Menopause action plans: What the Employment Rights Act means for benefits leaders
Large employers with 250 or more employees must publish menopause action plans (MAPs) alongside gender pay gap data. Voluntary submissions open in Spring 2026, with mandatory requirements to follow in Spring 2027.
For HR and benefits leaders, the question is: can the support you currently provide be evidenced, published and defended?
What the legislation requires
A menopause policy states intent. A menopause action plan requires proof. Under the ERA, employers must create, submit and publish their action plan on the gender pay gap service, where it will be publicly visible and reviewed by the Fair Work Agency.
Employers must select a minimum of two actions: at least one must address the gender pay gap, and at least one must support employees experiencing menopause. Government guidance includes:
- Training managers to support employees experiencing menopause
- Offering occupational health advice
- Setting up menopause support groups and networks
- Conducting menopause risk assessments
- Reviewing policies to meet the needs of affected employees
Each action must be classified as new, in progress, or already embedded, with at least two across the full plan being new or in progress. Broad commitments without clinical infrastructure behind them will not hold up under scrutiny.
Why this matters commercially
There are approximately four million women aged 45-60 currently in the UK workforce - experienced employees, often in senior or specialist roles.
The data makes the business case difficult to ignore:
- 67% of women say menopause negatively affects their work (CIPD, Menopause in the Workplace, 2023)
- Over half have been unable to attend work due to symptoms, and 10% have left employment entirely, costing businesses an estimated £1.5 billion per year (Nuffield Health, Menopause and the Workplace, 2023)
- 1 in 4 women consider leaving their job because of menopause symptoms (CIPD, Menopause in the Workplace, 2023)
- Employment tribunal claims referencing menopause have more than tripled in recent years (Charles Russell Speechlys, Menopause Tribunal Claims, 2023)
Replacing senior employees is expensive. Defending tribunal claims is expensive. Losing institutional knowledge because of unmanaged symptoms is a cost most organisations never measure, but always feel.
Where most benefits programmes fall short
Most organisations already have some form of wellbeing support. The question is whether it meets the specific requirements of a MAP. Generalist employee assistance programmes were not built for this purpose. They typically lack menopause-specific clinical depth, the ability to generate publishable outcome data, and consistent delivery across every role and location.
Government guidance is clear that support should be accessible to employees of all ages, recognising that perimenopause can affect people years before a formal diagnosis.
If your current provision cannot serve someone in the early stages of perimenopause with the same quality of support as someone post-diagnosis, regardless of their location or manager, there is a gap between where you are and where the ERA expects you to be.
5 things specialist provision should deliver
- Direct access to specialist clinicians: Support must go beyond awareness resources. Employees need one-to-one access to certified menopause practitioners who can provide personalised guidance on symptoms, treatment options and workplace adjustments.
- Personalised symptom management: Symptoms including brain fog, hot flushes, insomnia and anxiety affect employees differently. Credible provision offers personalised consultations so individuals can understand their specific experience and request appropriate adjustments.
- Consistent delivery across the workforce: If support depends on which manager an employee has or which office they work in, the organisation is exposed to discrimination claims. Provision must deliver the same standard across every level and location.
- Measurable outcomes that can be published: Anonymised engagement data, utilisation figures and measurable clinical outcomes are what turn a plan into a credible compliance document.
- Coverage from perimenopause through to post-menopause: Legal protection begins as soon as symptoms start affecting work. Provision that only activates post-diagnosis leaves a significant gap and creates risk around performance management disputes.
The case for acting now
Collecting impact data takes months. Organisations that wait until the 2027 mandatory deadline will start from scratch, under scrutiny, with no outcomes to show. Starting now means having a full year of utilisation data and measurable clinical outcomes before the requirement arrives.
Published MAPs will be publicly visible. Employees and candidates will compare them. Organisations with nothing credible to show will stand out, before regulators are even involved.
Menopause support is no longer a wellbeing aspiration. It is a published, public-facing compliance document. The organisations best placed to meet that standard are those treating it as one now.
Learn more and get a framework from Peppy here.
Supplied by REBA Associate Member, Peppy
Peppy is a global app-based employee benefit giving employees access to expert clinical care in menopause, fertility, pregnancy, and more - trusted by 250+ companies and reaching over 3 million people.
