Organisations who are legally required to publish their Gender Pay gap now have a six-month extension in which to do so, which is preferable to a complete suspension of reporting which happened in the reporting year 2019/20. Whilst many, including the CIPD, have welcomed the announcement from the EHRC that gender pay reporting will not be fully suspended this year, there is concern that “delayed enforcement could send the wrong signal to employers that reporting can go on the backburner” (Claire McCartney, senior resourcing and inclusion adviser at the CIPD).
Suspending mandatory reporting in 2019/2020 might have eased pressure on organisations at the time but may have potentially set back advancements in pay equality by decades. A report by the Women and Equalities Committee published this week called for gender pay reporting to be “urgently reinstated”, and the committee chair, Caroline Nokes, commented that “Government policies have repeatedly skewed towards men”, calling the Government’s approach to gender pay "passive".
Staying ahead of the curve and understanding the drivers behind your gender pay gap sooner rather than later is the best approach. Delaying reporting to October 2021 will not change your 2020/21 pay gap as the snapshot date (5th April 2020) has already passed. Your 2021/22 gender pay gap will be calculated on data from the snapshot date 5th April 2021 and published before 4th April 2022, so in reality, unless you have already started acting, it’s unlikely you will be able to make any significant change between now and the snapshot date.
To make any real headway on closing your gender pay gap 2022/23, you need to start now. Show yourself as a credible, responsible employer and start analysing, calculating and understanding early to give yourself the time to really make that change as progress is often slow.
We cannot change the future by delaying reporting on the past, so act now, stay ahead of the curve, know where you are and plan where you’re going.
If you would like to know more about our 2021 Gender Pay Reporting service, you can download our Gender Pay Reporting Guide here, or alternatively we are on hand to discuss this in more detail – call us today on +44 (0)20 3457 0894 or email sarah.nash@innecto.com.
