Enforcing gender pay gap reporting (E, S, W)

22/12/2017

All public, private and voluntary sector organisations in England, Scotland and Wales with 250 or more employees* are required by law to publish information on their gender pay gaps next year – and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has issued advance warning that those which fail to comply could face unlimited fines and convictions.

The warning is the ultimate enforcement action in ‘Our plans to enforce the gender pay gap regulations: have your say’, a consultation on the enforcement strategy EHRC proposes to adopt as the regulatory body responsible for ensuring compliance with the gender pay gap regulations.

While the gender pay gap is currently calculated at 18.4%, the EHRC is encouraging employers to regard their company statistics as only part of the story, with their action plan to tackle them the key.

It will take steps to encourage compliance and engage informally with employers who are in breach of the regulations as a first port of call, but its proposed 3-stage enforcement strategy states that it may then

offer employers in breach of the regulations the opportunity to enter into a formal agreement – enforceable by court order – to comply as an alternative to continuing with the investigation
issue ‘unlawful act notices’ requiring employers who do not accept the offer of an agreement to comply with an action plan that can be enforced through court orders
seek summary convictions and an unlimited fine against those who still refuse to comply

*All private and voluntary sector employers with 250 or more employees in England, Wales and Scotland must publish information on their gender pay gap under ‘The Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017’.

All listed public sector employers with 250 or more employees in England must publish the same information under ‘The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017’. Similar obligations already existed in Scotland and Wales.

Public sector employers in England must publish their reports by 30 March 2018. Private and voluntary sector employers must report the required pay gap information by 4 April 2018. Reporting will thereafter be an annual requirement by the same dates.

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