Most workers support disability and ethnicity pay gap reporting

Most UK workers back mandatory reporting on both disability and ethnicity pay gaps, research from People Like Us and Scope has shown. 

A survey of 2,000 working professionals across the UK suggested public support for policies, with 77% supporting disability pay gap disclosure and 70% backing ethnicity pay gap reporting.

The poll comes as the government considers its response to the recent Equality (Race and Disability) Bill consultation, which closed on 10 June.

The bill is expected to be published in the coming months. It will then make its way through Parliament, with the first mandatory reports – for employers with 250 or more employees, not anticipated until 2027 at the earliest.

Seventy-three per cent of workers want requirements obliging employers to publish pay information and to take corrective action when gaps emerge, and 78% believe employers should have to compare the pay of employees performing work of equal value.

Black (76%) and mixed descent (75%) workers, and those with a disability (75%) are more likely to report that their pay and job security have resulted in them needing to rely more on public services over the past year, compared to 52% of white workers.

Sheeraz Gulsher, co-founder of the non-profit group People Like Us, commented: “The government has a duty to move quickly with this bill, which will help businesses build trust and create a fairer workplace environment for all.

“Ethnic minorities and disabled workers are being short-changed, not just in pay but in opportunity, and it’s costing this country billions each year. Reporting is not a silver bullet, but it’s the bare minimum. Now is the time for the government to act.”

Tom Heys, a pay gap expert at Lewis Silkin, added: “This polling shows what many employers already recognise, that transparency matters. Ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting was a manifesto commitment, but without a clear timeline, businesses are left in limbo. Employers want to do the right thing, but they need certainty and support to move from intention to action.”

However, a Personnel Today webinar earlier this month heard how ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting will be far more complex than gender pay gap reporting. Challenges identified include definitions of ethnicity and disability, issues of trust when employers gather the data, and GDPR obligations given its sensitivity.

James Taylor, strategy director at disability equality charity Scope, said: “For too long, disabled people have been locked out of jobs or on lower wages. If the government is committed to tackling the disability employment gap, it should move at pace to introduce pay gap reporting, support workplaces across the UK to become fairer and more inclusive, and help lift disabled workers out of low pay and in-work poverty.”

People Like Us has launched a campaign seeking to prevent delays to the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill. It says £3.2bn is owed to Britain’s ethnic minority workers, in the form of lost earnings caused by the ethnicity pay gap.

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