gender pay gap reporting: what is it all about?
The introduction of new law will make it mandatory for employers of 250 or more employees, casual workers and some contractors to publish information relating to their gender pay gap. Employers will be required to analyse their gender pay gap each April, and publish a report within 12 months.
The first report, in respect of the gender pay gap in April of this year, must be published by April 2018. This news article sets out in very high level terms what will be required. If you want to discuss gender pay reporting in more detail then please do get in touch (click here)
Employers must publish:
- Overall gender pay gap figures for relevant employees, calculated using both the mean andmedian average hourly pay
- The numbers of men and women in each of four pay bands (quartiles), based on the employer’s overall pay range.
- The difference in men and women’s mean/median bonus pay over a 12-month period.
- The proportion of male and female employees who received a bonus in the same 12-month period.
The employees that will be included in the calculation of mean and median average hourly pay and those for bonus pay will differ.
The quartiles are determined by ranking employees in order from lowest paid to highest paid and dividing the employees into four sections, each comprising an equal number of employees (the lower, lower middle, upper middle and upper quartile pay bands).
Employers will have the option to include a narrative explaining any pay gaps or other disparities, and setting out what action, if any, they plan to take to address them.
Pay
Pay is calculated using gross hourly figures during the monthly or weekly pay period. It is defined as basic pay, bonuses (pro-rated if they relate to a period longer than the relevant pay period) , allowances (such as on-call and standby allowances), pay for piecework, pay for leave and shift premiums. It excludes overtime, expenses, benefits in kind, termination payments and the value of salary sacrifice schemes.
Publication
A report must be published on an employer’s own website and it must be kept online and publicly available for three years. It must also upload the information to a government website.
Guidance for employers
The government will produce non-statutory guidance to assist organisations in complying with the Regulations. This is being developed in conjunction with Acas.
