How to rethink your menopause policy before 2027’s equality action plans

The Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA) brings additional provisions and protections to employment law, reflecting the ever-evolving, complex landscape of employment relationships. Many of these provisions aim to increase inclusivity and quality of life within the workplace.

One of these provisions is the introduction of mandatory equality action plans. Since April 2026, employers have been encouraged to voluntarily publish an equality action plan alongside their gender pay gap data. However, publication of an action plan is expected to become mandatory in spring 2027 for employers with more than 250 employees, with the first required publication currently timetabled to take place in 2028.

What must a plan contain?

At a minimum, each plan must include at least one action to reduce the organisation’s gender pay gap and at least one action to support employees experiencing menopause. Menopause support includes perimenopause.

The government has published 18 recommended actions and ‘supporting colleagues experiencing menopause’ is one of the five themes. Suggested measures include:

• Training managers to support employees going through menopause
• Offering workplace adjustments and occupational health advice
• Strengthening and promoting flexible working and leave policies.

The mandatory publication of these plans is intended to push employers beyond merely reporting. It’s expected that the plans will be underpinned by active changes in practices and policies and evidence of progress.

Menopause in a legal context

Until now, employers have had no specific obligation to support employees through menopause. Instead, staff have had to rely on the protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010, such as sex, age or disability. Equality action plans change this. They create a direct, public duty on employers to show what they are doing about it.

In recent years, there has been a spike in menopause-related claims. Between January and March 2025, 204 claims cited menopause, compared with 64 claims in 2022 — an increase of 319%. Many of these claims relate to an employer’s duty under the Equality Act 2010 to provide reasonable adjustments for disabled employees.

Severe perimenopausal or menopausal symptoms may qualify as a disability under the Act if they have a ‘substantial and long-term adverse effect’ on the relevant employee’s ability to carry out daily activities.

Van Vliet v Footlaffs Ltd [2026]

In a recent case, Van Vliet v Footlaffs [2026], the claimant was a senior beauty therapist who had experienced significant perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms since 2022, including hot flushes, migraines and recurrent urinary tract infections.

After taking a day of sickness absence due to these symptoms, the claimant made a flexible working request. She explained that menopause made working late shifts more difficult and proposed trialling a revised rota. Her employer initially acknowledged the request, but she received no substantive response. A few days later, the business dismissed all its staff in connection with a business transfer. Most employees were offered re-employment by the new business, but Ms Van Vliet was not.

Ms Van Vliet succeeded in claims for wrongful dismissal, unlawful deduction from wages, detriment for making a flexible working request, discrimination arising from disability, failure to make reasonable adjustments and victimisation. The Employment Tribunal found that the flexible working request was the reason she was not offered re-employment and awarded her compensation of £32,237.30, including £14,000 for injury to feelings.

This case underlines that:

• An employer should consider treating a flexible working request linked to menopause as a request for a reasonable adjustment
• A trial period can be a proportionate way to test whether a new requested working arrangement works
• An employer needs to be able to justify every decision and should carefully document the reasoning behind adverse decisions, particularly where the circumstances could support an inference of discrimination.

What should employers be doing?

1. Review current workplace policies

Review current workplace policies to ensure they provide effective support in practice, to prepare for equality action plans and manage existing legal risks relating to menopause.

For example:

• Wellbeing: look at the initiatives available within the business for those experiencing menopause. Ensure these demonstrate the company’s commitment to discussing the issue openly and providing support
• Flexible working: this could include working-from-home arrangements or earlier start and finish times
• Absence management and reporting: track and manage menopause-related absence separately from ordinary sickness absence.

2. Introduce a clear menopause policy

This could include:

• Highlighting all available support
• Indicating the best point of contact within the business for perimenopause and menopause-related queries
• Reflecting this in a diversity and inclusion policy and demonstrating a genuine commitment to protecting employees from discrimination.

3. Create a dedicated system for menopause-related adjustments

This will help ensure consistency in decision-making. These systems should provide streamlined access to HR and occupational health services, ensuring managers have access to specialist advice when making decisions.

Not everyone experiencing menopause will require the same adjustments. Following a consistent process to discuss, decide upon and implement them will create reliability and coherence within the policy.

4. Consider menopause when reasonable adjustments are requested

When requests for reasonable adjustments are made, consider whether menopause could be a contributing factor. Employees don’t need a medical diagnosis to be protected against discrimination in relation to menopause if they meet the definition of disability under the Equality Act.

Why now?

Mandatory equality action plans will move menopause support out of the wellbeing handbook and into a public, regularly reviewed governance commitment with a named senior owner. Employers who use the time now to review their policies, train managers and gather reliable data will be best placed when the duty becomes mandatory.