Welcome to our first Phoenix Employers Blog of 2025 and we’re looking closer at Menopause Action Plans – what are they, why are they important and how do you get started? This is a follow on from our excellent Phoenix Employers Forum discussions earlier this month and because it is such an important subject, I wanted to share our discussions and top tips on getting started with a wider audience. Without further ado read on and start making progress now!
Why does a Menopause Action Plan Matter?
Menopause is a normal life stage affecting a significant portion of the workforce – 80% of menopausal people are in the workplace! With over 4.5 million women aged 50-64 currently employed in the UK, supporting menopause in the workplace is not just a wellbeing initiative – it’s a business imperative. And let’s not forget that menopause doesn’t only affect women – their partners, families and work colleagues can also be impacted. Partners might be worried and struggling with their relationship, making them less productive at work. Plus, don’t overlook the impact of hormonal medications on transgender colleagues or those going through cancer treatment – all of these people can experience menopause-like symptoms without physically going through menopause.
Failure to address menopause-related workplace challenges can lead to increased absenteeism, loss of experienced talent, and even legal risks. A well-structured menopause action plan ensures your staff feel supported, boosts retention and productivity, and helps create an inclusive workplace culture. For larger employers, this is particularly critical, as businesses in the UK with over 250 employees will be expected to lead the way in fostering menopause-inclusive workplaces.
What’s the Legal Case for having a Menopause Action Plan?
Whilst we want all companies to offer menopause support because it is just the right thing to do, we know that sometimes that sadly isn’t enough of a driver to motivate senior leaders. Luckily the legal framework can be that carrot (or stick) to get the buy in we need.
Employers must be aware of their legal obligations when it comes to menopause support:
- Equality Act 2010: Employers are obligated to ensure workplaces are fair and free of discrimination. Unfavourable treatment based on menopause symptoms can be seen as discrimination on the grounds of sex, age or disability.
- Health and Safety at Work Act 1975: Employers must provide a safe working environment, which includes mitigating workplace factors that may exacerbate menopause symptoms.
- Recent Tribunal Cases: Recent employment tribunal cases have ruled in favour of employees who suffered discrimination or unfair treatment due to menopause, highlighting the need for clear workplace policies.
- Employment Rights Bill 2024: The Labour Government has committed to a range of changes to employment law to better support the health and wellbeing of working women. These include the expectation that employers of 250 staff or more will produce and report annually on a Menopause Action Plan.
How do you get started on a Menopause Action Plan?
My first advice would always be to identify the outcome you want to achieve – once you know where you want to get to, you can work out your route! It’s also important that any activities you deliver to support your menopausal staff are seen as something more than an HR initiative and for that you’ll need senior buy in as well as staff buy in. So always engage with these groups first before you do anything else.
Gaining Senior Buy-in
- Talk the language of business: it’s important you build a strong case for supporting menopause at work. Look back over the business, demographic and legal cases for providing menopause support as this can often create focus in senior leaders.
- Do your sums: look at how much a lack of menopause support could be costing your organisation right now in terms of lost engagement, lost working days due to absence, workplace conflicts, and potential tribunal costs. Show how these are hitting the profitability and performance of the organisation.
- Offer up opportunities: when talking to senior leaders we always focus on the losses or risks of not taking action but think about what the potential opportunity costs could be. Supporting menopause has the potential to significantly transform your organisation so think about how you can show that – again senior leaders like thinking about possible performance gain even more than performance loss!
Getting staff involved
- Involve staff: if your staff feel involved in designing the solution they’re more likely to get behind it and support it!
- Ask questions: set up focus groups and ask how staff feel menopause is supported now and what they’d like to see change to improve things for them. Staff will feel more ownership if they are seen as the solution and not the problem – and they can save you time as they’ll come up with the ideas of what to include in your menopause action plan.
- Keep asking questions and telling the story: don’t make this a one-off activity but keep going back to staff to share what you’re doing, asking them if it’s helping or what you can change to do even better. This can be a great feedback loop.
What should you include in your Menopause Action Plan?
Once you’ve done your research you can get going on designing your plan and of course taking action. Remember the 4-As – ASK, ACT, AMEND, ASSESS and you won’t go wrong. Here are some ideas of what you can include in your plan to get you started:
1: Gain Leadership Buy-In
- Educate senior management and HR teams on the business and legal case for menopause support.
- Assign responsibility to a senior leader to champion the initiative.
2: Involve Staff and Create Open Conversations
- Establish menopause as an open topic within workplace discussions.
- Conduct staff surveys and focus groups to understand the challenges employees face.
- Form a menopause support network or appoint trained menopause champions.
- Provide menopause awareness sessions to gain understanding and develop a shared language.
- Share stories from staff experiencing menopause.
3: Develop Clear Workplace Policies
- Create a menopause policy outlining what menopause is, how you will support staff going through menopause and signposts to other assistance.
- Review existing policies to ensure menopause is supported and make changes where necessary.
4: Provide Training
- Deliver training for managers and leaders to help them support employees sensitively and appropriately.
- Provide training for menopause champions/advocates to support colleagues.
- Provide training for HR colleagues to understand how your organisation supports menopausal staff.
5: Implement Practical Workplace Adjustments
- Consider flexible working arrangements (e.g., remote work, adjusted hours).
- Improve workplace conditions such as temperature control and access to quiet spaces.
- Provide access to employee assistance programmes (EAPs) or menopause-specific resources.
There will be other areas of activity you could include in your Menopause Action Plan so my list isn’t an exhaustive one but will get you started. Of course, don’t forget once you’ve ticked off the ASK and ACT sections of the cycle, you need to look at AMEND and ASSESS. Here are some thoughts on how you can assess your plan and then make the necessary adjustments – remember always to keep your ideal outcome front and centre of your thinking.
How do you Monitor and Evaluate your Action Plan?
- ASK again: go back to staff to gather their views on how successful your actions have been, ask them to suggest changes that might make things even better. Remember it’s okay to remove activities from your plan if staff tell you they aren’t working. This is the whole point about evaluation – you get the chance to go back round the loop and change things for the better.
- AMEND your activities: if you have actions that have perhaps not produced the outcome you had hoped for, then rethink them before moving forward. It might be that the delivery wasn’t right or even the time wasn’t right for that action.
- ASSESS your success: be honest on what has worked and what hasn’t worked. Report on your plan so that staff who helped can see what has happened. Always go back to the success criteria you set out at the beginning and assess whether you’re meeting these. It’s possible that some activities will take longer to be impactful and that’s fine but be honest in your reporting on these areas.
Remember this is a continuous programme so you will go back round the ASK, ACT, AMEND, ASSESS loop several times to achieve the outcome you’re looking for, and that’s fine. Don’t be afraid to say “we got it wrong” as we can learn so much more when we’re honest about what didn’t work.
Conclusion
Implementing a menopause action plan is not only about compliance – it’s about fostering a supportive, high-performing workplace. By taking proactive steps, you can establish your company as a leader in employee wellbeing. By making menopause a normalised and supported aspect of working life, your company can benefit from increased employee satisfaction and engagement, reduced turnover, and a more inclusive culture.
For More Help
If you’re ready to take the next step, consider setting up a discovery call with Phoenix Wellness Coaching to explore how we can support your organisation to become more menopause-supportive.
Email me at jeanette@phoenixwellness.co.uk