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Despite the introduction of the Equal Pay Act in 1970 women continue to lag behind men when it comes to pay. However, as Nathalie Towner reports, the new Equal Pay Questionnaire means women will be able to expose employers who discriminate against them
The pay gap exposed
The gender pay gap just won’t go away. The Equal Pay Act introduced
in 1970 gave women the legal right to be paid the same as men but 30 years
on the pay differences remain.
Women working full time are currently paid, on average, 81% of men’s
hourly pay and the part-time pay gap is much larger, with women working
part-time on average earning 59% of men’s hourly full-time earnings.
The government attributes a range of reasons for this continuing inequality
such as the disproportionate amount of women in certain professions -
women make up 51% of the potential workforce but more than 60% of them
work in only 10 out of 77 recognised occupations and they are concentrated
in low-paid and low-status roles.
But the pay difference is not just attributable to occupational divisions:
an overwhelming number of women earn less than their male colleagues who
do exactly the same job. This is straight-forward discrimination.
Unfortunately because of the secrecy culture surrounding salaries many
of us have no idea how much our colleagues earn.
Research carried out for the Equal Opportunities Commission reveals that
secrecy about pay is still widespread. More than a fifth of employers
(22%) do not allow employees to share information about their pay with
colleagues.
Commenting on the findings, Julie Mellor, chair of the EOC, warned complacency
and secrecy were threatening to halt progress on equal pay and urged all
employers to review their pay systems for bias.
"Pay is still a taboo subject in many organisations. British employers
have to tackle this culture of secrecy if we are ever going to see the
gap between women's and men's pay finally closed. Pay discrimination could
not survive in a climate of greater openness about pay.”
And this climate of openness is about to hit the workplace. Soon employees
who suspect they’re not getting a fair deal will be able to judge
for themselves.
In response to a taskforce set up by the EOC which made recommendations
to tackle the pay gap the government asked the deputy competition commissioner,
Denise Kingsmill, to carry out an independent review of women's pay and
employment.
The Equal Pay Questionnaire, which came into force on 6 April, is one
of the results. It will enable employees who believe they are not receiving
equal pay to request information from their employer on 'any matter which
is or may be relevant' to their pay– this could well include salary
details on a comparable worker of the opposite sex.
The focus of the questionnaire is on establishing whether an individual
is receiving less pay and whether the employer agrees that the people
being compared are doing equal work. In the questionnaire the term "equal
work" is used to describe work that is the same or broadly similar.
It is hoped that this greater transparency will resolve pay disputes more
quickly and avoid the time-delays associated with going to an employment
tribunal.
There is no legal requirement for the employer to respond to the request
within the stipulated 8 weeks but if they refuse to do so they are likely
to be penalised if the case goes to an employment tribunal.
Unsurprisingly the questionnaire has not been well received in all quarters,
particularly among employees who believe that pay is a private matter.
However it is likely that in cases where anonymity is necessary employers
will be able to answer detailed questions in general terms whilst still
preserving the confidence of their workers.
UNISON believes the questionnaire places too much emphasis on the need
for confidentiality regarding pay. It says that it is important to emphasise
the need for transparency in pay systems so that workers can understand
how their pay is calculated compared to others.
The union also has concerns about equal pay relating to part-time workers
as there may not be an obvious person with whom they can compare themselves.
But broadly speaking the questionnaire is welcomed by all groups campaigning
for equal pay.
The impact of the questionnaire will only become apparent if and when
it becomes widely used. But hopefully its very existence will force employers
to carry out proper pay reviews or risk being exposed for unfair practices.
Contact the article's author Nathalie Towner
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