Many of the Ribbon Tabs are contextual. This means that it will not appear except in a condition where it can be used.

There is a Page Layout tab and the Home tab. Both should be available at any time. There are context tabs that are called layout. At least one of them is for tables.

Here is a page that references the non-contextual tabs in Word and a few of the contextual tabs (including the Table Layout tab): The Ribbons of Microsoft Word 2007-2013

There is no such thing as a Start or a Layout tab among the main Word ribbons.

I assume you are using Word 2013/365. The start page is what you get when you start Word unless you turn it off. Word 2013 Startup Screen

You can get something similar by clicking on File > Open (or Alt+F,O)

Many of the Ribbon Tabs are contextual. This means that it will not appear except in a condition where it can be used.

There is a Page Layout tab and the Home tab. Both should be available at any time. There are context tabs that are called layout. At least one of them is for tables.

Here is a page that references the non-contextual tabs in Word and a few of the contextual tabs (including the Table Layout tab): The Ribbons of Microsoft Word 2007-2013

Hi,

What version is your Office?

Please try to start Word in Safe Mode to determine whether the issue is caused by add-ins:

Press Win + R, type "winword.exe /safe" in the blank box, press Enter.

If there's no such issue in Safe Mode, please disable the suspicious add-ins to verify which one caused the issue.

Regards,

Hi,

What version is your Office?

Please try to start Word in Safe Mode to determine whether the issue is caused by add-ins:

Press Win + R, type "winword.exe /safe" in the blank box, press Enter.

If there's no such issue in Safe Mode, please disable the suspicious add-ins to verify which one caused the issue.

Regards,

Melon Chen
TechNet Community Support

Hi Charles,

I know there's no exact "Start" or "Layout" tab in English version of Office, but if the user is using a non-English version of Office, the tab for "HOME" may actually be translated as "Start" in the other language, like in my Chinese version of Office.

What concerns me is this:

"The problem is usually solved by repeatedly clicking on the said tabs, minimising-maximizing the window and trying again, etc."

If it can be solved by repeatedly clicking on the said tabs, is it by design or an unexpected issue? That's why I suggested Safe Mode.

I just come up with one more consideration to help the customer, and I agree with your previous post as well, won't be surprised if the customer marks either of our replies as answer.

Regards,