Under existing legislation, employers with over 250 employees must publish data specific to the Gender Pay Gap on an annual basis.
If they do not comply with this requirement, it can be enforced by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
What’s changing?
The Employment Rights Act (‘ERA’) intends to require these employers to set out the evidence-based actions they are taking to improve gender equality and support employees during the menopause.
Exactly what employers are required to set out and how they are expected to do so is not yet clear. The details will be set out within regulations.
However, the Government has indicated that it will provide information and guidance to employers about effective actions which are backed up by evidence and employers will publish their plans on the gender pay gap reporting service. They also intend to ask employers to name who they received outsourced work from.
What does this mean?
Large businesses should keep an eye on incoming information and guidance to identify what steps they can take to improve gender equality and support employees during the menopause.
In the meantime, employers may wish to consider their internal policies and whether measures can be implemented in readiness for the requirements around publication.
If you have any queries around the gender pay gap or menopause, please contact a member of the Employment team.
To find out what other aspects of employment law are affected by the Employment Rights Act, read our blog “The Employment Rights Act – When to expect change”.
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