UK employers are unprepared for the Gender Pay Gap Reporting legislation, according to a new study.
The research, conducted by totaljobs, found that 32 per cent of companies are failing to review salaries across genders to safeguard against pay discrimination.
The survey of 4,700 employees and 145 employers also revealed that 82 per cent of organisations are not reviewing their gender equality policy, while 58 per cent don’t have salary information available across roles and genders.
The research also discovered that men are currently more likely to receive a bonus than women and typically get more when they do.
Nearly a quarter of women feel that men are paid more for the same role, while just 44 per cent of women feel both genders review equal pay – compared to 58 per cent of men.
The research comes as the new regulations come into force on 6 April. It will require all employers with 250 or more employees to measure and report their gender pay gaps for the first time.
Women currently earn around 18 per cent less on average than men, despite continued efforts to remove barriers in the workplace. Employers have a critical role to play to help close the gender pay gap.
Speaking about the research, John Salt, director at totaljobs said, “Gender Pay Gap Information reporting is a fantastic step taken by the government to address the issue of gender pay inequality and encourage employers to explore necessary reforms for a fair and inclusive remuneration structure.”
“It’s imperative that we act now, especially when our research showed 51 per cent of employers don’t coach or prepare their management on equal pay and gender equality.”
“The remuneration decision-making process needs to be made more transparent – pay decisions should not be kept to the confines of top management and board meetings.”
“Our research found 26 per cent of men and 31 per cent of women don’t know how their company makes decisions on salary and pay rises.”
“This information should be readily available.”
“This legislation forcing the review of pay structures could be the internal reflection organisations need to avoid future discrimination and effect positive cultural change.”
