Factors in measuring gender pay gap


The gender pay gap stands at 19.1% in the UK in terms of median pay rates for all employees (full-time and part-time), higher than the EU 2014 average of 16.4%.


On a full-time basis, women in the UK receive 9.4% less than male workers.


The different figures are an important factor to bear in mind when considering the government’s plans to introduce gender pay gap reporting for organisations with more than 250 employees, according to Duncan Brown of the Institute for Employment Studies think tank.


The kind of information that should be reported — mean or median comparative figures, base pay, bonuses, overtime, hourly rates or annual earnings — is one of the issues on the agenda for the government’s gender pay gap reporting consultation.


Other factors to be established before the reporting regulations come into effect include where the information should be published, when and how frequently, how the data collection process would work in practice and how it would be enforced.


Brown urged employers to take a proactive approach to the gender pay gap ahead of impending legislation on pay data reporting. Addressing the gender pay gap sooner rather than later could provide cost and time savings, as well as foster a sense of internal fairness and improve employee engagement within an organisation.


Brown said: “Let’s hope that 20 years down the road having an almost 20% pay gap will be seen as totally ridiculous.”


www.employeebenefits.co.uk/home/uk-median-gender-pay-gap-higher-than-eu-average/107599.article