By Dave Hickey
What is the Gender Pay Gap?
The Gender Pay Gap is the difference between what is earned on average by women and men based on average gross hourly earnings of all paid employees. It doesn’t distinguish between job types, experience, qualifications or working patterns.
A Gender Pay Gap in an organisation does not, on its own, suggest discrimination or the absence of equal pay for equal work. If one gender holds more of the lower paid jobs than the other in an organisation, there may be a Gender Pay Gap (GPG).
Does it apply to all employers?
Not this year. Only organisations employing 250 people or more on a date in June of this year.
But it will be rolled out to all organisations employing 50 or more by 2025.
Why is June important?
The employer must pick any date in June 2022 and, if it employs 250 or more people on that date, it must prepare a report on the GPG on that day.
Employees include regular full-time, part-time and temporary employees even if they are not rostered to work on that day or are on leave.
When does an employer have to report GPG?
Within six months of the date in June selected above.
What needs to be reported?
At a minimum the employer needs to report:
- The Gender Pay Gap between men and women based on hourly average earnings
- The reasons for the GPG
- What actions it plans to address the GPG
There is no specified format for reporting for 2022.
Where does it need to be reported?
The information must be published on the employer’s website or in some other way in a manner that is accessible to all its employees and to the public, and that it must be available for a period of at least three years beginning with the date of publication.
GPG reporting is still evolving and there are many questions still to be addressed: for example, reporting for people who choose not to declare as one of the two defined genders.
For further information contact Dave Hickey dhickey@dhkn.ie at DHKN.
