The 2027 Menopause Action Plan: what it means for your organisation and how to prepare

From spring 2027, employers with 250 or more staff will be legally required to publish a Menopause Action Plan. The voluntary window is open now. Here's what you need to know and how to get ahead of it.

Clinicians have long seen the impact that workplace support has on women's health through menopause, and the data backs it up: organisations that support their employees through this transition retain more experienced talent, reduce absence, and build stronger teams. Now, for the first time, UK legislation is formalising what the evidence has been saying for years. The Employment Rights Act 2025 requires large employers to publish a Menopause Action Plan, voluntary from April 2026 and mandatory from spring 2027, setting out how they support employees experiencing menopause. These plans will be publicly visible to your staff, your candidates, and your stakeholders.

In my clinic, I regularly hear women say the hardest part wasn't the symptoms themselves but the lack of understanding, support, or adjustments from their employer. This legislation is an opportunity to change that. The organisations that get this right won't just be compliant; they'll be better places to work, and their people will stay. Here's what you need to know.

What is a Menopause Action Plan?

A Menopause Action Plan is part of the broader Equality Action Plan requirement introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025. It requires employers to set out the specific steps they are taking in two areas:

• reducing their gender pay gap

• supporting employees experiencing menopause (including perimenopause and postmenopause)

Plans are submitted and published on the government's gender pay gap service alongside your existing gender pay gap data. They are publicly visible – meaning your current and prospective employees will see them, as will your competitors.

The government published its official guidance on 4 March 2026, issued by the Office for Equality and Opportunity. It applies to England, Scotland, and Wales.

Key dates and requirements

What employers must do

To help employers take practical steps in both reducing the gender pay gap and supporting employees experiencing menopause, the government has published a list of 18 recommended, evidence-informed actions to choose from.

Six of these 18 actions relate specifically to menopause support (covered in the next section). The remaining twelve address the gender pay gap through categories such as recruitment, staff development, diversity, and transparency.

Employers must choose a minimum of two actions for their plan: at least one addressing the gender pay gap, and at least one supporting employees experiencing menopause. At least two of your chosen actions must be "new or in progress" – meaning you are working on them for the first time or building on something you already do. Actions that are already an established part of your working practice can still be published as part of your plan, but as "embedded" actions. The government encourages employers to go well beyond the minimum.

The six recommended menopause actions

Within the 18 recommended actions, these are the six relating specifically to menopause support that the government expects employers to be addressing:

1. Review your policies and procedures to ensure they meet the needs of employees experiencing menopause. This includes flexible working arrangements, reasonable adjustments, and leave provisions. Many organisations have wellbeing policies that make no mention of menopause at all, or have sickness absence procedures that inadvertently penalise women whose symptoms lead to time off. A policy review is often the quickest way to close obvious gaps.

2. Train your managers to support employees experiencing menopause. This means equipping them to recognise symptoms, understand the legal obligations, and have supportive conversations with confidence. Manager training is one of the most consistently impactful actions an organisation can take, because managers are the ones responsible for actually putting policy into practice in the workplace. A good menopause policy means very little if the person conducting a return-to-work meeting has no understanding of the condition.

3. Offer workplace adjustments for employees experiencing menopause. This covers environmental changes (temperature control, ventilation, access to cold water), workload and scheduling flexibility, and practical considerations that can make a significant difference to someone managing symptoms at work. Many of these adjustments are low-cost or cost-neutral.

4. Conduct a menopause risk assessment for your workplace. Just as you would assess risks for other health and safety considerations, a menopause-specific assessment examines working conditions, uniform requirements, shift patterns, and environmental factors that may worsen symptoms.

5. Offer occupational health advice for employees experiencing menopause. Access to specialist occupational health guidance can help employees manage symptoms more effectively and feel supported in doing so. It also provides your managers and HR team with expert input when considering reasonable adjustments.

6. Set up menopause support groups and networks. Peer support is consistently identified as one of the most valued forms of workplace menopause support. It reduces isolation, normalises conversation, and gives employees a space to share practical strategies. Some organisations appoint menopause champions or wellbeing ambassadors to lead these networks.

Why this matters for your business and your employees

Losing valuable, senior-level employees

Research by the Fawcett Society found that one in ten women who worked during the menopause left a job because of their symptoms. A further 14 per cent reduced their hours, 14 per cent went part-time, and 8 per cent did not apply for promotion.

These are not junior employees. Menopause typically occurs between the ages of 45 and 55, the years when many women are at the height of their professional experience and in, or on the cusp of, senior leadership. Women over 50 are the fastest-growing workforce demographic in the UK. Losing them means losing institutional knowledge, client relationships, leadership capability, and years of investment in their development.

The financial case for acting

One in three women in the UK workforce is currently experiencing menopause or perimenopause. A government estimate suggests that menopause costs the UK economy 14 million working days every year  – a figure cited in the UK Parliament's Menopause and the Workplace report – while separate research puts the broader cost of women leaving the workforce because of menopause, including rehiring and retraining, at around £10 billion annually.

At an individual level, Oxford Economics has estimated that replacing a single employee earning £25,000 costs her employer more than £30,000 once you account for recruitment, training, and lost productivity – and that figure doesn't capture the client relationships, institutional knowledge, and strategic capability that leave with them. Because menopause occurs at a time when women are often approaching the peak of their career, the cost to your organisation compounds well beyond the recruitment bill.

