The UK’s Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces mandatory menopause action plans for employers with 250+ employees from 2027. Voluntary adoption begins April 2026. Here’s what HR teams need to know, and why compliance alone won’t protect your people.

The UK is introducing significant workplace obligations related to menopause support that will take legal effect from 2027 for employers with 250 or more employees. These changes will require organisations to publish and maintain Menopause Action Plans, detailing how they support staff experiencing menopausal symptoms, including flexible working arrangements, risk assessments, training and reasonable adjustments.

Unlike previous guidance under the Equality Act 2010 and the Health and Safety at Work Act, this shift introduces a specific statutory duty to plan and report on menopause support. Compliance isn’t just best practice, it will soon be law for large employers in the UK.

📋 KEY FACT: While the specific content requirements will be detailed in forthcoming regulations and government guidance, menopause action plans are expected to cover workplace policies, manager training, reasonable adjustments, risk assessments, and support pathways for affected employees.

Why Is This Happening Now?

The 2027 legislation didn’t appear out of nowhere. It’s the culmination of years of mounting evidence AND mounting pressure around menopause in the workplace.

The Legal Risk Is Already Here

Even before 2027, employers are already at legal risk. Menopause-related employment tribunal claims have tripled in just two years, from 64 cases in 2022 to 204 cases in 2024, according to data from HM Courts & Tribunal Service analysed by law firm Nockolds.

These claims include:

• Disability discrimination (menopause symptoms can constitute a disability under the Equality Act 2010 if they have a substantial, long-term adverse effect)
• Sex discrimination (as menopause affects women and those assigned female at birth)
• Age discrimination (menopause is typically age-related)
• Constructive and unfair dismissal

Disability discrimination claims overall have surged by 30%, now accounting for one in four of all employment tribunal claims referred to ACAS. Mental health conditions, including menopause-related depression, stress, and anxiety, are increasingly being recognised as disabilities under employment law.

The Economic Cost Is Staggering

The UK government’s own literature review, published in July 2025, estimates that menopause costs the economy approximately £1.5 billion per year in unemployment, with an additional £191 million lost through absenteeism and £22.4 million through presenteeism (when employees work while unwell).

An NHS Confederation report found that approximately 60,000 women in the UK are not in employment due to perimenopause or menopause. One in ten women leave their jobs because of menopause symptoms.

These aren’t abstract numbers. They represent experienced professionals – senior leaders, managers, technical specialists etc, leaving the workforce at the peak of their careers because their employers failed to provide basic support.

How can you get ready?

Download my Compliance Checklist

The 2027 Menopause Legislation: Quick Facts

✓ Who: Organisations with 250+ employees (but smaller organisations encouraged)

✓ What: Menopause action plans (part of Gender Equality reporting)

✓ When: Voluntary from April 2026, mandatory in 2027

✓ Source: Employment Rights Act 2025, ACAS guidance

The key here is to ensure that you have not only the compliance bit, but that you have the ongoing support available for your employees. This weaves well into the gender pay gap element of your organisation – doing what’s right for everyone to ensure there’s no unconscious bias, that women’s health is not treated as an alarm to be silenced. And as a compassionate and integral part of your organisation, you want to do the best thing for everyone – even if it feels a bit intimidating!

Education without tools doesn’t change anything.
The woman experiencing debilitating brain fog still can’t put together a coherent sentence.
The manager living with with anxiety still dreads client meetings.
The team leader with hot flushes still feels mortified when it happens and she’s suddenly sweating and feeling suffocated during a big piece of work.

So, download your compliance checklist here and get ahead of the competition.

WHAT DO I DO?

Unlike other menopause training providers, I don’t just do the compliance and information / awareness piece.

I use a very simple but hugely effective technique to actually help your colleagues with their symptoms. It’s called EFT and it can reduce stress by up to 40% within one hour.

Most menopause symptoms are hugely exacerbated by stress, so just “knowing about them” isn’t that helpful. Women need effective and efficient stress relief, and I provide that as part of my organisational support.

Want more information? Invite me into your organisation and lets get started.

https://louisahussey.com/menopauseatwork

The Bottom Line

The 2027 menopause action plan requirement is coming. And I know you want to do the best for your colleagues – so let’s work together to ensure retention, wellbeing and of course doing the right thing for your people.

References & Further Reading

1. UK Government (2025). ‘Plan to Make Work Pay and Employment Rights Act: Timeline Update.’ GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/implementing-the-plan-to-make-work-pay-and-employment-rights-act

2. ACAS (2025). ‘Employment Rights Act 2025.’ Available at: https://www.acas.org.uk/employment-rights-bill

3. Nockolds Solicitors (2025). Analysis of HM Courts & Tribunal Service data showing menopause-related claims rose from 64 in 2022 to 204 in 2024. Reported in Personnel Today, February 2025.

4. UK Government (2025). ‘Menopause in the Workplace Literature Review.’ GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/menopause-in-the-workplace-literature-review

5. NHS Confederation (2024). ‘The Health and Economic Impacts of Menopause.’ Report commissioned by NHS Confederation, CREATE Health Foundation, and London Economics.

6. ACAS (2024). ‘Menopause and the Law: Guidance for Employers.’ Available at: https://www.acas.org.uk/menopause-at-work/menopause-and-the-law

7. Mrs M Lynskey v Direct Line Insurance Services Limited (2023). Employment Tribunal case establishing menopause symptoms can constitute a disability under the Equality Act 2010.

8. Menopause Friendly UK (2025). ‘Menopause Support is Becoming Law But Smart Employers Are Acting Now.’ Available at: https://menopausefriendly.co.uk