Menopause action plans are quickly becoming part of standard practice for UK employers.
The government published its official guidance on 4 March 2026. From April 2026, employers with 250 or more employees can voluntarily publish an action plan alongside their gender pay gap data. These plans become mandatory from spring 2027, subject to secondary legislation.
Action plans cover two things: reducing your gender pay gap and supporting employees through menopause. You need to choose at least one action for each. The government has published a list of recommended, evidence-informed actions you can include. Read the full guidance on GOV.UK.
Menopause is already one of the most common reasons mid-career employees struggle at work, reduce hours, or leave altogether. Issues rarely escalate because employers don’t care. They escalate because support isn’t clear, visible, or easy to access early on.
A good menopause action plan helps organisations:
- Support employees before problems turn into absence or performance issues
- Give managers clarity and confidence
- Apply adjustments fairly and consistently
- Reduce legal and employee-relations risk
- Retain experienced talent at a critical career stage
Done well, a menopause action plan isn’t another policy document. It’s a practical framework that makes support work in real life.
We recently ran a webinar on this topic with employment lawyers Shoosmiths and clinical specialist Buki Fatuga.
Watch the full session here.
Why menopause has become a workplace issue HR can’t ignore
Menopause affects a large and growing part of the UK workforce. Around 4 million women aged 45–60 are currently in work, making this one of the biggest demographic groups in employment today.
For many, symptoms don’t just affect health – they affect concentration, confidence, energy and day-to-day performance at work. Yet menopause is still often treated as a personal issue employees are expected to manage quietly.
1 in 4 women consider leaving their job because of menopause symptoms.
CIPD, Menopause in the Workplace, 2023
1 in 10 actually do.
When support isn’t visible or easy to access, people tend to push through until something breaks – prolonged absence, declining performance, or a decision to leave altogether.
As tribunal access expands and employer decision-making is scrutinised more closely under the Employment Rights Act, menopause has also become a higher-risk area for organisations. This is because it often overlaps with:
- Age and sex discrimination
- Reasonable adjustments
- Sickness absence and performance management
- Retention of experienced employees
Download your free menopause action plan toolkit – including a template.
What is a menopause action plan?
A menopause action plan is a clear, written framework that explains how your organisation supports employees experiencing menopause in everyday working life. We’ve put together a menopause action plan toolkit and template guide to help you get started. Download it here.
A menopause action plan moves menopause away from being something handled informally – or only once things go wrong – and makes it a shared organisational responsibility.
In practice, a menopause action plan sets out:
- Who owns menopause support internally
- What managers are expected to do (and what they aren’t)
- What reasonable adjustments may look like
- How employees can access support early and confidentially
- How consistency is maintained across teams and locations
The aim is simple: support people earlier, reduce escalation, and prevent avoidable loss of talent.
What the government guidance covers
The guidance, published by the Office for Equality and Opportunity on 4 March 2026, applies to England, Scotland and Wales.
Employers with 250 or more employees must choose at least one action from the government’s recommended list to address their gender pay gap, and at least one to support employees experiencing menopause. The government encourages employers to go further and select more than the minimum.
Action plans will be submitted and published on the gender pay gap service, alongside existing gender pay gap data. Employers can also publish their plan on their own website.
Deadlines for the 2026 to 2027 reporting year:
- 30 March 2027 for most public authority employers
- 4 April 2027 for private, voluntary and all other public authority employers
- The 2026 to 2027 year is voluntary. The government will publish further process guidance in April 2026 covering how to analyse your data, select actions, submit your plan and track outcomes.
Although the requirement applies to organisations with 250 or more employees, the guidance encourages smaller employers to use it too.
The six recommended menopause actions
The government’s list of recommended actions for menopause support gives employers a concrete starting point. Each action comes with evidence, implementation tips and suggested ways to track progress. See the full list on GOV.UK.
The six menopause actions are:
- Train managers to support employees experiencing menopause
- Offer occupational health advice for employees experiencing menopause
- Set up menopause support groups and networks
- Offer workplace adjustments for employees experiencing menopause
- Conduct a menopause risk assessment for your workplace
- Review policies and procedures to meet the needs of employees experiencing menopause
The guidance also notes that good menopause support can benefit employees with related conditions such as endometriosis, fibroids and PCOS, even though these are not a formal requirement.
