You may have been hearing things about this subject in the media and indeed a large number of businesses will soon become subject to new Gender Pay Gap reporting regulations, BUT only if they employ 250 or more people.
Hence this particular compliance measure is of no real significance to those who employ less — the majority of employers in the UK. (Of course that doesn’t mean that there should be a pay differential between men and women in smaller firms!! If men and women do the same job they should be paid the same wage. Simple. Those employers who continue to treat women unfairly are liable to a sex discrimination claim — in fact Asda is having to defend a collective claim at the moment.
The gender pay gap, which has been widening since the early 2000’s, is the difference between men’s and women’s pay and is monitored by the Office of National Statistics.
To combat the widening gap the government is to require businesses to report on the extent of the gender pay gap that exists in their organisation. From 2018, companies with more than 250 employees will be required to make their gender pay gap publically available online. The Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations are currently in draft but are expected to be finalised shortly and then take effect in spring next year.
Comment: Watch this space nearer the time for the full details, but don’t be concerned if you employ less than 250 people – you won’t have anything extra to do as a result of these Regs.
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