Over one million women in the UK have said they are struggling at work due to menopause symptoms and fear they could lose their job because of a lack of adequate support from employers, according to a study.

A survey of 2,000 women between the age of 45 and 67, commissioned by the childcare company Koru Kids, found 63 per cent worked in places that did not have any policy in place to make it easier for them to get on with their job while managing symptoms.

Seventy per cent said they took time off work because of symptoms but did not tell their employer that was the reason while 24 per cent said they were unhappy because of a lack of support.

Eighteen per cent of women said they were considering leaving their job this year and 39 per cent said their employer did not allow them to work flexible hours. The same percentage said their employer did not understand how the menopause impacts them.

The Women and Equalities Committee will today hear evidence in the Commons about how women with menopause symptoms at work are protected by law.

Last year the government launched the Menopause Taskforce, co-chaired by the pharmacy minister Maria Caulfield, to provide more support for women.