Guidance

Overview

Published 4 March 2026

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Additional guidance for employers on creating an action plan will be published in April 2026. 

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Overview

From April 2026, employers with 250 or more employees will have the option to produce and publish a voluntary action plan alongside their gender pay gap data. These will become mandatory from spring 2027, subject to secondary legislation. 

The purpose of action plans is to support employers to take effective action to improve workplace gender equality, by which we mean advancing equality of opportunity between male and female employees. As set out in the Employment Rights Act 2025, action plans will show the steps you are taking to:

• reduce your organisation’s gender pay gap

• support employees experiencing menopause

You will be able to highlight work your organisation is already doing to improve workplace gender equality.

To help employers take effective action, we have provided a list of recommended, evidence-informed actions that you can include in your plan. These actions were developed using expert insight and research, which included:

• research into how to improve gender equality in the workplace by the Behavioural Insights Team
• a literature review on menopause in the workplace by the Department of Work and Pensions

These reflect our best evidence at the time of writing. We will review and develop the actions to ensure they evolve alongside new evidence. From April 2026, organisations will be able to share evidence with us about evidence-based actions to support this process.

We have outlined the benefits, evidence and implementation tips for each action. This guidance adds to existing resources available from sector organisations and employer bodies, which can provide detailed advice on the steps an employer might take when implementing these actions.

Reducing your gender pay gap

As part of developing an action plan, employers must choose at least one action to address their gender pay gap. The gender pay gap is the difference between the average pay of men and women in an organisation.

Research shows that there are a range of factors that influence the pay gap, including differences between men and women in:

• time spent doing unpaid care work and full-time work history 
• the sectors and organisations they work in 

This guidance includes actions employers can take that aim to limit the impact of these factors, and therefore support closing the gender pay and improving gender equality.  

The majority of organisations will have a ‘positive’ pay gap, meaning men are paid more than women on average. However, actions in this guidance may also support organisations with a ‘negative’ pay gap, and organisations may wish to consider how these actions could be used in those circumstances. 

The gender pay gap is different from equal pay. Equal pay is covered by the Equality Act 2010, and requires employers to pay men and women the same for work of equal value. Read more about equal pay and the law on the Acas website.

Supporting employees experiencing menopause

Employers must also choose at least one action that supports employees experiencing menopause. This includes both perimenopause and postmenopause. Typically, menopause is experienced by women aged between 45 and 55 years. However, this is not always the case, so any steps to provide menopause support should be accessible to employees of other ages. 

The recommended actions may also benefit employees experiencing other health conditions related to menstrual health which can impact their wellbeing and may disadvantage them in the workplace including:

• endometriosis
• fibroids
• polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

While expanding actions to benefit other conditions is not a requirement of action plans, we support steps that employers may choose to take that benefit a greater proportion of employees.

Considering your employees’ characteristics

You should consider how employees may be disadvantaged in the workplace due to the overlapping impact of their sex and other characteristics, such as: 

• ethnicity
• disability status 
• socioeconomic background 

For example, menopause support should account for the fact that women with additional health conditions, or those from different backgrounds, may navigate symptoms and workplace adjustments differently.

Consider how your actions may affect different groups of employees in different roles in your organisation. Where possible, use data on the demographics of your workforce to help choose actions that will be relevant for your organisation.

Creating meaningful change 

We want action plans to encourage employers to make meaningful and long-lasting changes to reduce their gender pay gap and support employees experiencing menopause.

Building a culture that supports gender equality and wellbeing can take time and general goals aimed at improving cultures are often not effective on their own. Committing to specific actions is an important step to support cultural change and improve gender equality. We want organisations to go beyond choosing 2 actions – one each on the gender pay gap and menopause – and select more where possible. This is an opportunity to be ambitious and demonstrate your commitment to workplace gender equality. 

Our guidance includes suggestions for tracking progress for each action. Full guidance on how to analyse your data and monitor the impact of your chosen actions will be published on the gender pay gap reporting service in April, when action plans go live. 

Engaging people in your organisation

Organisation-wide support is critical to the successful development and implementation of an action plan. 

Senior leaders will need to sign off the chosen actions within your plan, and may need to allocate employees’ time and resources for implementation, so their buy-in is essential. Use the guidance to explain the business benefits of your chosen action to help gain this support.

Managers will play a crucial role in implementing many of the actions through supporting their team members. Ensuring that all line managers, not just senior ones, feel confident in having conversations about these topics is integral to implementing an effective action plan. 

To improve understanding of the reasoning behind action plans, consider implementing training for all senior leaders and managers on workplace gender equality and the actions you select.  

Seeking input from a range of employees when developing your action plan may help them feel valued and heard. Gathering feedback on their experiences within your organisation can help you better understand which actions could have the greatest impact. Involving employees early in the process can also help your action plan be relevant and gain better ‘buy-in’ across the organisation. 

You may want to discuss your actions with established stakeholder groups, such as:

• unions
• relevant employee networks
• HR and people teams

How to create your action plan

Additional guidance for employers on creating an action plan will be published in April 2026. 

Subscribe to get an email when this guidance is published.

Who needs to produce an action plan

Employers on the gender pay gap reporting service will have the option to produce and publish a voluntary action plan alongside their gender pay gap data for the 2026 to 2027 reporting year. 

No employers are required to publish an action plan for the 2026 to 2027 reporting year, but you may want to use this voluntary year to practice before it becomes mandatory in future. 

Although action plans are aimed at large organisations, the guidance applies to all employers. We encourage businesses with fewer than 250 employees to also use the support available. 

Where action plans will be published

Action plans will be submitted and published on the gender pay gap service. Published action plans will be available to the public along with your gender pay gap data. The section of the website to publish your action plan will go live following the 2026 gender pay gap reporting deadlines.

You may also publish your action plan on your organisation’s website.

Deadlines for the 2026 to 2027 reporting year

You can voluntarily produce and publish your first action plan any time during the 2026 to 2027 reporting year by the following deadlines:

• 30 March 2027 – for most public authority employers

• 4 April 2027 – for private, voluntary and all other public authority employers

Read guidance on working out which type of employer you are.

Further guidance will be provided before the mandatory requirement to publish an action plan is introduced.

How to produce your action plan

The process guidance we publish in April 2026 will cover the following steps employers should take when developing their action plan:

1. Understanding the issues in your organisation

The process for analysing your data to give you the evidence you need to choose the right actions for your organisation. It will include suggested steps to identify the causes of your gender pay gap and to engage with employees to better understand your organisation and its specific needs.

2. Selecting your actions

The process for choosing actions and the supporting narrative you will need to provide. 

3. Submitting your action plan

How to publish your action plan on the gender pay gap service.

4. Tracking the outcomes of your actions

Suggested steps to track the progress of your chosen actions along with considerations for collecting data. Measuring and monitoring outcomes can help to show how your actions are working and if you are making progress toward your goals.

5. Reviewing your plan

A summary of the reporting cycle for action plans following the voluntary year.