The number of menopause-related tribunal claims has more than tripled in the last two years, with 204 cases citing the condition in 2024 compared to 64 in 2022.
The government’s latest tribunal statistics, covering January to March 2025, revealed that at the end of March, there were 45,000 ongoing claims, a 32% increase from the same time last year.
Disability discrimination claims also saw an increase of almost 28% on the previous quarter, with 2,231 claims. Discrimination claims saw a more than 15% increase on the previous quarter, around 30% of the total claims for the period.
In addition, redundancy pay and working time directive claims both rose around 25% to 484 and 1,232, respectively.
Kate Palmer, employment services director at Peninsula, said: “Unfair dismissal claims make up 22% of the total employment tribunal caseload. Currently, employees need to have at least two years’ service in order to claim ordinary unfair dismissal, so we can expect this figure to soar once the proposed day one right to claim unfair dismissal comes into effect as part of the Employment Rights Bill. The spike in cases related to the menopause should also make employers take notice. This could partly be attributed to the definition of disability, which menopause can fall under, as well as increased awareness.
“Any health condition, including menopause, may be considered a disability under the Equality Act if its symptoms cause a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the employee’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Since only women, and those assigned female at birth, are affected by menopause, placing an employee at a disadvantage for a women’s health issue could amount to sex discrimination or harassment. It’s important for employers to take their legal requirements seriously.”
Rob McKellar, legal services director at Peninsula, added: “A particular point of interest is the rise in disability discrimination claims which matches what we’ve been seeing lately, an increase in successful claims, especially those centring around neurodiversity. This highlights the risk of employers not fully understanding their obligations to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act, particularly when they aren’t as clear cut as they are for a physical disability, for example.”
