POSSABILITIES C.I.C.
Action plan 2026 to 2027
Contents
1. Introduction
What is an action plan?
Employers with 250 or more employees can produce and publish a voluntary action plan outlining how they intend to address their gender pay gap and support employees experiencing menopause. Subject to legislation, these will become mandatory from spring 2027.
To create their action plan, employers review a list of evidence-informed actions recommended by the government. They identify any they already routinely do (‘embedded actions’), and choose some new actions to work on for the first time or build on something they are already doing (‘planned actions’). They must choose at least 2 planned actions:
- one must address an organisation’s gender pay gap
- one must support employees experiencing menopause
You can see the full list of actions (opens in a new window) and guidance for employers on creating an action plan (opens in a new window).
For more detail on the process, see the gender pay gap and action plan guidance (opens in a new window).
POSSABILITIES C.I.C. submitted the following supporting narrative with their action plan:
Our gender pay gap data has consistently shown a zero median pay gap and a negative mean pay gap, and 2026/27 is no exception to this. Our data indicated that that female employees are paid at least the same as male employees on average. We have a strong representation of women across all pay quartiles, including at senior levels and a female leadership team.
Our gender pay gap results indicate a fair and balanced pay position. Therefore this action plan is focused on maintaining these outcomes, supporting fair progression, and ensuring transparency and consistency in pay practices so that equality is sustained over time.
We have outlined 5 key objectives
Action 1: Maintain fair and transparent pay structures
Action 2: Review the gender pay impact of senior and specialist pay decisions
Action 3: Monitor progression and development opportunities
Action 4: Support retention and career continuity
Action 5: Strengthen data quality and reporting
As well as the additional ones identified through this platform.
A named senior leader is responsible for overseeing delivery of this action plan and reviewing progress annually alongside our gender pay gap report.
Read POSSABILITIES C.I.C.’s equality policies or strategy (opens their website in a new window)
2. Planned actions
POSSABILITIES C.I.C. has committed to working on these actions in the 2026 to 2027 reporting year:
Encourage employee development through actionable steps
Giving all employees clear and actionable advice on how to develop may benefit organisations with low rates of progression and retention for women.
POSSABILITIES C.I.C. said:
Monitor progression and development opportunities
What we will do
• Review access to progression opportunities such as promotions, acting‑up roles and specialist training
• Monitor outcomes by gender annually
Why
• To ensure equitable access to progression into higher‑paid roles over time
Owner
• People Team / Line Managers
Success measure
• Balanced gender representation maintained across all pay quartiles
Offer mentoring, sponsorship and other development programmes
Providing development programmes, such as mentoring, gives employees a formal channel for advice and support.
POSSABILITIES C.I.C. said:
We are focusing on developing an internal succession programme, as part of this we are looking to introduce a mentoring scheme.
We will track the success of the programme by monitoring how many vacancies (aside from frontline roles) are filled by internal candidates and those that have completed the programme.
Offer occupational health advice to employees experiencing menopause
Giving employees specialised occupational health advice can help them manage menopause symptoms, get support and work more comfortably.
POSSABILITIES C.I.C. said:
We have an occupational health provision in place as well as an Employee Assistance programme - we will promote that employees can use these for support in regards to menopause, as currently they may not be aware of this.
We will monitor uptake through quarterly reports that we receive from the provider so that we know how many are affected by this in our organisation.
Conduct a menopause risk assessment for your workplace
Menopause risk assessments can identify workplace adjustments to help support your employees' wellbeing.
POSSABILITIES C.I.C. said:
Although we have a policy, training and champion in place for menopause we do not have a current risk assessment therefore we will look to conduct this with our Menopause Champion and our staff advisory group to take a collaborative approach to this. From the risk assessment we can then identify further actions that we can implement.
3. Embedded actions
POSSABILITIES C.I.C. has indicated that the following actions are already an established part of their working practice.
Train managers to support employees experiencing menopause
Manager training can help organisations support employees experiencing menopause.
POSSABILITIES C.I.C. said:
Our managers received specific menopause awareness training in 2024, this is also included in the health and wellbeing training that all our employees complete.
Increase transparency for pay, promotion and rewards
Transparency in pay, promotion, and bonus policies helps ensure everyone understands how decisions are made.
POSSABILITIES C.I.C. said:
What we will do
• Continue to use structured pay arrangements aligned to role, responsibility and skills
• Limit discretionary pay decisions
• Ensure pay reviews are applied consistently across the workforce
Why
• To protect our zero median gender pay gap and prevent unintended pay disparities
Owner
• People Director/ Finance Director
Success measure
• Continued zero or near‑zero median gender pay gap year‑on‑year
Enhance and promote flexible working and leave policies
Enhance and promote leave policies and flexible working so employees know their entitlements and how to use them.
POSSABILITIES C.I.C. said:
Support retention and career continuity
What we will do
• Continue to support flexible working where operationally appropriate
• Ensure employees returning from family‑related leave are supported and not disadvantaged in pay progression
Why
• Retention and continuity support long‑term pay equality and workforce stability
Owner
• People Team / Line Managers
Success measure
• No widening of gender pay gaps following periods of leave
Set up menopause support groups and networks
Menopause support groups in your organisation can help provide peer support, information and guidance.
POSSABILITIES C.I.C. said:
We have a menopause champion in place and also did have a group that met to discuss menopause, the group hasn't been that well attended however the champion is still in place should anyone wish to seek support from them.
Offer workplace adjustments to employees experiencing menopause
Personalised workplace adjustments for employees experiencing menopause can support their wellbeing and ability to work.
POSSABILITIES C.I.C. said:
We already have Wellness action plans in place and a menopause policy that outlines what reasonable adjustments can be made. Managers have also been trained on appropriate adjustments that can be made or considered.
4. About POSSABILITIES C.I.C.
- Registered address
- Cherwell Centre, Cherwell Avenue, Heywood, Lancashire, OL10 4SY
- Sector
- Human health and social work activities
- Person responsible
- Freya Bleakley (People Director)