Ethnicity wage reporting to remain voluntary

The government has said it will not force employees to report ethnicity pay gap figures, a decision described as “nonsensical” by Caroline Nokes MP, chair of the House of Commons women and equalities committee, which recommended mandatory pay gap reporting be extended to ethnicity.

The committee called in February for companies with at least 250 workers to be required to report pay comparisons between ethnic groups, saying that “tackling inequality benefits not only marginalised groups but the whole economy”. The measure was also recommended by last year’s Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, chaired by Tony Sewell.

In response, the government said it would support organisations that voluntarily report ethnicity pay gaps but not make it compulsory.