The UK government has no intention of forcing large companies to disclose their ethnicity pay gap, despite prior promises from the Conservatives and widespread calls for such a requirement. This unexpected stance was revealed by the government on 17 March, in its response to a report by the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Disparity, published last year, which sparked controversy by – in the view of its critics – downplaying the effects of institutional racism. Instead the government has unveiled its so-called “Inclusive Britain” action plan, which encourages companies to publish their ethnicity pay gap on a voluntary basis.
“Ethnicity pay gap reporting is just one type of tool to assist employers in creating a fairer workplace. It may not be the most appropriate tool for every type of employer […]. We also want to avoid imposing new reporting burdens on businesses as they recover from the pandemic and so we will not be legislating for mandatory reporting at this stage, rather we will support employers with voluntary reporting.” With these few lines, slipped into its 100-page Inclusive Britain policy paper, the...
Do you have information to share with us?