Guidance has been published for large organisations on how to prepare Gender Equality Plans.

Gender Equality Plans are another feature of the Employment Rights Act 2025, aimed at supporting employers to “take effective action to improve workplace gender equality” by setting out what steps they are taking to (i) address their gender pay gap, and (ii) support employees experiencing menopause.

While the plans will become mandatory for organisations with over 250 employees at some stage next year, from 6 April 2026 employers of all sizes may publish their action plan on a voluntary basis.

To assist those choosing to publish a plan now, or to prepare those for whom it will be a legal obligation next year, the Office for Equality and Opportunity has published guidance setting out step-by-step advice on how organisations should go about creating an action plan.

A key component of any Gender Equality Plan is the selection of so-called ‘actions’ from a list of various measures aimed at both addressing an organisation’s gender pay gap and supporting employees experiencing menopause.

In the case of addressing the gender pay gap, 12 ‘actions’ are listed, from which an organisation must select at least one. They include, for example, using fair and structured interview techniques, offering mentoring, sponsorship, and other development programmes, and setting targets to improve gender representation.

As for supporting employees experiencing menopause, at least one of six ‘actions’ must be selected from a list that includes training managers to offer support, setting up support groups, and offering workplace adjustments.

Once at least two ‘new or in progress’ actions are selected, organisations must set out a narrative of why they have been chosen, and are also encouraged to keep track of their progress by designating any actions that are already ‘embedded’ in the workplace. After the plan is submitted, organisations will also be expected to monitor progress of their implementation of the ‘actions’, before reviewing and updating their plan every year.

To read the guidance in full, click here.