Following last year's consultation on introducing mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for large employers, the government has provided its official response.
As a reminder, the BRC provided a response to the consultation, which can be found here.
The response notes that the proposals to introduce ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting received strong levels of support from respondents, so the vast majority of the proposals will be maintained and brought forward.
The key proposals within the consultation were as follows:
- A requirement to report on ethnicity and disability composition within the workforce, the declaration rates (i.e. the proportion of employees who disclosed this information), and the pay gaps.
- It was proposed that this pay gap reporting follow the same process and use the same systems as gender pay gap reporting where possible
- Action plans should be created which outline how employers will work to close these pay gaps (similar plans are being launched through the Employment Rights Act for gender pay gaps)
- To maintain the confidentiality of employees and avoid risk of identification, there must be at least 10 employees in each group being reported on.
The only proposal that government will not be taking forward is in relation to requiring further areas of reporting for public bodies.
In order to progress with the above, primary legislation will need to be laid, and guidance published. There is no time frame within the response as to when this will be expected - we will provide updates as we know more.
The full government response can be found here.
If you have any questions or feedback on the above, please reach out to Ben.
