On track to meet the deadline to publish gender equality gap information?

Will you meet the 30 March 2018 deadline to publish your gender equality gap information? And if you are ready to publish, is there a danger that you might have your sums wrong? Do you realise that the Equality and Human Rights Commission might take enforcement measures if you don’t comply with the new regulations?

Public sector employers with 250 or more employees must report their gender pay gap statistics by 30 March 2018. However, public sector employers of all sizes should consider the advantages of publishing their gender pay gap statistics as a means of demonstrating compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty. Private sector and voluntary employers with 250 or more employees must report the required information by 4 April 2018 (in England).

There are six calculations to carry out, and the results must be published on the employer's website and a government website. Where applicable, they must be confirmed by an appropriate person, such as a chief executive or chair of governors / trustees.

It is important to appreciate that gender pay reporting is a different requirement to carrying out an equal pay audit.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has said it would investigate any suspected breaches of the regulations, initially by inviting them to enter into a formal agreement. However, employers that do not accept the offer of an agreement and have breached the regulations could be issued with an unlawful act notice. This notice requires them to comply with an action plan, which can be enforced through court orders. Those that still refuse to comply with a court order may face summary convictions and an unlimited fine.

The EHRC said the purpose of taking enforcement action was to ensure that those that breach the gender pay gap regulations are ‘held to account’ and to deter non-compliance by other employers.

It also hinted it may take action against employers for the publication of inaccurate data, ‘if we consider that it is necessary, proportionate and feasible to do so’. In December 2017, the Financial Times reported that around 5% of submissions that had been made to the Government’s gender pay gap portal so far were statistically improbable and therefore almost certainly inaccurate. For example, 16 companies reported that male and female staff  were paid exactly the same, so they had 0% gender pay gap measured by both the mean and median. Lorraine Heard of Womble Bond Dickinson has said ‘whilst it is not impossible for a company to have a zero gender pay gap it is highly improbable that the gap would be zero when measured on both a mean and a median basis’.

One company, Hugo Boss, which employs 900 people in the UK, initially reported that it had no pay gap of any kind between what it paid men and women. It also said that it had 53% men and 47% of women in each of the four pay quartiles and that all employees received a bonus.

After the FT pointed out to Hugo Boss that its results were unusual, the fashion house resubmitted its data this time recording a mean gender pay gap of 33% and a median gender pay gap of 77%.

In my Feb 2017 news, I published an update on the new reporting requirements, where I covered:

• what you need to publish
• how you need to publish
• the difference between gender pay gap and equal pay
• the link with the gender pay gap reporting requirement and legal requirements under the Public Sector Equality Duty
• the causes of the gender pay gap in Britain
• actions to consider to actively reduce your gender pay gap

I also provided links to ACAS guidance, which I have subsequently updated. The links provide joint ACAS / GEO advice:

• a new guide on managing gender pay gap reporting
• a new miniguide on gender pay gap reporting in the public sector
• fact sheets on gender pay reporting
• the reporting template
• the top ten myths about gender pay reporting

If you missed this update, you can access it here

In my May 2017 news, I adapted a guide published by personneltoday, which complements the information given in my February update and provides you with a series of steps to consider when drafting your gender pay gap report.

If you missed this update, you can access it here