This month the Government published its response to the summer
2015 consultation on 'Closing the Gender Pay Gap' and the
new draft regulations - draft Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap
Information) Regulations 2016.
The response and the draft regulations lay out the framework for
the new compulsory gender pay gap reporting regime, likely to come
into force in October 2016 with the first snapshot reports required
to be published in April 2017.
In 2015 the Office for National Statistics published figures
indicating a gender pay gap of 9.4% for full-time employees, and
19.2% for all employees. Against this backdrop of pay inequality,
the current proposals have been welcomed by many as an important
step towards gender equality by increasing transparency and shining
a spotlight on current unequal practices. However the measures,
originally intended to come into force in spring 2016, have also
received criticism for further delay in implementation.
