatar:
- 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 fill gaps in our mandatory health insurance for menopause care in Qatar?
- 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 QAR 3,000 is an illustrative figure for consultations, tests and treatment not covered by insurance. 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: QAR 66,933 to QAR 202,608 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 Qatar. The default salary is an illustrative figure for corporate employees; the latest published average across all workers was about QAR 7,800 a month (2017 data). 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 Qatar
Zora’s directory lists 3 clinics and 12 doctors in Qatar. The clinics are in Doha.
Employees can browse clinics in Qatar and find a doctor in Qatar on the Zora app. The directory is for information only and is not an endorsement. See Zora’s employer guides for every country.
Rules and eligibility in Qatar
Sick leave
After three months’ service, employees are entitled to two weeks of sick leave at full pay, four weeks at half pay and up to six further weeks unpaid, with a certificate from a doctor approved by the employer (Gulf Times). There is no menopause leave.
Mandatory health insurance
Law No. 22 of 2021 requires employers to enrol non-Qatari employees and their families with insurers registered with the Ministry of Public Health, with proof of cover needed for residence permits (Clyde and Co).
Specialist menopause clinic
Sidra Medicine’s Menopause Clinic covers perimenopause, premature menopause, hot flushes, mood symptoms, bone health and guidance on hormone therapy (Sidra Medicine).
No menopause workplace rules
We have found no menopause-specific workplace law or guidance in Qatar. A written company policy is the clearest way to set expectations for managers.
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 Qatar employers have to give menopause leave?
No. There is no menopause leave. Employees use sick leave, annual leave or flexible arrangements unless their employer offers more.
How much sick leave do employees get?
After three months’ service, two weeks at full pay, four weeks at half pay and up to six further weeks unpaid, with a certificate from a doctor approved by the employer.
Must employers insure non-Qatari staff?
Yes. Law No. 22 of 2021 requires employers to provide health insurance for non-Qatari employees, in force since May 2022. Cover for menopause care depends on the plan.
Where can employees get specialist menopause care?
Sidra Medicine runs a dedicated Menopause Clinic, opened in 2022, with a multidisciplinary team.
At what age do women in Qatar reach menopause?
In a study of 1,158 Qatari women, the mean age of natural menopause was 49.9.
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 Qatar 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 Qatar team. No obligation.
Sources
- Bener and Falah, Menopause-specific quality of life in Qatari women, Journal of Mid-Life Health, 2014 (1,158 women aged 40 to 60)
- Planning and Statistics Authority, Labour Force Sample Survey 2023, via GLMM
- Gulf News, Qatar average salaries, September 2018
- Gulf Times, Sick leave under the Qatar labour law
- Clyde and Co, Mandatory health insurance in Qatar, December 2021
- Sidra Medicine, Menopause Clinic launch, October 2022
- 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