Firms could be forced to reveal pay inequalities

06/01/2009

Firms could be forced to reveal pay inequalities under amendments currently being drawn up to the government's equality bill.

The equalities office is preparing legislation that will force firms to publish tables which show how many men and women are in each of their pay bands.

Unions are supportive of the move. Sara Veale, head of equality and employment rights at the Trades Union Congress has said companies have had plenty of time to ensure parity between sexes.

Mandatory pay audits were inevitable, she noted: "It makes good business sense and those companies that do so already have found them beneficial."

Some business leaders, however, are far from convinced. Neil Carberry, head of employment policy at the Confederation of British Industry said forcing firms to reveal meaningless statistics "will not tackle the real causes of gender inequality".

According to National Statistics, the gender pay gap has widened from 12.5 per cent in April 2007 to 12.8 per cent one year later.

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