Menopause Action Plans

What exactly are menopause action plans and when do you need to have one in place?

Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, employers with 250 or more employees in the UK will be legally required to create and publish a menopause action plan as part of a broader equality action plan obligation, including equal pay monitoring.

The Facts

Menopause Action Plans must explain how an organisation will support employees navigating menopause and should include:

✅ Relevant policies or guidelines;

✅ Guidance on making reasonable adjustments;

✅ Awareness & training approaches for leaders and colleagues;

✅ Measures in place to retain and support menopausal employees at work.

Whilst voluntary plans have been in place since April 2026, mandatory compliance will start in 2027, meaning employers need to act now to put their plan in place.

In effect, these plans will shift menopause support from voluntary good practice to a statutory duty for larger employers to plan, publish and act on workplace support measures. This is the first time menopause is explicitly named in UK employment legislation, moving it beyond general equality duties into a defined legal obligation for large employers.

Menopause Action Plans:

Will be housed on a Government online portal, specifically the gender pay gap service.

Will be publicly accessible alongside an organisation's gender pay gap data.

Are advised to be available internally on company intranets, HR systems, or company websites for easy employee access.

Compliant Menopause Action Plans

Are:

Structured action, not informal intent.

Demonstrable support for employees experiencing menopause.

Transparent and visible for all.

Are Not:

A generic template.

A policy uploaded and forgotten.

A one-off exercise.

A tick-box compliance document.

To help you get ready, you can access a free menopause action plan checklist in our 'Downloadable Menopause Tools' section (Thrive Thinking). This will help you understand where you are compliant and the work that needs to happen prior to 2027.

If we can help, please get in touch.