As your business grows, so will your need for transparency. Today, we’re focusing on one such need for transparency, as we’ll be talking about the Gender Pay Gap Report, what it is, and how best to prepare for it.
What is it?
The report covers the pay disparity (if any) between men and women in your workplace. It also covers the reasons for the pay disparity. For example, do you work in a female dominated field? Or are you finding more men apply to your job openings than women? The Gender Pay Gap Report is focused on understanding why the disparity exists.
It is a common misconception that the Gender Pay Gap report results in punitive action. Its aims are simply exploratory.
Differences Between Pay Gap and Equal Pay
There is a distinction to be made between the Gender Pay Gap and Equality of Pay. Equality of Pay concerns itself with people being paid equally for equal work. For example, two employees in the same job role, performing the same tasks, over the same amount of time cannot be paid different amounts.
The Gender Pay Gap is the study of pay differences between men and women within the workplace. It is concerned with studying those differences, not enforcing a rebalancing.
There is nothing inherently wrong with having a gender pay gap, as some careers appeal to men more than women – and vice versa. However, it is a major criminal offense to have an unfair and unequal pay practice.
Who Has to Report?
Luckily, Small and Medium sized enterprises need not worry for now. The Gender Pay Gap Report is aimed at large enterprises with more than 250 individual employees. Whether those employees are full-time or part-time, it doesn’t matter – If you have equal to or more than 250 individuals employed, you must complete the Gender Pay Gap Report.
For growing businesses, or businesses currently planning to scale their workforce, it is vital you understand what is required from you in each stage.
You can calculate the pay gap across the whole company and in departments. This is because it is quite possible that while the business employs an equal number of men and women on the whole, it may have departments that are dominated by one or the other. It is advantageous to do both, to give greater depth to your report. This includes data on temporary staff, part time staff, agency workers, and full time employees.
When is the Deadline?
The regular deadlines are on 30th of March and 4th of April; However, the deadlines have now been pushed back to the 5th of October. This means that you still have time to prepare and submit before the enforcement action takes place.
It is a legal requirement to submit the report, so not doing so may result in a legal investigation and substantial fines. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) makes it their duty to investigate all businesses which do not submit the report, as well as publishing their status online.
What is a Snapshot Date?
The snapshot date is the specific date the data represents. Your data must represent that time period accurately. The snapshot date is from one year prior to the deadline. So for most Public employers the Snapshot Date would be 31st of March the year before, and for Private, Voluntary, and other Public employers the snapshot date would be 5th of April the year before.
What Data Must I Include?
According to the Gov website, you must include:
- Percentage of men and women in each hourly pay quarter.
- Mean (average) gender pay gap using hourly pay
- Median gender pay gap using hourly pay
- Percentage of men and women receiving bonus pay
- Mean (average) gender pay gap using bonus pay
- Median gender pay gap using bonus pay
These are the minimum requirements, there is no limit to what departmental information you can publish.
What is the Written Statement and Supporting Narrative?
If you are a private employer, you must produce a written statement alongside your results, publishing them on your website for a minimum of 3 years. This written statement must do a number of things.
Firstly, explain what the report is and why it is necessary.
Secondly, explain the methodology used to collect and collate the data. This statement is about the facts.
The supporting narrative is the employer’s perspective on the data. It allows the employer to justify the results and discuss the actions they are taking to either amend or improve the results. So, for example, if your administration department demonstrates a large gender pay gap in favour of women, how will your organisation close the gap?
These documents give you the chance to put your results into context.
What’s The Prognosis?
It is extremely important that you understand the causes of your pay gap. You must first understand the results of your research to then make an action plan. You must also consider that your interpretation of the data may not align with another interpretation, therefore you must understand the data completely to accurately represent the data in the supporting document.
If you are a growing business, you need to think about these issues. If you would like any assistance, or simply want to learn more – Get in touch. You can contact us via our online form, or by phone on: 0330 400 5490
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