Equality Legislation – New Developments in the Workplace

Gender Pay Gap Reporting

‘Gender pay gap’ is a term which refers to the difference between the average pay for male and female employees within an organisation. It does not necessarily relate to ‘equal pay’, but takes into account the employment of women within more senior and high paid roles, in comparison to the number of men in such positions. For larger organisations with more than 250 employees, the incoming requirement for gender pay gap reporting has been widely conveyed and should not come as a surprise.

Organisations, to which the incoming regulations apply, will be required to produce a report providing information relating to the average pay of the men and women it employs. These reports are to be made publicly available on their websites, for at least three years.

Whilst the release of the final Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2016 has been delayed, the first month in which gender pay gap is to be assessed via a “snapshot” is unlikely to change, being April 2017. The deadline by which the first pay gap report is to be published by organisations is currently expected to be in April 2018.

The Government’s requirement for larger organisations to make gender pay gap information publicly available is likely to have a significant impact upon the businesses to which the new regulations apply. Organisations which identify gender pay gaps are likely to wish to consider what has caused the gap; what measures are in place to reduce the gap; and what additional actions can be undertaken to continue to diminish the gap going forward, prior to the deadline.

Women in Finance Charter

Meanwhile, in a further attempt to tackle gender inequality, almost 100 firms have voluntarily pledged their commitment, alongside HM Treasury, to the Women in Finance Charter.

On 8 November 2016, a further 22 financial organisation (including Zurich Insurance, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and BP Energy Supply and Trading) became signatories of the Charter which aims to create a more balanced and fair financial industry, by supporting women into senior roles within their firms and reducing the gender pay gap. On 11 July 2016, it was announced that 73 financial organisations had already committed themselves to the pledge, including the likes of Barclays Bank, Deutsche Bank AG, Lloyd’s of London and PwC UK.

The signatories have committed to undertaking the four following key actions:

1. to have one member of their senior executive team responsible and accountable for gender diversity and inclusion;
2. to set internal targets for gender diversity in their senior management;
3. to publish progress annually against these targets in reports on their websites; and
4. to have an intention to ensure the pay of their senior executive teams is linked to delivery against these internal targets on gender diversity.

These actions were identified in a review of the industry by Jayne-Anne Gadhia, CEO of Virgin Money, published on 22 March 2016, titled: “Empowering Productivity: Harnessing the talents of women in financial services”. The review recommended that such actions would assist in promoting gender diversity and equality within the financial sector.

The impact of Brexit upon Equality Legislation and Policies in the UK

To ensure that equal rights are not overlooked in the frenetic activity surrounding recent events, on 14 October 2016, the Women and Equalities Committee announced that it would be launching an inquiry titled “Ensuring Strong Equalities Legislation outside the EU into the impact of Brexit”. This follows their previous one-off session on 14 September 2016, where the Committee considered the impact of Brexit on equalities legislation and policies in the UK, and the possible ways in which current protections might be maintained and improved under a new relationship with the EU.

The Committee asked for responses to a number of questions relating to legislation, courts, and embedding equality principles, to be submitted by 9 November 2016. Example questions included:

• “What aspects of equalities legislation could be affected when the UK leaves the EU?”;
• “Which institutions, organisations and processes are best placed to ensure that the UK maintains and develops its legislation and policies designed to support those with protected characteristics?”; and
• “What policy and/or legislative changes should be made to ensure that the UK is well placed to support strong equalities legislation and processes outside the EU?”

We understand that a meeting was held on 16 November 2016 which considered:

• The areas of the UK legal framework which may be affected as a result of Brexit, and how these could be replaced and improved;
• The part the UK could play post-Brexit, in relation to gender equality, both domestically and internationally; and
• The international treaties and obligations the UK may decide to implement, both within and beyond Europe and any other international equalities standards, treaties or obligations that the UK is/may be required to comply with.

The Committee’s next meeting is due to be held on 30 November 2016.

Summary

Equality rights continue to remain at the forefront in the UK. Indeed, they should be of increasing consideration for employers who will need to be compliant with UK primary legislation on equal rights. They must also have planned initiatives to deal with any equal pay gap within their industries in order to avoid becoming uncompetitive, particularly in industries where there is a labour shortage.

For more information, please contact a member of our Employment team.