Employers have four more days (30 June) to submit their response to the UK government’s consultation on introducing mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting.
This new requirement will affect UK employers with 250 staff or more and the proposals are designed to reduce workplace inequalities and foster employee wellbeing through transparency.
Employers can submit a formal response by 30th June, suggesting their opinions on what would work best in terms of data collection, reporting thresholds and actions.
Affect the forthcoming Equality Bill
These responses will be used to inform the government’s drafting of the proposed Equality (Race and Disability) Bill and ensure that the legislation gives employers a clear framework regarding what is required of them.
Some organisations have already publicly responded to the consultation, such as Action for Race Equality (ARE) which has urged the government to take a strong stance which goes beyond simply collecting data and includes narratives as well as action plans. It is also proposing that public bodies like the NHS are included, and that organisations are fined for non compliance.
First step to tackle inequality
A spokesperson said:
“EPG Reporting is the first step for tackling inequality because it measures the scale of racial disparities and institutional racism.”
Meanwhile the Race on the Stats Society is calling for pay disparities to be revealed at all levels but warns against “league table” style comparisons favouring flexible reporting.
Business in the Community (BITC) welcomes the consultation but also points out that 50% of large UK firms already collect ethnicity data and it urges the government to learn from insights gained from gender pay gap reporting – especially around transparency and accountability.
Lack of representation in senior roles
Richard Iferenta, Partner and Vice Chair at KPMG LLP and Chair of BITC’s Race Leadership Team, said:
“One in five working age adults in the UK come from a Black, Asian, Mixed Race, or other ethnically diverse background, yet a far smaller proportion of ethnically diverse employees are in senior management roles. I believe that making ethnicity pay gap reporting mandatory is vital, but so are business action plans to address the pay gaps that are highlighted during this process. It is also essential that we close the ethnicity pay gap and support more people from Black, Asian, Mixed Race, or other ethnically diverse backgrounds into more senior roles. The Bill is a welcome step and I look forward to seeing it progress.”
Possible steps for employers wanting to get a headstart on implementing this reporting could review responses for best practice, pilot different approaches, engage staff in their own consultations and start crafting narratives and action plans.
