Commission unveils new measures to tackle gender pay gap

Employers will be given some protection from investigation if they publish information on their gender pay gap, the Equality and Human Rights Commission has announced.

Under new proposals outlined by the Commission, businesses with 250 or more staff will be able to choose from a range of voluntary measures on gender pay reporting.

This may involve analysing the differences between men and women’s median hourly earnings, their average basic pay and total average earnings by grade and job type, or their average starting salaries.

Employers would also be able to include a narrative detailing the causes of their organisation’s gender pay gap.

The proposals follow a consultation between the Commission and representatives from a host of other organisations, including the Confederation of British Industry and the Trades Union Congress.

Chair of the Commission, Trevor Phillips, said: ‘Our research shows that the majority of businesses in the UK realise that they need to address the significant differences between men and women’s pay that still exists 40 years after the Equal Pay Act.

‘Transparency is really the first step to addressing the gender pay gap. If an employer doesn’t look at their own gender pay gap, how do they address it?’

Latest figures released by the equality body suggest that women are on average paid 20.2% less per hour than men.