Gender pay gaps - prepare to report

Gender pay gaps - prepare to report 250+ employees? If so, you need to get ready to report any gender pay gap next year... From March 2016, you could be obliged to report gender pay gaps We’ve all heard of the ‘gender pay gap’ – the difference in the average pay between men and women within a company. If you’re a business with 250 employees of more, then as of March 2016, you’ll need to disclose details of this controversial subject. Full details on the Gender Pay Gap reports are yet to be published including:

• How and where details will be published
• The frequency of publication
• Whether any obvious non-discriminatory reasons for gaps in average pay can also be publically identified
• How the total number of employees in an organisation will be ascertained

However, one thing is certain, if you’re likely to be called on to provide this information, it makes sense to start preparing now. You can do this by:

• Checking your data processes - can you report and analyse your gender pay data under current systems?

• Conducting an informal pay audit to include annual salaries defined by staff role and gender
• Look for suspected pay gaps - consider whether or not there are lawful justifications for any differences, and deal with obvious disparities
• Review starting salaries - men often negotiate higher starting salaries, so monitor the salaries of new joiners
• Establish how many women are in different levels of management in your company

We expect the Government to release further details regarding the rules of reporting around the end of 2015, so we’ll keep you updated as soon as we hear more. For further information on gender pay gaps, call our Advice Service 0800 028 2420.