ISO 45010:2026 · Menstruation and menopause in the workplace

Menopause and menstruation at work: a practical guide

The Body Comes to Work is an illustrated, practical guide to menstruation, menopause and workplaces that are prepared, with reference to ISO 45010:2026. Read it online, use the tools, or get the PDF by e-mail.

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By Nicolai Bjerknes Slinning · English edition for the EU and EEA, revision 2 · 25 September 2026 · 50 pages

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What is ISO 45010?

ISO 45010:2026 is an international standard with guidance on menstruation and menopause in the workplace. It was published on 7 September 2026 and applies to organisations of any size and in any sector.

The standard gives guidance. It covers working conditions, organisation, culture, privacy and follow-up. According to the standard, nobody should be forced to disclose menstruation or menopause.

In the EU and EEA, information about menstruation or menopause can be health data, a special category under Article 9 of the GDPR. The guide shows how a workplace can make arrangements available without anyone having to explain themselves.

ISO 45010 can be read free of charge at ISO. This guide is Sydera's practical companion: concrete workplace situations, illustrations and tools, in an English edition written for the EU and EEA.

Read the standard at ISO ↗ISO 45010 and your OHS work: ISO 45001, national law and first steps →

The guide: The Body Comes to Work

Most days at work are ordinary. Some days are not. On those days, the arrangements around you decide how much you have to explain before anything gets easier.

A workplace that is prepared has decided something in advance: what is available, where it is, and who answers when something fails. That way nobody has to turn a private need into an application.

The guide covers temperature, breaks, toilet facilities, products, information and how an arrangement can be followed up. It includes worksheets you can use in a meeting you already have.

Written for the EU and EEA. The privacy sections follow the GDPR; national rules add to this.

Tools for your next meeting

Worksheets, checklists and templates from the guide. Fill them in online, print them or copy the text. Nothing is stored.

From “we should” to “it works”.
Choose one thing you want to improve. Do the walk-round with employees or their safety representative. Describe arrangements and roles, without names …
Who does what on Monday?
Use the health and safety system you already have. Agree responsibility, time and budget.
Do a walk-round and find what gets stuck.
Look at an actual workplace and shift together with employees or their safety representative. Consider physical conditions, pace, control over breaks …
Ask about the workplace and act on the answer.
Invite people from different tasks and working hours. Participation is more than sending out a form. Share what you learned, what you decided and what …
A short path through the privacy questions.
A note about function can also contain health data. Processing health data requires both a basis under Article 6 and a relevant exception under Article …
Before you choose a basket, dispenser or cabinet.
Put the same questions to every supplier. A simple solution may be exactly right. More functions must give a benefit you actually need.
Show what you have followed up.
Choose a few conditions you can act on. Agree when you look at them, and what triggers a change.
How responsibility and rules fit together.
Safety representatives (or your equivalent employee representatives) look after working environment interests. Union representatives can assist members …
You don’t have to start with a blank page.
ISO 45010 contains practical tools. Here are some places to begin in the published 2026 edition.
Words that make the job easier.
“Natural means you have to put up with it.” Natural processes can cause symptoms that need support or health care.

All tools →

A place to start: A better working day. No explanation attached.

Build in options that more people can benefit from. Talk with employees about working conditions without asking them to explain their private health.

Air, light and temperature

Look at ventilation, shading and options for local adjustments. Where safe, a cooler spot or a fan may be an option. One setting will not necessarily suit everyone.

Water, toilets and breaks

Make drinking water, toilets and breaks accessible even when work is busy. Arrange cover where someone needs to remain at a station, counter or process.

Clothing, changing and equipment

Consider suitable clothing, sizes and a discreet place to change. Changes to protective equipment must still provide the protection needed.

Quiet and work organisation

Look at noise, meeting length and options for varying tasks. A quieter place or more flexibility may help where the work allows it.

Can people actually take their breaks? Is the toilet accessible? Are ventilation faults followed up? Ask whether the arrangement works, without turning the check into a register of who has symptoms.

Some people need more individual support. Keep a confidential route to a manager or occupational health service, with clear handling of information. General measures should make help easier to obtain, not close that door.

From page 23 of the guide. These are our examples; measures must suit the work and its risks.

Agree one action using the worksheet

For small and large workplaces

In a small business, the managing director is often also responsible for HR, health and safety and privacy. In a large organisation, the roles are spread across several people. The task is the same: decide what should be available, who is responsible, and how you notice when it does not work.

The standard has its own section on small and medium-sized organisations. The guide shows the short route for a small business and how the work can be divided in a larger organisation.

Same work. A slightly larger organisation chart. →

Three questions that carry the whole work

1Can the need be met before anyone has to explain themselves?
2Who makes sure the arrangement works?
3How do we notice when it fails?

About the editor

Nicolai Bjerknes Slinning is the originator and subject editor of The Body Comes to Work. He works with workplace health, universal design and systems design at STÖ Group and Sydera.

He took part as Working Group Expert in ISO/TC 283/WG 10, the working group that developed ISO 45010:2026, nominated by Standards Norway. He also takes part as Working Group Expert in ISO/TC 283/WG 6, which is working on the revision of ISO 45001, and is a member of Standards Norway's committee SN/K 551 on occupational health and safety management systems. Participation is in a personal capacity, and content on this website does not represent ISO or ISO/TC 283.

Sydera.io Technologies AS is a wholly owned subsidiary of STÖ GROUP AS, which has commercial interests in products for menstruation and pain relief. Sydera also offers Policy Scan Enterprise for groups.

More about the editor (Norwegian)Colophon and sources in the guide

Questions and answers

What is ISO 45010?

ISO 45010:2026 is an international standard with guidance on menstruation and menopause in the workplace. It was published on 7 September 2026 and applies to organisations of any size.

Where can I read ISO 45010?

The standard can be read free of charge on ISO's website. Downloadable and printed editions are sold. The guide The Body Comes to Work is open online and as a PDF.

Can we be certified against ISO 45010?

No. ISO 45010 is guidance and cannot be used for certification. It can be used together with a management system based on ISO 45001.

Does ISO 45010 apply to small organisations?

Yes. The standard applies to organisations of any size and has its own section on small and medium-sized organisations.

Do we need to collect health data to use ISO 45010?

No. The standard says that nobody should be forced to disclose menstruation or menopause, and that such information can be health data. In the EU and EEA, health data is a special category under Article 9 of the GDPR. The guide shows how to make arrangements available without anyone having to explain themselves.

How does ISO 45010 relate to ISO 45001?

ISO 45010 builds on ISO 45001, the standard for occupational health and safety management systems, and shows the connection in an annex. National law applies regardless.

Is the guide endorsed by ISO?

No. The Body Comes to Work is Sydera's own practical guidance. It is not published or endorsed by ISO or any national standards body.

Is the guide available in English?

Yes. The Body Comes to Work is the English edition, written for workplaces in the EU and EEA: all 50 pages online and as a PDF. The Norwegian edition is “Kroppen følger med”. Both share the same structure and page numbers.

A guide we keep developing

We review and update the content when relevant standards, evidence and rules change. Each edition shows its revision date, sources, and which countries and topics it covers.

The guide is general support for an organisation's own work. It does not replace your own risk assessments, assessment of local conditions and applicable rules, or specific legal advice. It gives no guarantee of legal compliance.

The guide is Sydera's own practical guidance and is not published or endorsed by ISO or Standards Norway.

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