Gender Pay Gap data has revealed that 80% of private companies pay female staff an average of 9.7% less than their male staff. So it’s vital to know the potential internal and external risks that could arise in the future.
Data subject access requests
Employees can lawfully make a data subject access request if they want to view personal data related to pay levels. If you don’t comply with their request, your company could incur GDPR penalties. The gender pay gap report has raised public awareness, so more of your employees could be making data subject access requests in the future.
Equal pay confusion
The definition of equal pay can be tricky to define, which could lead to an increase in grievances from female employees with regards to why they are being paid less. Be prepared to justify why pay differs for the various roles across your company, especially if your overall pay gap is high.
Reputation
When the gender pay gap report was published, it made the headlines. As a result, some companies received bad press that has affected their relationships with customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. An effective strategy to remedy this if you have been affected is to ensure all staff receive diversity training including unconscious bias training.
Next steps to address the Gender Pay Gap
The government started an enquiry this year with over 250 employees on their views about the gender pay gap. This included information such as:
- Are the current sanctions for non-compliance with the gender pay gap actually effective?
- What requirements should companies adhere to in order to address the gender pay gap?
- Is there any further information needed to support the gender pay gap report?
Would you like to discuss how you can bridge the gender pay gap? Contact Alison via email for more information.