A note on inclusion
The guidance asks employers to consider how employees may be affected differently based on overlapping characteristics, including ethnicity, disability and socioeconomic background. Menopause support should be accessible to employees of different ages, not just those in the typical 45-55 age range.
Why menopause action plans matter now
Many organisations are choosing not to wait – and with good reason.
When menopause support isn’t structured:
- Symptoms are raised late, if at all
- Managers feel unsure and exposed
- Adjustments depend on who someone speaks to
- Decisions are harder to defend if challenged
Menopause-related cases rarely fail because of bad intent. They fail because support wasn’t accessible early enough or applied consistently.
“Most menopause issues at work escalate because people don’t know where to go for help. A good action plan removes that uncertainty.”
Chen Mao Davies, Anya Founder
What “good” looks like in practice
Menopause action plans don’t need to be long or complicated. What matters is that they work.
Strong plans tend to share a few key principles.
1. Support is visible and easy to access
Employees should know where to go and how to ask for help – without having to disclose repeatedly or navigate multiple systems.
Plans that rely solely on line managers as the gateway to support often fall down, not because managers don’t care, but because confidence and knowledge vary.
2. Support is available early
Menopause support should be available before absence or performance issues arise.
If support only kicks in once someone is already struggling, it’s unlikely to reduce risk or improve retention.
3. Managers are supported, not expected to diagnose
Managers don’t need to be menopause experts.
They do need:
- Clear guidance on how to respond
- Confidence in when and how to signpost
- Reassurance that expert support is available
“Managers shouldn’t be expected to diagnose symptoms or get it right on their own. Clear plans and access to expert support take pressure off managers and lead to fairer outcomes for everyone.”
Chen Mao Davies, Anya Founder
4. Adjustments are fair and consistent
Common adjustments might include flexible working, temperature control, uniform changes, easier access to water or toilets, or time off for medical appointments.
The key isn’t the adjustment itself. It’s that decisions are fair, transparent and consistent, regardless of team or manager.
5. Menopause is treated as a workplace health issue
The most effective plans embed menopause within wider health, wellbeing and absence frameworks – not as a one-off or “special case”.
This helps normalise conversations and reduces stigma.
What employers need to put in place
While detailed guidance is still evolving, employers preparing now are focusing on a few practical steps:
- Understanding where menopause-related risk already shows up (absence, ER cases, attrition)
- Assigning clear ownership across HR, People or Wellbeing teams
- Making menopause support easy to find, in plain English
- Giving managers practical conversation guidance
- Setting out reasonable adjustments clearly
- Ensuring confidential, expert support is available without formal escalation
- Reviewing and improving the plan over time
The government’s own recommended actions give a useful framework here. Full details, including evidence and implementation tips for each action, are on GOV.UK.
Menopause action plans work best when they are treated as living documents, not static policies.
Turning menopause action plans into lived support
One of the biggest gaps we see is between having a plan on paper and support working in practice.
Employees don’t benefit from a policy they can’t find, don’t trust, or only hear about once something has gone wrong.
Anya supports menopause action plans by making expert support visible, accessible and available early, without adding workload for HR or managers.
Employees get:
- Confidential, always-on guidance
- Direct access to menopause-trained specialists when needed
- Support that covers both symptoms and work impact
Employers benefit from:
- Earlier intervention
- More consistent handling across teams
- Reduced escalation into absence or ER cases
- Clear evidence that reasonable steps were taken
Menopause-related tribunal claims have more than tripled in recent years – often linked to late or inconsistent handling.
HR Independents
Final thoughts
Menopause action plans don’t need to be perfect. They need to be clear, visible and usable.
The organisations getting this right are less focused on wording and more focused on whether:
- Employees know support exists
- Help is available early
- Managers aren’t left to handle sensitive situations alone
- Adjustments are applied fairly
This isn’t about special treatment. It’s about recognising menopause as a normal workplace health issue and responding in a way that protects people – and the organisation.
For HR leaders, the question is no longer “Do we need a menopause action plan?”
It’s “Does our support actually work in practice?”
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