Dozens of firms miss deadline to report gender pay gap

DOZENS of public-sector companies have missed the gender pay gap deadline, the Equalities Office has revealed.

It comes as the second reporting deadline approaches tonight, with thousands of private companies yet to publish their results.

Official government data reveal that 10,557 companies submitted figures for 2017-18, while just 8,365 companies have submitted for 2018-19.

All organisations that employ more than 250 people have to publish their gender pay gap data. The deadline for the public sector was March 31, while charities and companies have until midnight tonight.

The Government Equalities Office said that 93 per cent of companies complied with the deadline, submitting data before the midnight deadline on March 30.

However, 100 companies did not, and are expected to continue sending data over the coming days.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing compliance and will be working with those that have not sub- mitted data to ensure that they do.

Previous analysis of figures published so far reveals that women working in schools run by multi-academy trusts (MATS) experience the starkest gender pay gaps in the public sector.

On Friday The Guardian reported that of the companies to have filed figures on gender pay gaps to date, almost half of the worst 50 were MATS. All 23 trusts had gaps greater than 50 per cent, meaning on average women working in the schools were paid 50p for every £1 earned by a man.

Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said that the overall gender pay gap in many academy trusts is “startling” and that “higher-paid posts are disproportionately filled by men”.

“So far, the academy trusts appear in the top 10 highest median gender pay gaps. Over a third of the 100 employers reporting the largest median gender pay gaps are academy trusts and larger schools.

“The NEU believes that the gender pay gap for teachers in academies is wider than for those in local authority schools.”

Mr Courtney called on academy trusts to review their structures, systems and cultures to remove sexist bias and demonstrate to women in the sector that they are valued.

A Government spokesman said: “We are committed to helping educational employers end the gender pay gap – that is why we are supporting schools to boost women’s progression in the workplace. We have invested in a coaching and development programme for aspiring female teachers in addition to £2million in equality and diversity hubs to share expertise and provide professional development for female teachers, as well as other teachers with protected characteristics.”