Employment: Menopause

As part of the Employment Rights Act 2025, the Government committed to supporting women experiencing menopause in the workplace by encouraging employers with 250 or more employees to produce an action plan covering the steps they are taking to support employees experiencing menopause.

These plans are currently voluntary, and officials will work closely with businesses to monitor and review whether these are the right actions and ensure that they continue to reflect emerging evidence on approaches that are effective. Subject to the delivery of secondary legislation, action plans will become mandatory in 2027.

As part of the plan to Make Work Pay, the Government also committed to publishing guidance, including for small employers, on measures relating to uniform and temperature, flexible working and recording menopause-related leave and absence. This is available on the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) website.

On 1 April 2026, Mariella Frostrup was appointed as the Government’s Women’s Employment Ambassador, building on her work over the past 18 months as Menopause Employment Ambassador, where she raised awareness and strengthened employer understanding of menopause in the workplace.  In this expanded role, the Ambassador will champion women’s employment throughout the life course, work with employers across the country to strengthen workplace support, raise awareness of key health issues and wider challenges affecting women in work, ensuring menopause remains a key priority, and highlight the vital economic contribution of women.