Businesses that fail to report their gender pay gap could face unlimited fines under plans put forward by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
The EHRC, the regulatory body tasked with ensuring companies with more than 250 employees report their gender pay gap statistics, has set out its enforcement policy for consultation.
The body intends to informally encourage those employers who are in breach of the regulations to become compliant. However, it will take stronger action if steps are not taken to rectify the situation.
The enforcement policy proposes that:
it may investigate suspected breaches of the regulations by private and voluntary sector employers and offer them the opportunity to enter into a formal agreement to comply as an alternative to continuing with the investigation. Such agreements can themselves be enforced not complied with it may issue unlawful act notices against employers who do not accept the offer of an agreement and who are found to have breached the regulations as a result of the investigation. These unlawful act notices will require employers to comply with an action plan which can be enforced through court orders it may seek summary convictions and an unlimited fine to those who still refuse to comply with a court order.‘We will educate employers about their responsibilities and hope to see widespread compliance,’ said Chief Executive of the Commission, Rebecca Hilsenrath. ‘If that doesn’t happen, we won’t hesitate to resort to our more stringent legal powers – including enforcing unlimited fines and convictions.’
Public sector employers in England must publish the required information by 30 March 2018. Private and voluntary sector employers must report the required pay gap information by 4 April 2018.
The EHRC’s consultation on its enforcement policy is open until 2 February.
