As many will have noticed, organisations reporting their gender
pay gap statistics have been creating negative headlines in the
press. But as businesses attempt to reduce their gender pay gap,
it's important to understand the risks that this can
present.
Employers with 250 or more employees have until 4 April 2018 to
publish their gender pay gap figures on a government website. The
figures must also be published on the employer's own website in
an easily accessible place for the public to view. This exercise
must be repeated on an annual basis thereafter.
The national gender pay gap currently stands at 18%, although in
industries traditionally employing more men, such as financial
services and insurance, the figure is estimated to be much higher.
It is anticipated that the overwhelming majority of those
organisations reporting will have a gap of some kind and it is easy
for employees to assume that these gaps show that unlawful
discrimination is at play.
