Event Summary

Menopause will affect every woman at some point in her life, and around 400,000 women in Scotland are currently of menopausal age. Yet access to support and care remains uneven across Scotland. The Scottish Government’s Women’s Health Plan: Phase Two (2026-2029) commits to a more targeted approach to tackling variation in menopause care, alongside expanded information through NHS Inform, while employers in every sector face growing expectation to keep women well and working.

The workplace picture is changing too. Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, employers with 250 or more employees will be required to publish mandatory equality action plans from spring 2027.

Holyrood Insight’s Menopause Scotland Conference will bring together health professionals, employers, policy makers and employee voices to understand what these changes mean in practice. We will look at what you need to include in your menopause action plan hearing from best practice examples.

We will look at how to improve access to specialist care, how to build menopause-friendly workplaces that retain experienced staff, and how to manage legal risk, including discrimination and reasonable adjustments, drawing on ACAS guidance.

Consider how to make sure support reaches everyone who needs it, including women in frontline, shift-based and smaller-employer settings, and how line managers, colleagues and male allies can help create workplaces where menopause is discussed openly and without stigma. You will hear practical examples from leading employers and healthcare voices about what has worked, what hasn’t, and how to evidence the difference that support makes.

Join us to share best practice, hear from leading voices in Scotland, and leave with clear, practical steps for improving menopause support in your organisation, whether you work in the public or private sector.

Key Points

• Understanding what the Employment Rights Act 2025 means for Scottish employers: menopause and equality action plans, menopause support and timelines
• Delivering Women’s Health Plan: Phase Two (2026-2029) and tackling variation in menopause care across NHS boards
• Improving access to specialist menopause services, training for practitioners and trusted public information
• Building menopause-friendly workplaces: policies, line manager training and culture change
• Retaining experienced women in the workforce: the impact of menopause symptoms on ability to work
• Managing legal risk: menopause, discrimination and reasonable adjustments
• Reaching frontline, shift-based and smaller-employer workforces
• Engaging men as allies and workplace champions
• Measuring impact: evidencing the value of menopause support