Action on ethnicity pay gap

LARGE employers will be forced to publish their “ethnicity pay gap” to help create a “fairer and more diverse workforce”, the Prime Minister has announced.

Theresa May has opened a consultation on a legal requirement for both public and private sector employers to publish the difference in pay between white and ethnic minority workers.

She said that too often ethnic minorities felt like they were “hitting a brick wall” and that greater transparency would help ensure that company boards were “truly reflective of the workplaces they manage”.

The plans are modelled on gender pay gap legislation that requires employers with more than 250 staff to publish the pay difference between men and women.

Mrs May said: “Every employee deserves the opportunity to progress and fulfil their potential in their chosen field, regardless of which background they are from, but too often ethnic

minority employees feel they’re hitting a brick wall when it comes to career progression. Our focus is now on making sure the UK’S organisations, boardrooms and senior management teams are truly reflective of the workplaces they manage, and the measures we are taking today will help employers identify the actions needed to create a fairer and more diverse workforce.”

People from ethnic minorities make up 12per cent of the working age population but occupy just 6per cent of senior management positions.

In London, figures published earlier this year showed that ethnic minority public sector workers earn up to 38per cent less than their white colleagues.

Companies could be forced to publish a comparison between the average hourly earnings of ethnic minority and white workers. Another option would require them to show the proportion of employees from different ethnic minorities under £20,000 pay bands.

The figures are likely to be particularly stark for some public sector employers. Just 2.4 per cent of Armed Forces officers are from ethnic minority backgrounds, while senior police ranks make up just 3.7 per cent.

Ministers have acknowledged that there could be challenges for employers in gathering information about their staff. The Office for National Statistics breaks ethnicity into 18 different groups, although these can be broken down further.

Mrs May also unveiled a “race at work” charter, whose inaugural signatories included NHS England, the Civil Service, Saatchi & Saatchi, KPMG and RBS and WPP. Companies signed up to the charter appoint an executive to help drive more diversity.