Gender pay gap in the spotlight
The Government has published draft gender pay gap reporting regulations for consultation.
These regulations, that are due to come into force on 1 October 2016, will apply to private and voluntary sector companies with at least 250 “relevant employees”; those ordinarily working in Great Britain and whose contracts are governed by UK legislation. Mandatory reporting will also be extended to the public sector and there will be further consultation on how this will work in practice.
Under the regulations, employers must take their first snapshot of data on 30 April 2017 and publish their figures by April 2018. Data will need to be reported annually after that. Employers must publish their mean and median gender pay gaps, as well as the number of men and women within each quartile of pay distribution. Additionally, employers have to publish information relating to the gender bonus gap.
The report needs to be published on the employer’s website every year and employers must also upload it to a Government-sponsored website. A written statement confirming the accuracy of the information will also be required.
Guidance to assist employers with implementing the regulations will be published later this year.