Compulsory pay gap reporting on the horizon

Responding to pressure from trade unions and activists, the coalition government finally looks likely to enact laws introducing compulsory reporting on the gender pay gap for employers of more than 250 employees.

In December 2014, general union Unite and fashion magazine Grazia came together, supported by celebrities from the Made in Dagenham musical, to back a Ten Minute Rule Bill — the Equal Pay (Transparency) Bill — launched by Labour MP Sarah Champion.

The Bill sought to enact Section 78 of the Equality Act 2010 which contains the statutory power to make gender pay gap reporting mandatory.

Champion’s Bill received broad Commons support and was a major symbolic step forward in the campaign for equal pay. Just seven MPs, all male Conservatives, voted against it.

With the election approaching, the Liberal Democrats have introduced a last minute amendment to the Small Business Enterprise and Employment Bill, currently in the House of Lords, to include compulsory gender pay reporting by larger employers.

The move reflects the failure of the government’s voluntary approach, known as “Think, Report, Act”. According to data analysed by Equal Opportunities Review, the scheme covers just 1% of UK businesses and only eight companies are known to have carried out an equal pay audit.

Under the proposed amendment, the business secretary will have 12 months in which to make regulations imposing compulsory reporting once the Bill becomes law.

www.theguardian.com/money/2015/mar/06/lib-dems-push-mandatory-reporting-of-gender-pay-gaps