High Number of Firms yet to Report on Gender Pay Gap

Currently, only around 24% of PLCs that meet the threshold of 250 or more employees have reported their gender pay gap data for 2021-22.

The Looming Deadline for Gender Pay Gap Reporting

The worryingly low number of companies reporting their data comes despite the looming deadline which for most public authorities, sits on 30 March whilst for private, voluntary and all other public authority employers the deadline for which gender pay gap data must be reported and published is 4 April, these must also include a written statement.

At the current time, just under 650 public sector employers had submitted their 2021 pay gap analysis to the government portal. This number of public sector companies represents a large number of employers that have already reported, showing a worrying sign for the number of private-sector employers that will report before the deadline.

Recently, the Equality and Human Rights Commission stated that organisations that fail to submit their data before the deadline will face repercussions with enforcement action beginning from 5 April.

The Push for Greater Female Representation

It is essential for businesses to analyse the data from the 2021 snapshot dates, 5 April for private sector employers and 31 March for public sector employers, soon if they wish to use the insights to adjust their processes and push for greater female representation before the 2022 snapshot date arrives.

It may be possible for some employers to have completed their analysis previously but have yet to share or act on their findings. This may be the result of many businesses seeing the gender pay gap reporting as a box-ticking exercise and only partake due to the legal requirement.

Consultancy Spktral suggests that more than 20% of employer reports for the 2021 pay gap data contain compliance or calculation errors. CEO, Anthony Horrigan suggests that many senior leadership teams were unaware of these mistakes.

Horrigan has joined many others in calling for firmer action to be taken to improve the likelihood of closing the gender pay gap, suggesting that reporting should include a robust audit to avoid the number of errors currently being made.

The Gender Pay Gap in Large Companies

Among the large employers that have published their gender pay gap report are ASDA, Iceland foods, Lloyds Banking Group and John Lewis Partnership. The data some of these employers have presented show a negative trend. Both Asda and Lloyds Banking Group have seen their pay gap grow from 5.5% to 6.1% and 33.6% to 34.2% respectively.

In February, Asda stated that its pay gap was still below the national average of 15.4% at the median, despite this slight increase. “We’re pleased that the 2021 results reflect the work we’ve been doing and continue to do to have more women in senior roles, increasing their representation from 38% in 2020 to 40% in 2021. We know there is more we can do to reduce our gender pay gap and this remains a core focus for us.” Asda’s chief people office Hayley Tatum said.

Lloyds Banking Group has not yet released their pay gap report for the current year, however last year the company said it had proportionately more female colleagues in junior roles, with proportionately more male colleagues in higher-paid leadership roles. “So, with lower numbers of female colleagues in more senior roles, this brings down the average pay for these colleagues and creates an overall pay gap” it stated.

Whilst these employers saw their gender pay gap rise, Iceland foods and John Lewis Partnership reported a decrease in their data. Iceland foods reported a median reduction from 10% to 7.2% whilst John Lewis Partnership has seen its gap reduce from 8.6% to 6.3%.

In its inclusion report for 2021-22, John Lewis Partnership stated “We continue to see greater levels of female progression and appointments into more senior roles, which is really encouraging and testament to our focus on creating fair opportunities. The result is that we now have a higher proportion of women in almost every level of our organisation than we did a year ago.”

How can we help?

Keeping track of key information in your business can be difficult. With oneHR’s unlimited document storage, you can ensure all the important data you need to accurately understand gender pay gap data in your business is stored in one safe and secure place.

In addition to this, oneHR offers a place to safely and securely keep track of all essential information about your employees, making reporting on certain aspects of your business quicker and easier.

Therefore, oneHR will be an essential part of your business as you take the steps needed to create a more equal and diverse workplace.

If you would like to learn more about how oneHR Software can help store and report important data regarding pay gaps within your organisation, contact our team and request a free demo today.

E: contact@onehrsoftware.com

Twitter: @oneHR_