Instead of treating investment in menopause support as a compliance exercise, organisations should be treating it as a core part of their retention strategy, absence reduction strategy, and leadership pipeline strategy. The organisations already doing this well are seeing the return.

A growing legal risk

Even before the Menopause Action Plan requirement, employers have had legal duties towards employees experiencing menopause under the Equality Act 2010. Although menopause is not itself a named protected characteristic, claims are increasingly being brought under characteristics that are: sex, age, and disability. Employment tribunal cases citing menopause have more than tripled in recent years, rising from 64 in 2022 to over 200 by 2024, spanning disability discrimination, sex discrimination, age discrimination, harassment, unfair dismissal, and constructive dismissal.

The legal risk most commonly arises where symptoms are dismissed, where performance is managed without medical consideration, or where reasonable adjustments are not explored. A documented menopause policy, consistent manager training, and clear HR procedures are essential mitigations against this risk.

The new action plan requirement sits alongside your existing obligations, not in place of them. The Equality Act 2010 and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 already apply to every employer, regardless of size.

Your employees’ wellbeing

As a GP and BMS Registered Menopause Specialist, I encourage employers to look even further than what statistics alone are able to capture.

Menopause is not a single event. It's a transition that can last years, with symptoms that fluctuate in severity and type. The women I see in my clinic, and who I speak to during workplace training sessions, describe brain fog that makes them doubt their competence, anxiety that hits without warning, and fatigue that won’t go away no matter how much sleep they get. Many have never connected these symptoms to menopause, and some have been told by their GP that it's stress or depression.

When these women are also dealing with an employer who doesn't understand what's happening, or worse, an employer who treats their symptoms as a performance issue, the impact is compounded. I regularly see women whose symptoms have been prolonged or worsened by workplace stress that could have been avoided with better support.

Conversely, women who feel supported at work manage their symptoms more effectively, stay in their roles, and continue to contribute at the level they always have. Good workplace menopause support isn't just an HR initiative. It has a direct benefit on your employees’ physical and mental wellbeing.

For smaller organisations: why this still applies to you

The legal requirement to publish a Menopause Action Plan applies to employers with 250 or more employees. If your organisation is smaller than that, this simply means you are not required to publish one.

However, your legal obligations do not reduce with headcount. Every employer, regardless of size, has duties under the Equality Act 2010 and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Where menopause symptoms have a long-term and substantial impact on a woman's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities, they may amount to a disability under the Equality Act, and reasonable adjustments become a legal duty, not a discretionary choice.

Beyond the legal obligations, there's another practical consideration. As larger organisations begin publishing their plans publicly, employee expectations around menopause support will shift across every sector. The government's own guidance explicitly encourages smaller employers to use the framework too. Organisations that adopt good practice now, regardless of size, will be better positioned for recruitment and retention in a market where these expectations are rising.

How I can help your organisation prepare

I work with organisations to deliver practical, evidence-based menopause support that goes beyond compliance. My approach is grounded in my work as a practising BMS Registered Menopause Specialist: the training I deliver, the policy guidance I provide, and the resources I develop are all informed by my day-to-day clinical experience, as well as the most reliable, up-to-date evidence. Here are some of the ways I support organisations of all sizes, across all sectors:

Workplace menopause training for managers and staff

I deliver interactive sessions tailored to your organisation, covering what menopause is and why it matters in the workplace, the symptoms your employees may be experiencing, the legal framework, and practical guidance on how to have supportive conversations. As a practising menopause doctor, I can also go further than a standard awareness session: covering how symptoms can be managed in the workplace, what reasonable adjustments actually look like in practice, when and how to signpost employees towards clinical support, and how to build confidence in managers so they can recognise when someone might be struggling, even if they haven't asked for help.

Policy guidance and development

I can help your organisation review and develop a menopause policy that is clinically informed, practically useful, and aligned with the action plan requirements. This isn't about producing a document that sits in a handbook collecting dust; it's about creating a framework your managers and HR team can actually use. Many organisations find that combining policy development with workplace training ensures that what's written down is understood and put into practice across the organisation.

Ongoing consultancy and resource development

For organisations that want deeper support, I can work with you on an ongoing basis to develop internal resources, support your menopause champions, deliver regular training, and help you build a culture where menopause is understood and openly discussed and supported.

Keynotes and awareness talks

For larger events, conferences, International Women's Day, World Menopause Day, or internal awareness campaigns, I deliver engaging talks that combine clinical expertise with real-world insight. These sessions are designed to shift understanding and ignite meaningful conversations and initiatives across your organisation.

I've worked with organisations including Simplyhealth, Pioneer, Worcester Breast Unit Haven, and West Mercia Police, delivering training, developing resources, and providing specialist guidance tailored to each organisation's needs and workforce.

Getting started

The legislation is clear, the timeline is set, and the voluntary window is already open. But beyond the compliance requirement, there is a simpler point worth coming back to: the women in your organisation who are experiencing menopause are some of your most experienced, capable people. Supporting them well means they stay, they contribute, and they thrive – everyone benefits.

If you take one thing from this post, let it be this: the organisations that will be best prepared when mandatory reporting begins next year are the ones starting now. These organisations aren’t waiting until 2027 then rushing to meet a minimum requirement; they’re building plans that genuinely benefit their businesses and their workforce.

I work with organisations at every stage of this process, from early conversations about where to start, through to delivering training, developing policy, and embedding long-term support. If you'd like to discuss what would work for your organisation, I'd be happy to hear from you.