Bill proposes exposure of gender pay gap

Date: 27 Apr 2009

Bill proposes exposure of gender pay gap

Bigger employers will have to reveal their average hourly rates for men and women by 2013, according to the new Equalities Bill, published today.
Minister for Equality Harriet Harman says that businesses employing more than 250 staff will have until 2013 to voluntarily publish pay rates, but added that gagging clauses under which employees are not allowed to reveal their pay details will be banned. She said the proposals would “narrow the gap between rich and poor and make Britain more equal”. Employers have complained that it is yet more legislation at a time when they are struggling.
According to the latest figures, women in the UK still earn 23% less per hour than men.
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Civil Service needs shift on part-time opportunities

The Civil Service is still heavily reliant on full-time jobs and needs to review its recruitment policy to act as a standard bearer for flexible work, says a new report by charity Working Families.
The report, "We need to talk about hours. Job advertising in the Civil Service", looks at the availability of part-time jobs in the Civil Service. The Civil Service was chosen as an example of a major employer with progressive policies on work life balance.
Research was carried out using a ‘secret shopper’ to see what it was like for an individual seeking a part-time or job-share role in the sector.  Key findings are:
- 71% of the jobs advertised were full-time. 
- Some good practice was identified in a small number of departments which showed that jobs at different levels of responsibility could be undertaken part-time. 
- There was little evidence that departments had looked at the business needs for posts before advertising and seeking full-time employees for a role. 
- Some full-time roles were, on further investigation by telephone, open to part-time applicants although the way that these posts were advertised might have discouraged people seeking part-time roles from applying.
- There was a limited knowledge in some departments of job-sharing and how this would work in practice for an outside applicant.
The report calls for a more imaginative approach to job design, more part-time jobs to be advertised, opening up the proposed job share register to external candidates and sharing good practice between departments by opening up the proposed job share register across departments.
Sarah Jackson, Chief Executive of Working Families said: 
“Job design and advertising that focus on full-time hours limits the opportunities for parents seeking quality part-time or job-share roles.  We know many women are already working in roles that do not make the best use of their skills. This is a personal cost to the individual and a waste of talent which could benefit the economy.  Our research shows that even a good employer like the Civil Service can do more to widen the pool of talent from which it recruits”.
Full report

EU to debate increase to paid maternity leave
The European Union is to debate increasing paid maternity leave to 20 weeks.
If successful, the debate, in the first week of May, could see a steep rise in the paid maternity leave allowed to UK mothers. They currently rank third bottom in terms of maternity allowance in the EU.
They currently get only six weeks' maternity leave paid at 90% of average earnings followed by 33 weeks at £117.18, or 90% of average weekly earnings.
Also being debated is protection from redundancy or dismissal for the first six months of mothers' return from maternity leave.
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25% of employees 'complacent' about their jobs
A quarter of employees are not going to change the way they do their jobs due to the recession, according to a poll by recruitment organisation Monster.
However over half said they would try to raise their profile during the recession. A small percentage said they would come in earlier and leave later, but Monster recommends that it is pointless and may be counterproductive to do this on a regular basis. Much better, it says, is focusing on the quality of your work.

Related tags: Career advice | Maternity leave | Redundancy | Work/life balance

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