Gender pay gap reporting

The TUC welcomes the proposal to introduce regulations under s.78 of the Equality Act 2010 which will require private sector employers to publish gender pay information. In drafting the regulations there must be a clear focus on the main objective of this measure which is to encourage employers to take action to narrow the gender pay gap. This means that information needs to be sufficiently detailed to improve employers’ understanding of the main causes of the gender pay gap and that the information must be published in a way that is easy for employees and other stakeholders to access and understand. In addition, while the aim of this requirement is to encourage employers to act upon all causes of the gender pay gap, it is important that the equal pay dimension is not overlooked. This is an opportunity to improve employers’ understanding of equal pay law, particularly the concept of equal pay for work of equal value, and to ensure that their pay systems are operating in a transparent way that does not give rise to discrimination.

Before answering the specific questions in the consultation document, we would like to make clear our views on what is needed for these regulations to achieve their objective.