EHRC sets sights on implausible gender pay gap figures

Six organisations who were being investigated for failure to report their gender pay figures have committed to reporting on time for the next five years, according to the Equality and Human Rights Commission which is now taking action against employers with implausible statistics.

It says over 10,500 organisations with more than 250 employees reported their figures in April 2019, but six  – Academy Transformation Trust, P&A Food Management Services Ltd, Pho Trading Ltd, Lewis’s Home Retail Ltd, EF Language Schools Ltd and The Westbury Hotel Limited – failed. Formal investigations under Section 20 of the Equality Act were brought against them.

All six have now reported their figures for this year and entered into formal legal agreements with the EHRC, committing to report on time for the next five years. If the organisations fail to report on time again, they will face further action and could be taken to court and fined, says the EHRC.

In total, it notified 46 private sector and four public sector organisations of our intention to open statutory investigations into their failure to report their gender pay gap data on time. It also publically named the organisations. This included three ‘repeat offenders’ that had failed to report on time two years in a row. After being threatened with legal action, most reported their figures or the EHRC judged that they are out of scope of the regulations.

Rebecca Hilsenrath, Chief Executive at the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said: ‘We cannot achieve gender equality in the workplace without first shining a light on the problem and understanding the underlying causes of inequality. That’s why gender pay gap reporting is so important. It’s also a legal requirement and changes in staff and poor organisation are no excuse for not complying with the law and withholding this vital information.

‘We are pleased that we’ve now achieved 100% compliance and will continue to use the full force of our powers to ensure every company that is required to report does so.”

The EHRC says it will now be contacting organisations that have reported implausible data. Any that are found to have submitted inaccurate data will be required to re-submit and could face further legal action, it says.

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