Cabinet agree text of gender pay reporting legislation
The Department of Justice and Equality announced that the Government agreed on text of the Gender Pay Gap Information Bill 2018 (Government Bill) on International Women’s Day. The Government Bill is running alongside separate draft legislation in the shape of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Gender Pay Gap Information) Bill 2017 (the Labour Bill).
Is there a gender pay gap in Ireland?
The gender pay gap is the percentage difference between the average hourly earnings of men and women in an organisation. The latest figures available indicate that the gender pay gap in Ireland stands at 13.9%. Although the principle of equal pay for equal work has been a part of Irish law since the 1970s, it has failed to eliminate the gender pay gap which persists for a variety of socio-economic reasons. The Government’s proposed introduction of mandatory gender pay gap reporting is designed to establish precisely why employer organisations are operating with a gender pay gap.
The Government gender pay gap Bill
The Government Bill provides that companies of 50 and more employees will be required to complete a wage survey. This is intended to help identify the factors that are causing gender pay gaps in organisations. It is also hoped that the results of the survey will incentivise employers to take measures to reduce any gap reported.
Under the Government Bill, the reporting requirement will apply on a phased basis. All employers with at least 250 employees will initially be required to report. Within two years of commencement, employers with at least 150 employees will be required to report and within three years of commencement employers of more than 50 employees will be required to report.
Employers will be required to include a narrative setting out the reasons a gender pay gap exists in their company and the measures being taken to address that gap.
The Labour gender pay gap Bill
The Labour Bill is described as a diagnostic rather than a curative measure. The Labour Bill proposes to confer the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) with the power to create an ‘information disclosure scheme’ for employers to report a gender pay gap in their operations. Once the relevant information has been received by the IHREC, the IHREC would then decide whether it is necessary to exercise its powers to require employers to carry out an equality review and an equality action plan. The Labour Bill would only apply to employers who have at least 50 employees.
Larger SMEs should begin payroll audits now
For the moment, Brexit is dominating legislative activity but the gender pay gap remains a priority for the government and legislation in one form or another looks set to be enacted this year. Larger SME employers (more than 50 employees) should immediately begin auditing their operations to identify the extent of any gender pay gap that exists. If a significant gender pay gap is revealed, it is likely to lead to unwanted negative publicity and/or equal pay claims.
Gender pay gap expertise
If you need help putting together a gender pay gap report for your business, please contact one of our gender pay experts who can help you calculate the required statistics, create a comprehensive report and offer clear actionable advice to help reduce or eliminate any gender pay gaps in your organisation.
Call us today on 0818 923 923 to speak with a gender pay gap expert or if you would like one of our advisors to call you back, fill in your details here.
