Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Employment lawEquality, diversity and inclusionLatest NewsEconomics, government & businessEqual pay

Equality Bill will hit business, warn CIPD and EEF

by Kat Baker 28 Apr 2009
by Kat Baker 28 Apr 2009

Leading HR and business groups have condemned the government’s introduction of gender pay audits as a “bullet aimed at employers”.

As part of the Equality Bill, published Monday, private sector employers with more than 250 staff will be forced to report their gender pay gap from 2013, if they fail to heed ongoing calls to do so voluntarily.

Public sector organisations will also have to provide audits of their pay if they employ more than 150 workers.

Figures released by the Office of National Statistics currently put the full-time gender pay gap at 17.1%

Charles Cotton, reward adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, said gender pay reporting was not the answer to the pay gap.

He said: “It is dishonest of policy makers to imply that [the pay gap] can be solved by some magic bullet aimed at employers. Voluntary pay reporting, with the big stick of compulsory reporting looming in 2013, will do little more than create bureaucracy and fuel employment law claims.”

David Yeandle, head of employment policy at manufacturing body EEF, added: “The culture change needed in our society to encourage a more diverse workforce and address equality issues will not be achieved by imposing unnecessary administrative burdens on business such as the requirement to publish gender pay data.

“This will do nothing to reduce the gender pay gap and could undermine manufacturers’ efforts to encourage more women to work in manufacturing.”

Campaigning charity Business in the Community expressed concern that without clear explanation, government provisions in the Bill to encourage ‘positive action’ over the employment of under-represented groups risks confusing employers and both alienating and undermining the achievements of those it is trying to help.

Sam Mercer, director of workplace at Business in the Community, said: “Over-simplifying the issues and cementing ideas which sound great in theory, but don’t translate into practice may well cause more problems than they solve.”

He added that a more open approach to reform, where employers are seen as part of the solution, not the problem, was needed.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

The CIPD, however, welcomed the clause to ban employers from imposing secrecy over pay.


IRS Conference: Discrimination and Equality

Kat Baker

previous post
Equality Bill refuses to allow firms ‘amnesty’ on equal pay gaps
next post
Care vouchers most popular benefit with comp and bens managers

You may also like

Number of Neet women rises but figures fall...

23 May 2025

Bank holidays: six things employers need to know

23 May 2025

Unions ponder strike action after public sector pay...

23 May 2025

Personnel Today Awards 2025: Three weeks left to...

23 May 2025

Sighing in frustration at colleague was discriminatory, judge...

23 May 2025

Flexible working for teachers initiative extended

23 May 2025

Fire and rehire: the relocation question

22 May 2025

Public sector workers gain pay rises of up...

22 May 2025

Six ways to kickstart conversations about team stress...

22 May 2025

UK net migration slashed by half in one...

22 May 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+