From April 2018, companies with 250 or more employees will be required to publish their gender pay gap. Thousands of companies will be affected and many have already uploaded their data, which you can view online.
However, a number of companies, such as a McDonalds franchise holder, have openly admitted to publishing incorrect figures. The Fawcett Society has therefore called for a clampdown, especially on companies which have gender pay gaps which are statistically improbably, such as a 0% gender pay gap.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) are able to investigate and take enforcement action against businesses who fail to provide accurate gender pay gap data. However the Fawcett Society has called on the Government to give the EHRC greater enforcement powers.
The EHRC is aware of these potential, and a consultation has just closed on considering what wider enforcement powers EHRC could use in the future. We should therefore expect further details later in the year, such as fines and/or convictions.
Although gender pay gaps could provide negative publicity, businesses have been honest and open about the issue and are providing substantive explanations on how they are addressing the issue as soon as possible.
Arguably the repercussions for businesses that fail to provide accurate data and try to hide the true size of their gender pay gap could be greater, especially any negative publicity.
For more information about equal pay, equality in the workplace and gender pay gap reporting, contact Sally Morris on 01905 610410 or email sally.morris@mfgsolicitors.com.
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