One of the hot topics for businesses around the country at the moment is the gender pay gap. The difference between what a company pays a man and a woman in average hourly earnings is so important that the government have brought in measures about publishing it. But what do you need to do for your company and how do you do it?
What is the gender pay gap?
The gender pay gap is defined as the difference in average hourly earnings between men and women. In 2017, men earned 18.4% more than women, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS) based on a 1% sample of companies around the UK.
The gender pay gap is slightly different to the equal pay issue. Equal pay is where men and women doing the same job are paid the same – this has been a legal requirement in the UK for 47 years. Under the Equal Pay Act 1970 and the more recently Equality Act 2010, it is illegal to pay people differently because they are male or female. However, a company may find it has a gender pay gap if more of the top roles in the company are filled by men.
Examples of the gender pay gap in action
There are lots of high profile examples of the gender pay gap in action. Four of the top City investment banks recently revealed that they pay women median salaries of 28.9% to 35.2% less than their male colleagues. They also admitted that median bonuses were 55.6-67.1% lower for women than for men.
The reports from Bank of American Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse are part of the new government requirement for companies to disclose their gender pay gap. Across the whole of the top 10 banks, there was a median pay gap of 28.92% and a bonus gap of 50.57%.
New reporting requirements
The reason that these banks and a number of other companies have been highlighted for the gender pay gap is that the government has brought in new reporting regulations around it. For companies with 250 or more employees, there is the requirement to publish their gender pay gap from April 2018. This includes public, private and voluntary sector companies and includes bonuses if paid.
Companies must use data from April 5th, 2017 to offer a snapshot of the position within the company or from 31st March 2017 for public sector companies. The aim is that information will eventually be added to a government database for everyone to see.
Companies are also allowed to add a narrative to their figures. This offers an explanation for the results as well as details about what they are doing to tackle any imbalance the report has uncovered.
Getting the results
Establishing the information required if your company has to report these figures doesn’t need to be complicated. Cintra Payroll offer reporting facilities as part of our payroll services and we can easily help you compile the information required for this new report so that you can comply with the new government regulations.
You can get in touch with our expert team on the details below to find out more about what we can offer you.