Zora Health / Employer guide / Turkey
Support your experienced employees through menopause, and help them stay at their best.
Hot flushes, muscle pain and fatigue are reported by almost every woman in Turkish studies, often during the years she is most senior 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 Turkey HR leaders should know
- Turkish studies put the average age at menopause between about 48 and 53.
- In a study of 1,551 women in Eskişehir, 96.5% reported hot flushes, 95.0% back or muscle pain and 91.0% tiredness.
- In a 2023 study, working women had higher physical symptom scores than women who were not working.
- Women’s labour force participation was 36.2% in 2025, against 71.3% for men.
- Labour Law 4857 bans discrimination based on sex. There is no menopause-specific law or 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, 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:
- Physical symptoms. In a study of 1,551 women aged 40 to 69 in Eskişehir, symptoms of any severity in the past two weeks included hot flushes (96.5%), back or muscle pain (95.0%) and tiredness (91.0%) (Ayranci et al., BMC Women’s Health, 2010).
- Harder for women in work. In a 2023 study of 270 women aged 45 to 65 at a family health centre, working women had higher physical symptom scores than those not working (Darıcı Koçan and Cangöl, 2023).
- Sleep and mood. In the same study, 58.9% reported nervousness, 56.7% hot flushes and 55.2% sleep problems.
- Little local workplace data. We found no Turkish study measuring the effect of menopause on absence or productivity. A confidential survey of your own employees is the quickest way to see the picture in your company.
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 women’s labour force participation at 36.2% in 2025 (TÜİK, via Alomaliye), the experienced women you already employ are hard to replace. 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
Few employers in Turkey offer structured menopause support. A clear offer, explained in your benefits pack, helps you stand out to senior women weighing their next move.
Make menopause support financially predictable
Aon projects Turkey’s medical trend at 45.0% for 2026, or 22.2% after inflation (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 SGK cover and your group plan, 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 Turkey workforce?
What menopause care costs, and what the state pays
Employees are covered by the SGK general health insurance scheme. Many employers add private health insurance for faster access to specialists.
| Item | Public support | What the employee still carries |
|---|---|---|
| General care and hospital stays under SGK | No copayment | Nothing for covered care |
| Outpatient specialist visits under SGK | Covered, with a small fixed fee per visit that is higher at private hospitals | The visit fee, or private fees for faster care |
| Prescription medicines under SGK | Covered for most medicines | 20% of the cost for most prescriptions |
| Time off for appointments | SGK temporary incapacity allowance: two-thirds of average daily earnings, after a two-day wait | No menopause leave |
From the US Social Security Administration country profile, 2018 data. Rules and fees may have changed since. We could not confirm current 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.
96.5% of 1,551 women in an Eskişehir study reported hot flushes in the past two weeks.
We have found no menopause workplace guidance in Turkey. 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 Turkey:
- 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 SGK cover and our private health insurance, without duplicating what is already paid for?
- 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 TRY 15,000 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: TRY 669,330 to TRY 2,026,080 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 Turkey. The default salary is illustrative. Official earnings data for Turkey is from 2022 and out of date given inflation, so 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 Turkey
Zora’s directory lists 19 clinics and 15 doctors in Turkey. The clinics are in cities including Istanbul, Antalya and Gebze, and 3 of them list menopause care among their services.
Employees can browse clinics in Turkey and find a doctor in Turkey 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 Turkey
Equal treatment
Article 5 of Labour Law 4857 bans discrimination in the employment relationship based on language, race, colour, sex and other grounds (Ministry of Family and Social Services). Treating an employee unfavourably because of menopause symptoms can raise sex discrimination risk.
Sickness benefit
SGK pays a temporary incapacity allowance of two-thirds of average daily earnings for outpatients, or half if hospitalised, after a two-day waiting period. It needs 90 days of contributions in the prior year (US Social Security Administration, 2018). There is no menopause leave.
No menopause workplace rules
We have found no menopause-specific workplace law or guidance in Turkey. 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 employers in Turkey 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.
Does Turkish employment law protect women with menopause symptoms?
Article 5 of Labour Law 4857 bans discrimination based on sex. There is no menopause-specific protection.
How common are menopause symptoms in Turkey?
In a study of 1,551 women in Eskişehir, 96.5% reported hot flushes and 91.0% tiredness in the past two weeks.
At what age do women in Turkey reach menopause?
Turkish studies put the average between about 48 and 53.
Does SGK cover menopause care?
SGK covers general care, specialist visits and most prescription medicines, with small fees and a 20% share for most prescriptions.
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 Turkey 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 Turkey team. No obligation.
Sources
- Ayranci et al., Menopause status and attitudes in a Turkish midlife female population, BMC Women’s Health, 2010 (1,551 women)
- Darıcı Koçan and Cangöl, 2023 (270 women)
- Alomaliye, TÜİK 2025 labour force statistics, March 2026
- US Social Security Administration, Turkey country profile, 2018
- Ministry of Family and Social Services, Labour Law 4857
- 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