PM May calls for gender pay gap details

THERESA MAY is calling on more companies to publish details of their gender pay gap in a renewed drive to improve equality in the workplace.

The Prime Minister said it required “sustained action” from employers if the differential between the pay of men and women was to be eliminated “once and for all”.

The Government has already introduced a legal requirement for all employers with more than 250 employees to publish their gender pay and bonus data by April 2018.

However, Mrs May is now appealing to smaller firms to disclose their details as well.

The Prime Minister is also urging companies to take steps to help women progress through the ranks of management, ensuring better female representation at senior levels.

She said firms should strive to make flexible working a reality for all staff by advertising all jobs as flexible “from day one” unless there were “solid business reasons” not to.

Her intervention comes after new figures from the Office of National Statistics showed the overall gender pay gap rose marginally from 18.2% in 2016 to 18.4% in 2017.

The gap for full-time workers, however, fell to a record low of 9.1% – down from 9.4% the previous year.

Mrs May said: “Already many of the UK’s top companies are leading the way in making sure everyone’s contributions to the workplace are valued equally and it is encouraging news that the gap has fallen this year for full-time workers. But the gender pay gap isn’t going to close on its own – we all need to be taking sustained action to make sure we address this.

“We need to see a real stepchange in the number of companies publishing their gender pay data and offering progression and flexibility for all employees. That’s why today I am calling on more businesses, both small and large, to take action to make sure the gender pay gap is eliminated once and for all.”

But TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The gender pay gap will continue closing at a snail’s pace unless the Government comes down much harder on employers.

“Companies should be forced to publish their pay gaps – not merely encouraged. Real action would be fining businesses who do not share information on what men and women are paid.”