Advances in technology and employment law, plus societal changes over the years, mean that an increasing number of women are now working up until retirement age. The more women who remain in work, the greater the growth to the UK economy, and the greater the opportunity for employers to retain talent and support productivity. As such, ensuring that employees experiencing the menopause can continue to work and perform at their best is just as important for business growth as for workplace equality.  Providing considered and adequate support can also help to reduce the risk of workplace disputes and potential legal claims.

To reflect the demographic shift and promote equality in the workplace, the Government is introducing a requirement for larger employers to prepare and submit an ‘equality action plan’. These have been voluntary since April 2026 but are set to become mandatory for employers with 250 or more employees from Spring 2027 once further regulations are published – in other words, it will become compulsory for larger employers to publish an equality action plan at some point in the 2027 – 2028 reporting year (in the same way as they are required to report on their gender pay gap).  Equality action plans should set out the actions an organisation is taking in relation to various equality issues, including how it is addressing its gender pay gap and how it will support employees experiencing menopause (including perimenopause and post-menopause).

In this article, we outline the key requirements of an equality action plan (with a particular focus on menopause-related actions) and the practical steps that you can take now to prepare.

Creating and submitting an equality action plan

In Spring 2026, the Government published extensive guidance for employers on equality action plans.  Its April 2026 guidance sets out a six-step approach, which is broadly as follows:

1. Understand the issues

Firstly, you should review your existing workforce data and engage with HR, employees, trade unions and/or employee networks (as applicable) to understand how menopause may affect staff in your workplace. This will help to ensure that you are directing resources to the right places.

2. Choose actions to address the identified issues

You must choose a minimum of two actions for your equality action plan. At least one action must address the gender pay gap and at least one action must support employees experiencing the menopause. In each case, you will need to confirm if an action is (i) new / in progress, or (ii) embedded. At least two of your actions must be new / in progress.

3. Write a supporting narrative

You must include supporting text of up to 100 words per action. Where an action is new / in progress, you should explain why it was chosen, how progress will be tracked and how you will understand whether the action is improving gender equality. Where an action is already ‘embedded’, you should describe how this became the case. In addition, you can add an overall supporting narrative to the plan of up to 200 words.

4. Submit the Equality Action Plan

Once approved by a ‘responsible person’ (usually a director, partner or senior officer), you should submit your plan through the gender pay gap reporting service. Different arrangements may apply to certain public authority employers. The Government is encouraging employers to publish information from their action plans on their own websites once they have been submitted.

5. Track outcomes

Once your plan is in place you should monitor and evaluate your actions and check that progress is being made as anticipated. The Government recommends various tracking methods in its guidance.

6. Review the plan

You should keep the actions in your plan under review each year – for the first two years after action plans become mandatory, an interim progress review will be required, with a more detailed review required after the third year.  Actions can be revised, but you must continue to be working on at least two actions at any time, and a minimum of two actions must be new / in progress.

What are the recommended actions in relation to the menopause?

The Government’s March 2026 guidance sets out a list of eighteen recommended actions that employers may include in an equality action plan. The following six actions are those specifically aimed at supporting employees experiencing the menopause:

  • train managers to support employees by ensuring they understand menopause and can have sensitive conversations;
  • offer access to occupational health advice for employees experiencing menopause;
  • set up confidential menopause support groups and networks;
  • offer tailored workplace adjustments for employees experiencing the menopause;
  • conduct a menopause risk assessment in the workplace to identify what might exacerbate symptoms; and
  • review policies and procedures to ensure they are fit for purpose to meet the needs of employees experiencing menopause.

The guidance provides detailed information on each recommended action, including practical steps for implementation and suggested methods for tracking and monitoring progress and evaluating impact.

Next steps

Although the requirement for an equality action plan is not mandatory until Spring 2027, employers should start preparing now. We suggest taking the following steps:

  • Review and digest Government guidance.
  • Start to collect baseline data so that future progress can be measured effectively. As collecting this information and tracking progress is likely to include ‘special category data’, you should seek advice on your data protection obligations, as necessary. Plan any data evaluation activities in advance, reviewing government guidance as required.
  • Take steps to understand the issues relevant to your organisation. Consider which stakeholders need to be involved, audit your current arrangements and consult with relevant parties, including employees. Once this has been done, liaise with key stakeholders to decide which actions should be included in your plan and how they will be presented, and how progress will be tracked at your organisation.

Our thoughts

It is likely that many large employers will already have some of the above measures in place. However, the new equality action plan framework will provide them with an opportunity to review how effectively they support employees experiencing the menopause and, more broadly, how to continue to promote workplace equality.

In time, equality action plans could help to normalise conversations about the menopause, breakdown any lingering stigma, and foster a workplace culture in which symptoms are better understood, and employees feel able to speak openly and access the support they need.

If you would like further advice on producing an equality action plan, including on your data protection obligations, please contact a member of the Doyle Clayton team.

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