Fri, 24 Dec 2010

Gender pay audits abolished

Companies will not be obliged to disclose pay gaps between male and female employees, following an announcement made last December by equalities minister Lynne Featherstone.

Instead, the Government will work with businesses to encourage voluntary publication of equality workforce data. ‘Right at this moment of financial peril to the nation is perhaps not the moment to introduce mandatory pay audits,’ said Featherstone.

Katja Hall, the Confederation of British Industry’s director of employment policy, said a voluntary framework was a positive step, but that equality objectives needed clarification.

‘Employers will need clear guidance on how to use this positive action provision correctly to avoid falling foul of the law,’ Hall said.

Gender pay reporting measures were originally included in Labour’s 2010 Equalities Act.