Gender pay gap reporting - regulations delayed

There is to be a delay in publication of the final regulations on gender pay gap reporting, it has been confirmed by the Government Equalities Office (“GEO”).

As we have previously covered, the new obligation to carry out gender pay reporting has been identified as one of the top employment legal services issues facing employers over the next five years. Affecting all businesses employing over 250 workers, the regulations were expected to be published this summer. Although we already have an idea of the likely rules following consultation on the draft regulations, the final version has been eagerly awaited so that employers can complete their planning.

The regulations were due to come into force on 1 October this year, but the GEO has now said they will not be laid before Parliament until the autumn and will come into force in April 2017.

This change in the commencement date of the regulations is, however, unlikely to make any difference to when employers have to make their initial report. While the first date under the draft regulations when employers need to assess their pay data is April 2017, the report itself does not have to be published until April 2018. Although the timing is now tight, it does not seem that there is any intention to move these dates.

There is plenty that employers can be doing now to prepare for the new rules, although these plans cannot be finalised until we have the final regulations. We will be running an update on the practical steps you can be taking to get ready for this major development in employment law as soon as the final rules are available. (This has been postponed from 28 September 2016 to ensure we can cover any changes from the draft regulations.) Watch this space for further details.

Find out more about how Lewis Silkin can assist with gender pay reporting.