Companies are now starting to publish gender pay gap information following the introduction of the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017 ("the Regulations") last year.
Put simply the “Gender Pay Gap” is the difference in pay between men and women. According to the BBC News, Ladbrokes, Easyjet and Virgin Money are among the major companies to reveal gender pay gaps of more than 15% in favour of men for mean hourly pay.
Who must comply?
The Regulations apply to private employers in Great Britain with at least 250 employees on 5 April in the reporting year the first reporting year was 2017.
What must be published?
Under the Regulations, employers must calculate average hourly rates and publish:
– the difference between the mean and median hourly pay for men and women;
– the difference between the mean and median bonus pay for men and women;
– the proportions of men and women who received bonus pay; and
– the proportions of men and women in the quartile pay bands (i.e. those in the lower 25% of pay, the next 25% of pay etc).
These differences should be expressed as a percentage of the full time male hourly rate of pay.
When does it need to be published?
This information needs to be published within 12 months of 5 April i.e. by 4 April 2018 for last year and must also be put on the employer’s website and remain there for 3 years.
What are the sanctions for non-compliance?
The Government rejected imposing financial sanctions for non-compliance and there are no civil or criminal enforcement measures in the Regulations. So, the Regulations may be something of a paper tiger. However, the Government has said it will monitor compliance and there is the possibility of being named and shamed as we have seen with minimum wage enforcement. Therefore, the damage to reputation could be very real, even if women are being paid the same rate as men for the same job. It is hoped the Regulations will lead to organisations, and society, addressing the wider issues that create the gender pay gap in the first place.
Please contact Claire Rolston or Yvonne Atherton at CLR Law for further advice about this and other employment law matters hello@clrlaw.co.uk 0191 603 0061
