Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Ratification: 1971)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Gender pay gap. The Committee notes that according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the gender pay gap for median hourly earnings (excluding overtime) decreased from 19.3 per cent in April 2015 to 18.1 per cent in April 2016. For the same period, the gender pay gap (for median earnings) for full-time employees decreased from 9.6 per cent to 9.4 per cent. In April 2016, men working full time earned, on average, more than women (£578 per week compared with £480). Women were paid more, on average, among part-time employees considered separately, resulting in a “negative” gender pay gap (minus 6 per cent in April 2016). In April 2016, the gender pay gap for full-time high earners (top decile) employees was of 18.8 per cent while, for low earners (bottom decile) the gap was of 4.9 per cent. According to the ONS, this is connected to the introduction of the National Living Wage, as women tend to work in lower-paid occupations. The gender pay gap for full-time employees in the private sector decreased from 17.4 per cent in 2015 to 16.6 per cent in 2016. According to the ONS, the gender pay gap in the public sector has also decreased from 11.8 per cent to 11.3 per cent. The Government indicates in its report that, due to existing occupational gender segregation, women work in sectors with lower salaries. For example, they represent 80 per cent of employees working in human health and social work, where the average weekly pay is nearly £40 inferior to the national average. On the contrary, men represent 69 per cent in the information, communications and technology sector and 74 per cent in the energy supply sector where the average weekly pay is considerably higher. The gender pay gap by sector ranges from 26.3 per cent in the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply sector to minus 11.9 per cent in the mining and quarrying sector. Moreover, the higher the level of occupation, the higher the gender pay gap (20.6 per cent in the managerial category and 5.1 per cent in the caring, leisure and other service occupations). In this regard, the Committee notes that according to the Government Equalities Office report “Trailblazing Transparency: Mending the Gap”, women still only make up around 34 per cent of senior managers, where the greater amount of bonuses are paid. The report also indicates that, taking into account that more than £40 billion had been paid in bonuses in 2014–15, the Government will require larger employers to regularly report on bonuses as part of gender pay reporting regulation. The Government indicates that in order to make further progress in the representation of women in senior positions, different measures have been adopted, such as: the extension of the right to require flexible working time to all employees and flexible parental leave; increased childcare facilities and tax-free childcare; support to women’s entrepreneurship and work with business to reach 33 per cent of women on boards by 2020. The Government further indicates that it is taking measures to tackle social and cultural root causes of the gender pay gap, including addressing occupational segregation. These include, among others, the revision of statutory guidance for schools on careers; the publication of the parents’ guide “Your Daughter’s Future”, as well as measures to encourage gender diversity in careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The Committee welcomes the existing consultation and evaluation procedures applied to the legislation and other implementation measures in order to ensure their effectiveness as well as the continued efforts made by the Government to collect and analyse the nature, extent and evolution of the gender pay gap in the country. The Committee notes, however, that the gender pay gap, while decreasing, remains significant. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the evolution of the gender pay gap in the public and private sectors, and on the implementation of the specific measures taken to reduce it, in particular with respect to the higher-paid positions and in sectors where women are mainly employed, and to address its underlying causes. Noting that according to the ONS overtime is not included in the gender pay gap calculations, because this would alter the calculations as men are more likely to work overtime, the Committee requests the Government to include statistics on the prevalence of overtime, disaggregated by sex and sector of employment.

Public sector. In its previous comments, the Committee referred to the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), provided for in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, which requires public bodies to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination and advance equality of opportunity. The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) Regulations 2011, which apply to England and Wales, require public bodies to publish relevant information showing compliance with the Equality Duty, and to set equality objectives, although gender pay gap reporting is not mandatory. The Committee notes that according to the Government Equalities Office, the Government intends to amend the Regulations in order to include a mandatory requirement for public bodies with 250 or more employees to undertake gender pay gap reporting including data on the bonus pay gap and information on the proportions of male and female employees in each salary quartile. Information concerning overtime and benefits in kind will not be included in the calculation. With respect to the concrete measures already adopted to comply with the PSED, the Government indicates that each public authority decides its own particular actions to meet the equality duty and that this information is not collected. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any development concerning the amendment of the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) Regulations 2011 and the inclusion of a mandatory requirement to undertake a gender pay gap report, as well as on any other specific measures adopted to reduce the existing gender pay gap in the public sector and to address its underlying causes.

