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Addressing your gender pay gap: guidance and action plan

Take steps to tackle your gender pay gap and boost transparency for current and future staff with an action plan. Use our tips and template action plan to get started.

Last reviewed on 25 February 2026
School types: All•School phases: All•Ref: 52965
Contents
  1. What is a gender pay gap action plan?
  2. Gather information about your gender pay gap
  3. Use our template to write your own action plan
  4. Speak to staff about their concerns and the support they need
  5. Make sure your pay progression and additional payments criteria are transparent
  6. Review your internal and external recruitment processes for bias
  7. Normalise flexible working
  8. Help staff become more confident discussing and negotiating their pay

What is a gender pay gap action plan?

Your gender pay gap action plan sets out what you will do to tackle the gender pay gap in your school or trust. The goal is to make your place of work more equitable.

It’s a good way to encourage candidates to apply for roles in your school, regardless of their gender. Transparency can boost retention and goodwill among current staff, too. 

It works alongside your responsibilities around reporting on the gender pay gap – see the linked article on how to do this, including how to calculate the gender pay gap in your setting.

Large employers will be required to have one from spring 2027

From spring 2027, if your school or trust has 250 or more staff, you’ll be required to:

You can do this voluntarily from spring 2026.