New Proposals Target UK Gender Pay Gap

The gender pay gap among full-time employees in the UK stood at 6.8 percent in April, according to the Office for National Statistics. Boosting pay transparency could help address this gap and lead to the early resolution of pay disputes, the EHRC claims.

An explanation for differences in earnings would also become mandatory under the proposals. Workers deserve a right to transparency if they suspect other staff receive more pay for similar work, the EHRC asserts.

Staff should be able to ask for information about a colleague doing similar work, including annual salary, hours worked, bonuses, overtime, and their job description, the EHRC claims. They should also be able to ask for details on any job evaluations carried out by bosses, revealing job grades, salary benchmarks, internal “scores,” and a copy of any final job evaluation records.

EHRC indicated that Staff should be able to ask for information about a colleague doing similar work, including annual salary, hours worked, bonuses, overtime, and their job description. They should also be able to ask for details on any job evaluations carried out by bosses, revealing job grades, salary benchmarks, internal “scores,” and a copy of any final job evaluation records.

Furthermore, workers should be able to ask for a ranking of each worker in a similar team, based on annual basic pay and hours, the EHRC claims. They would also have the right to push bosses for more information if the data received is believed inaccurate or incomplete, with bosses forced to respond within a “specified timeframe.”

Research by the Fawcett Society, cited by the EHRC, found that 58 percent of women and 54 percent of men felt being asked about past earnings resulted in them receiving a lower wage. More than 50 percent of workers feel being asked about past pay results in lower salary offers.

The Fawcett Society claims that asking about salary history risks maintaining historic unfair differences in pay due to gender, race, and disability inequality. Rather than offering a salary based on skills, experience, and performance, asking about salary history means employers reward an individual's perceived worth and negotiating skills instead, the Fawcett Society states.

Introducing a requirement that prevents employers from asking about salary history or expectations, alongside the proposed pay transparency measures, will likely reduce pay gaps and discrimination against women, the EHRC claims. This must be a mandatory measure, not an ‘optional’ one, the EHRC argues.