ISO 45010: new standard makes menstruation and menopause a workplace health and safety issue

On 7 September 2026, ISO published the world’s first international standard on women’s health in the workplace, ISO 45010. On the same day, the Swedish Institute for Standards, SIS, adopted the Swedish edition SS-ISO 45010:2026 – Occupational health and safety management – Menstruation and menopause in the workplace – Guidance.

Menstruation and menopause affect about half of all people of working age. Yet for a long time they have been treated as a private matter. With ISO 45010, they get a place in systematic work environment management, just like stress, ergonomics and workload.

What is ISO 45010?

ISO 45010 is guidance for employers on how the workplace can support employees through menstruation and menopause. It belongs to the ISO 45000 family and complements ISO 45001, the standard for occupational health and safety management systems. It is aimed at leaders, managers, HR and anyone working with health and safety, and includes specific advice for small and medium-sized businesses.

The standard builds on a British standard from 2023 that was downloaded more than 13,000 times in 147 countries. Sweden took part in the work through the SIS committee for occupational health and safety management systems, which included the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO) and the union Seko. The English version can be read free of charge from ISO, and the Swedish translation is available from SIS.

What the standard covers

• Workplace culture – making menstruation and menopause something people can talk about.
• Policies and procedures for support and adjustments.
• Knowledge and training for managers.
• Workplace design and the physical work environment.
• Practical adjustments that help employees manage their symptoms.
• Disclosure and privacy – what the employee chooses to share and how the information is handled.
• How the employer measures and evaluates the impact of its work.

The standard also has two annexes: a template workplace charter and a table showing how the guidance fits with ISO 45001.

Can you be certified to ISO 45010?

No, not to the standard itself. ISO 45010 is guidance with recommendations, not a requirements standard that an auditor checks against. Private providers offer certifications developed in line with the standard, but they are not issued by ISO or SIS. Organisations already working to ISO 45001 can use ISO 45010 to build women’s health into the management system they already have.

Women’s health at work – for Helo, it is about the whole picture

A standard is a good tool, but what matters is what happens in the workplace every day. For us at Helo, women’s health comes down to three things that belong together: secure employees, a healthy culture and an inclusive workplace. That is also what ISO 45010 highlights – and it builds on what ISO 45001 already puts at the centre: preventing ill health, involving employees and making leadership responsible for the culture.

Secure employees

For us at Helo, security means being able to speak up without having to share more than you want to. The employee decides what to share. The manager needs to know what is needed to adjust the work – not why. Health information is sensitive personal data.

That is also what the standard highlights, with a section of its own on disclosure and privacy. And it is in line with ISO 45001, which requires employees to be consulted and to take part in health and safety work – security is built together with the people it concerns.

A healthy culture

For us at Helo, a healthy culture is one where these things can be raised – and where colleagues and managers of every gender know what they are about. There are plenty of myths: that someone who cannot work because of period pain has a low pain threshold, or that the symptoms are over once the menopause has “passed”. Knowledge means that symptoms such as tiredness, sleep problems and difficulty concentrating are not mistaken for a lack of motivation or for stress.

Culture and managers’ knowledge are also two of the areas the standard highlights. ISO 45001 goes further and places responsibility for a culture that supports health and safety work with top management – it is not something that should depend on individual managers or employees.

An inclusive workplace

For us at Helo, an inclusive workplace is one where experienced employees can stay, develop and thrive – instead of cutting their hours or leaving working life early. Small adjustments are often enough: flexible hours, the chance to take a break, a different temperature or a different workstation.

Practical adjustments and workplace design are also what the standard highlights. The idea is familiar from ISO 45001, where work is to be adapted to people – not the other way round.

How to get started

• Include menstruation and menopause in the risk assessment in your systematic work environment management.
• Give managers the knowledge and support to have the conversation.
• Write support and adjustments into the work environment policy, so nobody has to negotiate them on their own.
• Review the physical work environment.
• Follow up – ask employees what works.

How Helo helps

• Lectures on women’s health, periods, hormones and the menopause for employees and managers.
• The management training course Menopause, women’s health and an inclusive work environment, for managers, HR and safety representatives.
• Conversations with a menopause coach for anyone who wants individual support.
• E-learning to support every employee, such as the course Menopause at work – in your own LMS or in the Health Portal.
• The Health Portal, where sick leave is reported with an expected return date – without a reason or a diagnosis.

Want to work with women’s health in your workplace? Get in touch and we will tell you more.