Mandatory reporting of gender pay gap to be introduced

Firms employing more than 250 employees will have to reveal the difference between average pay for male and female workers, following an amendment to the Small Business Bill.  This follows lobbying by the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg and the Business Minister, Jo Swinson.

The current scheme for reporting the gender pay gap is voluntary but, despite 270 companies signing up for the scheme which was introduced three years ago, it’s been reported that only five companies chose to publish their figures.

The new measures are likely to be introduced in 12 months and it is expected that companies will have to report their gender pay gap annually or risk fines of up to £5,000.

Clare Moore of Gordons’ employment team says “Whether the introduction of mandatory reporting will make any real difference to the gender pay gap, which currently stands at 9.4%, is unclear, but the legislation should focus the minds of those employers subject to it to review pay rates across their workforce and to identify any inequalities between the sexes”.