It is no secret that the majority of women within the UK are earning less than their male co-workers. This issue has been around since women were even allowed to go to work, and it does not feel like it’s about to go away anytime soon. Especially, because of lockdown and the fact that more women than men have lost their jobs.
So what exactly is gender pay gap reporting?
As of 2017, if you are an employer with a 250 or more employees you are required to publish statutory calculations each year, to show the difference between the earnings of a male employee to a female employee.
Each year there are two different dates that these figures should be published, they are also known as ‘snapshot dates.’
Most public authority employers must use a snapshot date of March 31st. by this date they are required to report on and publish their gender pay gap information by March 30th the following year.
Whereas private, voluntary and all other public authority employers must use a snapshot date of April 5th. By this specific date they must report on and publish their gender pay gap information on April 4th the following year. Employees from these types of organisations are also required to include a written statement along with the report.
However, this year, the Equality and Human Rights Commission has confirmed that enforcement action against employers for failing to report their gender pay gap will be postponed. This is due to the impact of the Covid-19 situation. It means that employers have until October 5th, 2021 to report on these figures, rather than April 4th, 2021.
Why is this important?
Because, so many people and businesses as a whole have suffered because of the pandemic, and many have taken significant hits. This simply gives the businesses and employers a little more time to be able to get all of the correct information together.
This will also reduce the administrative burden that would be placed upon employers over the next few months, especially with the majority of businesses and workplaces to get back up and running, as usual in a couple of months’ time.
With this extra time, failure to comply with the report, will likely result in an investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Where, they will ‘name and shame’ employers, along with a possible criminal conviction with unlimited fines. Not only could this damage a business financially, but this can have huge reputational damage for the employer and/or the company as a whole and employees would be encouraged to raise equal pay claims.
So, what should you do now?
If you believe that this applies to you then, you need to ensure that you submit your report no later than October 5th, 2021. More information can be found on the government’s website, along with the forms that you need to fill out.