Menopause at Work: What the Employment Rights Act 2025 Requires from Employers
The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces new duties for employers with 250 or more staff to publish menopause action plans, setting out the specific steps they are taking to support employees experiencing menopause. The duty becomes statutory in 2027, with voluntary reporting expected from April 2026. But every employer, regardless of size, already has legal obligations in this area and the cost of failing to act is significant.
Your existing legal duties
Menopause is not a standalone protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010, but it sits across several that are. Sex, age, and in some cases disability can all apply. This means that failing to support a member of staff experiencing menopause symptoms could result in a claim for discrimination, unfair dismissal, or constructive dismissal. These are not edge cases. Employment tribunal claims related to menopause have risen sharply in recent years as awareness has grown and legal precedents have been established.
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 also requires employers to assess and manage workplace conditions. Where menopause symptoms are affected by factors such as temperature, ventilation, or uniform requirements, employers have a duty to address them.
What the Employment Rights Act 2025 adds
For employers with 250 or more staff, the Employment Rights Act 2025 requires a menopause action plan that goes beyond having a policy in place. Employers will need to document the specific actions they are taking and publish them. It will not be enough to simply state that support is available. The plan needs to demonstrate what that support looks like in practice, whether that is flexible working arrangements, temperature controls, uniform adjustments, or access to occupational health.
Alongside the mandatory menopause action plans, the Act introduces new provisions on gender pay gap reporting for the same threshold of employers, with menopause-related absence and turnover increasingly part of that picture.
What the evidence tells us
A report by the Fawcett Society in 2022, "Menopause and the Workplace," highlighted the scale of the problem for employers who are not acting:
- One in ten women who worked during menopause have left a job because of their symptoms.
- Eight out of ten women say their employer has not shared information, trained staff, or put in place a menopause absence policy.
- 41% saying they have seen menopause or menopause symptoms treated as a joke by people at work
The loss of experienced staff at this career stage represents a significant cost, both in direct recruitment terms and in the loss of knowledge and leadership capacity. Many of the women affected are in senior and specialist roles built up over decades.
What you need to do
Whether you employ 25 people or 2,500, there are steps you should be taking now.
- Review your existing policies to ensure menopause is addressed explicitly, not just implied through broader wellbeing or equality commitments.
- Create an action plan that documents the specific support available and who is responsible for it.
- Train your managers so they can have confident, sensitive conversations with staff about menopause and understand what adjustments may be needed.
- Run an information campaign so that employees know what support is available and how to access it.
- If you employ 250 or more staff, begin preparing your action plan now so that voluntary reporting from April 2026 is not a scramble.
How we can help
We provide menopause awareness and management training for organisations across the public and private sector. Our sessions cover the legal duties, the practical steps managers need to take, and how to create a workplace culture where staff feel confident raising health issues. We also work with HR teams and senior leaders on policy review, action plan development, and internal communications.
Find out more about our Health, Safety and Wellbeing training and consultancy and our Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion training.
Get in touch to discuss your training needs or to talk through how your organisation can meet its obligations under the Employment Rights Act 2025.
