Menopause Action Plan Compliance Check

On 4 March 2026, the Office for Equality and Opportunity published guidance on Menopause Action Plans, giving employers a structured framework for supporting staff through menopause alongside their existing gender pay gap reporting duties. Action plans are voluntary from April 2026 but are expected to become mandatory for employers with 250 or more employees from around spring 2027, requiring organisations to choose at least one action to reduce their gender pay gap and at least one to support employees experiencing menopause symptoms. This sits on top of existing legal duties: the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 requires employers to assess and manage workplace conditions — such as temperature, ventilation, uniforms and toilet facilities — that can worsen menopause symptoms, and the Equality Act 2010 treats menopause as a disability where symptoms have a substantial, long-term effect on someone’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities, triggering a duty to make reasonable adjustments.

For small and mid-sized employers, the practical risk is arriving unprepared: without a documented policy, manager awareness or an individual adjustments process, businesses are exposed to Equality Act discrimination claims and constructive dismissal risk from staff who feel unsupported, while larger employers face a looming mandatory reporting requirement they will need lead time to meet. Getting ahead of this now — publishing a policy, training managers to spot and respond to requests for adjustments, and linking it to existing health and safety risk assessments — is far cheaper than responding to a tribunal claim or scrambling once the mandatory threshold takes effect.

Use this free tool to check whether your business is ready for the new Menopause Action Plan framework — covering your existing health and safety duties, Equality Act obligations, and how prepared you are ahead of the expected mandatory reporting requirement for large employers.