Private sector. With respect to the implementation of section 78 of the Equality Act 2010 relating to the publication of information concerning the pay of employees for the purpose of showing differences in the pay of male and female employees, the Committee recalls that the Government had adopted the “Think, Act, Report” initiative which encouraged voluntary gender equality reporting. The Committee notes in this respect that the Government Equalities Office carried out a consultation in 2015 concerning the implementation of this initiative. In its response to the consultation, the Government indicated that although nearly 300 employers signed the initiative, only seven had voluntary published their gender gap. The Committee notes with interest that, as a consequence, the Government subsequently adopted the Equality Act 2010 (Commencement No. 11) Order 2016, which brings into force section 78 of the Equality Act requiring larger employers (more than 250 employees) to publish information on their gender pay gap. The Government considers that by identifying those employers that are consistently and successfully ensuring that women are achieving their full potential, good practices can be recognized and disseminated. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of enterprises that participate in the “Think, Act, Report” initiative. It also requests the Government to indicate whether the Order has actually entered into force, and if so to provide information on the number of enterprises that have published their gender gap in accordance with section 78 of the Equality Act 2010 as well as their bonus gap, and that have adopted specific measures to reduce them. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate whether it is envisaged to extend the requirement to publish the gender gap to enterprises with fewer than 250 employees.

Article 3. Pay audits. The Committee previously noted that pursuant to section 139A of the Equality Act 2010, employment tribunals have the power to order that an employer undertake an equal pay audit in case of an equal pay breach. The Committee notes the adoption of the Equality Act 2010 (Equal Pay Audits) Regulations 2014 which establish the circumstances in which the employment tribunals must order that a pay audit be carried out, the manner in which it should be carried out and the cases in which tribunals may impose a penalty. The Committee notes that the Government indicates that it is unaware of any pay audit having been ordered since the entry into force of the Regulations and consequently cannot provide information on the impact of this procedure on gender pay adjustments. In the context of the general procedures to evaluate the existing measures to reduce the gender pay gap, the Committee requests the Government to evaluate the results achieved by section 139A of the Equality Act 2010 and of the Equality Act 2010 (Equal Pay Audits) Regulations 2014 and to provide information thereon.

Article 4. Cooperation with social partners. Noting that the Government does not provide information in this regard, the Committee requests it once again to provide information on any cooperation initiatives with social partners as well as any collective agreement that takes into account equal pay issues or promotes the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.

Enforcement. The Committee referred in its previous comments to the adoption in July 2013 of the Employment Tribunals and Employment Appeal Tribunal Fees Order 2013 which introduced a requirement to pay a fee to issue proceedings in the employment tribunals, following which the number of discrimination claims had dropped drastically, in particular, those related to equal pay issues. On that occasion, the Committee requested the Government to ensure that all workers were able in practice to assert their rights before the courts and to review the existing fees. The Committee notes the Government’s explanation according to which the objective of the order was to reduce costs of the tribunals on the taxpayer and to encourage parties to use other methods of dispute resolution (such as the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service), while maintaining access to justice. The Government acknowledged that the number of claims was considerably lower than those filed before the adoption of the Order, but indicated that other factors such as changes to the employment law, the availability of alternative dispute resolution services and the improving economy also had an impact on the reduction of complaints. Moreover, in June 2015, the Government initiated a post-implementation review of the Order to examine its results and the fulfilment of the initial objectives. The Committee further notes that the Court of Appeal has dismissed the claims filed against the Employment Tribunals and Employment Appeal Tribunals Fees Order 2013, and that the issue is currently before the Supreme Court. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the results of the post-implementation review of the Employment Tribunals and Employment Appeal Tribunal Fees Order 2013 as well as on the final decision on the complaint pending before the Supreme Court. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the evolution concerning the number of complaints filed before the employment tribunals throughout the years.