The Gender Pay Gap Regulations, which were introduced in April 2017, require private and voluntary sector employers with 250 employees or more to publish a report on their own website, and a dedicated government website, by 4 April each year indicating the differences between the average pay and bonuses of male and female employees (“the gender pay gap”) as at 5 April the previous year (the corresponding dates for public sector employers are 31 March and 30 March)
Those organisations who had 250 employees or more as at 5 April 2018 were therefore required to publish the required information by 4 April 2019.
The required information is as follows:
For the pay period within which 5 April 2018 fell…
- the difference between the mean hourly rate of pay between male full-pay relevant employees and female full-pay relevant employees;
- the difference between the median hourly rate of pay between male full-pay relevant employees and female full-pay relevant employees; and
- the proportions of male and female full-pay relevant employees who were in the lower, lower middle, upper middle and upper quartile pay bands based on hourly rates of pay.
For the period of 12 months ending on 5 April 2018…
- the difference between the mean bonus pay paid to male relevant employees and that paid to female relevant employees;
- the difference between the median bonus pay paid to male relevant employees and that paid to female relevant employees; and
- the proportions of male and female relevant employees who were paid bonus pay.
Whilst the Regulations themselves don’t include an enforcement mechanism or any sanctions for non-compliance with the reporting duty, failure to comply does constitute an “unlawful act” under the Equality Act, which empowers the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to take enforcement action. Last year, the EHRC said it would be sending letters to all employers that it believed be non-compliant, giving them 28 days to comply before being investigated and issued with an ‘unlawful act’ notice.
Chris Nagel, EML’s Director and Head of HR, comments:
“Regardless of the risk of enforcement action by the EHRC, employers need to consider the reputational damage of non-compliance with their reporting duties. Put simply, the more transparent an employer is about its gender pay gap and the remedial action it’s taking, the more attractive it’s likely to be to prospective employees.”
If you’re an employer concerned about compliance with your obligations as they relate to the gender pay gap reporting, please don’t hesitate to contact us in confidence and without obligation for an initial discussion. If you’re an employer that’s close to triggering the gender pay gap reporting requirements for the first time, we can undertake preliminary audits / fact finding exercises, uncover any potential exposure and assist in putting measures in place to reduce any gender pay gap that is identified. We can also undertake the gender pay gap audits themselves, as well as assist with the publication of the results and fulfilment of ongoing mandatory reporting obligations.