Two young women have revealed the devastating impact endometriosis has had on their careers, forcing them to quit multiple jobs, as they join a growing campaign for the UK to introduce statutory menstrual leave.
The Hidden Agony in the Workplace
Alice Cooper, 25, recalls being bent double on the floor of an office toilet cubicle, sweating profusely and crying silently from the pain. After composing herself, she would return to her desk, with colleagues none the wiser about her condition. Alice has endometriosis, a chronic condition where tissue similar to the womb lining grows elsewhere in the body, causing severe pain, heavy bleeding, and fatigue.
Like one in ten women in the UK, Alice lives with this disease. Its impact is profound, affecting sex, fertility, mental health, and the ability to work. On average, those with endometriosis earn £130 less per month, and one in six abandon their careers entirely.
‘I’ve had to quit every role I’ve been in, four in total, until my current admin position,’ Alice told Metro. She felt immense guilt about taking sick days, ultimately choosing resignation over difficult conversations with employers.
A Decade of Dismissal and Delayed Diagnosis
Nicole Bowler, 24, shares a similar story. Recently diagnosed, she has just deferred her teacher training for a year as managing her health became impossible. ‘Being financially independent and having a job gave me purpose, so I’ve lost a lot of self-worth,’ she explained.
Both women suffered for around a decade before getting a diagnosis, which takes an average of nine years in the UK. Nicole’s symptoms began at 13 with periods so heavy she had to abandon a promising competitive swimming career. Medical dismissal was a constant theme.
‘A male GP remarked that it was just because she was a young girl, and that it was ‘part of being a woman’. He even made a joke that ‘girls will do anything to get out of sport’,’ Nicole recalled. This pattern of not being believed led to years of self-doubt and suffering.
The Push for Policy Change
Alice and Nicole are now advocating for legal change. A petition proposing three extra days of paid sick leave per month for people with endometriosis or adenomyosis has garnered over 74,000 signatures. At 100,000, it must be considered for parliamentary debate.
The government responded in August 2025, stating that while the conditions cause ‘difficulty and pain’, the Equality Act 2010 already offers protection by classifying them as potential disabilities, requiring employers to make ‘reasonable adjustments’.
However, campaigners argue this is insufficient. Nicole, who has taken an enforced career break, says the current system fails. ‘I can get statutory sick pay, but leave for endometriosis still goes down on my records, and taking off too many days can be a sackable offence. It’s scary.’
They point to countries like Spain and Portugal, which have already introduced menstrual leave policies. Such a law in the UK would ‘finally acknowledge that it’s a painful, inflammatory, full-body, incurable disease, rather than just the time of the month,’ Nicole added.
Both women also call for greater workplace flexibility, such as working from home during flare-ups. ‘If someone can sit in their bed with a laptop, they can be comfortable, and going to the toilet often is easier,’ Alice noted.
As the campaign gains momentum, Alice has a message for MPs: ‘It’s not a small number of people that we’re talking about. So many women suffer with this... Dismissing it again and again isn’t what we need.’
