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More debate on mandatory pay audits

A Liberal Democrat MP is pushing for a vote in the House of Commons over the issue of mandatory pay audits.

Equality spokeswoman Lynne Featherstone is pushing for the vote because she wants mandatory pay audits to be imposed on firms immediately, and not from the original proposal by the Government of 2013.

As the Equality Bill reaches the report stage Ms Featherstone will raise the issue in Parliament, although she admits that the chance of getting a vote pushed through are slim, because the Labour benches are unlikely to rebel and the Conservatives do not want the Bill at all. Despite this Ms Featherstone is confident that it will provoke further debate when it reaches the House of Lords.

Lynne Featherstone, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, who will lead the debate for the Liberal Democrats, accused the Government of using tactics to avoid proper debate. On her blog she said: ‘Sadly - it is quite clear from the order of the amendments and new clauses chosen that the Government does not want the issue of equal pay to get an airing. It has been moved down the list to the point where, in the derisory few hours the Government has allowed for this debate, it won't be reached and will simply fall.’

Currently, the Bill lists measures to enforce gender pay gap reporting for firms with more than 250 staff from 2013, if insufficient progress on reporting has been made voluntarily. The Bill is set to replace nine laws and more than 100 other measures with one single Act to make it easier for employers and staff to understand their legal rights and obligations.

02/12/2009