Great Britain: large companies given a 6-month delay for publishing their ‘gender pay gap’ data.

After the government’s Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) cancelled the mandatory publication of gender pay gap data by large companies for 2020 (c.f. article No.11757), due to the coronavirus pandemic, the national equality body has announced it would not commence enforcement proceedings on employers who fail to publish their gender pay gap data until 05 October. This means that large private companies, which are required to publish gender pay gap data before 04 April, will be given a 6-month reprieve to do so if they wish. EHRC chair Baroness Kishwer Falkner said, “We know businesses are still facing challenging times. Starting our legal process in October strikes the right balance between supporting businesses and enforcing these important regulations.” This solution, which comes after weeks of speculation over an additional stay on gender pay gap data publication, was welcomed by the CBI employers’ confederation. In contrast however, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady believes that “this decision sends a worrying message about the importance given to gender equality, and continued saying, “unnecessary delay risks turning the clock back.” Meanwhile, concern has been circulating among British experts for several weeks over the particularly unfavourable impact the Covid-19 pandemic is exerting on women.