The UK Government is soon to introduce a new change as to how large employers report on gender equality. This is being implemented as part of a wide ranges of changes to employment law under the Employment Rights Act 2025.
From April 2026, employers with 250 or more employees will have the option to create and publish action plans illustrating what steps they are taking to achieve gender equality in their workplace, alongside their gender pay gap data. This will become mandatory from Spring 2027.
Whilst this is not applicable to smaller employers with less than 250 employees, they are still encouraged to use the support available and implement these action plans were possible.
The Government has recently published guidance for employers on how to implement gender equality action plans, a summary of which is detailed below.
Aim of action plans
The aim of this new development is to encourage employers to make meaningful and long-lasting changes to improve workplace gender equality. The action plans themselves must include at least one action the employer is taking to reduce the organisation’s gender pay gap, and at least one action to support employees experiencing menopause.
Gender pay gap
The gender pay gap measures the difference between the average pay of men and women in an organisation. It sat at 6.9% as at April 2025.
The Government has highlighted research which indicates a range of issues which impact the pay gap, including the difference between men and women in time spent doing unpaid care work and full time work history, and the sectors and organisations they work in.
Menopause
It is important that employers show through their action plans that they are supporting employees experiencing menopause, which includes perimenopause and postmenopause. Menopause is typically experienced by women aged between 45 to 55 years old, but this is not always the case, so menopause support should be accessible to employees of other ages.
The action plans for supporting employees experiencing menopause may also indirectly assist those with conditions such as endometriosis, fibroids and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which can also impact an employee’s wellbeing and may disadvantage them in the workplace.
There are five areas that the Government are looking for the action plans to focus on, namely:
- Recruiting staff;
- Developing and promoting staff;
- Building diversity into your organisation;
- Increasing transparency; and
- Supporting colleagues experiencing menopause.
How to create an action plan
Employers should understand any issues within their organisation and identify which actions plans would be best suited to them to implement. The Government have provided a list of 18 recommended actions for large employers that can be included in their plan. This includes actions such as:
- Reducing unconscious bias in CV screening;
- Increase transparency for pay, promotion and rewards;
- Enhance and promote flexible working and leave policies;
- Train managers to support employees experiencing menopause; and
- To offer workplace adjustments and occupational health advice for employees experiencing menopause.
The full list can be found on the Government’s website: Action plans: list of actions - GOV.UK.
The action plans are then submitted and published on the UK Government’s gender pay gap online portal - Search and compare gender pay gap data - Gender pay gap service - GOV.UK.
What other steps should employers take?
Employers will need to ensure that management feel confident in implementing the action plans within the workplace in order to ensure that they are having an effective impact. Training and resources should be made available to employees and management in order to implement the action plans.
Employers should also look at discussing the actions plans with the relevant stakeholders, such as unions, employee networks and HR and People teams, to ensure that everyone is kept informed on potential changes in the workplace.
Further guidance
The Government is due to provide further guidance in April 2026, including on how to analyse your data and monitor the impact of your chosen actions.
If you require any advice in relation to implementing the above in your workplace, please contact Noele McClelland, Partner, of our Employment Team.
