Gender, Ethnicity and Disability Pay Gap Reporting - EHRC Publishes New Strategy

...are largely due to the barriers they face in obtaining and progressing at work.

The EHRC has therefore published a strategy which aims to break down these barriers, tackle the stereotypes that might influence people's educational and career choices and encourage flexible working in more senior roles, so that flexible working need not mean working at a lower rate of pay.

Recommendations

Whilst the EHRC has welcomed the introduction of the recent gender pay gap reporting requirements, it acknowledges that reporting alone will not lead to a sustained reduction in the size of pay gaps generally. It has therefore set out six main recommendations which are intended to help reduce the pay gaps. These include:

1. Unlocking the earning potential of education by addressing traditional gender stereotyping in subject and career choices, educational attainment experienced by particular ethnic groups or people with disabilities, and increasing diversity in apprenticeships.
   
   
2. Improving work opportunities for everyone, no matter who they are or where they live - by investing in regional economies and providing training in sectors and industries that promote growth. It is intended that by offering skills and opportunities to groups that predominate in low-paid, low-skilled jobs, they will be able to progress into more senior roles, thereby reducing pay gaps.
   
   
3. Making jobs at all levels available on a flexible basis - employees currently have the right to request flexible working after 26 weeks of service. The EHRC recommend that the UK Government should legislate to extend the right to request flexible working from day one, unless there is a genuine business reason why this isn't possible. Furthermore, all jobs, including the most senior should be available on a flexible and part-time basis, subject to the same caveat.
   
   
4. Encouraging men and women to share childcare responsibilities by introducing a dedicated non-transferable, ring-fenced 'use it or lose it' parental leave for fathers, with a pay rate that acts as a real incentive to use it.
   
   
5. Reducing prejudice and bias in recruitment, promotion and pay by supporting a new national target for half of all new appointments to senior and executive level positons in the FTSE 350 and all listed companies to be women. The report also recommends launching a consultation on extending the statutory gender pay gap reporting requirement to disability and ethnicity.
   
   
6. Reporting on progress of reducing pay gaps by monitoring the effectiveness of mandatory gender pay gap reporting and consulting with employers on the most effective way of extending the reporting requirement to ethnicity and disability pay gaps.

Minding the Gap

With effect from April 2017, any organisation with 250 or more employees is now required to publish and report data about their gender pay gap - the difference between the average earnings of men and women. Organisations may also provide a narrative to accompany the reported figures providing context and an outline of the measures they will be taking to address any concerns.

This report is a helpful document to refer to when providing this narrative and may also assist employers in determining measures that can be taken to address any significant pay gaps in their organisation.

It remains to be seen whether government policy will move towards disability and ethnicity pay gap reporting, however there would certainly seem to be increasing pressure on it to do so. We will keep you updated with further developments in this area.

For more information, please contact Eleanor Boyd in our Employment Law team, on 020 7665 0940.