Equal Pay
To understand this complex area we must first understand what is meant by equal pay. ACAS provide that Employers must give men and women equal treatment in the terms and conditions of their employment contract if they are employed to do:
- ‘like work’ – work that is the same or broadly similar
- Work rated as equivalent under a job evaluation study
- Work found to be of equal value in terms of effort, skill or decision making.
Gender Parity
It is crucial for all organisations and businesses to be non-discriminatory to their employees and this of course also applies to equal pay between its male and female employees.
Recent cases demonstrate that claims for equal pay are increasing in level and in February 2018 almost 100 Tesco employees launched a claim where it was alleged that the female warehouse workers were earning up to £3 per hour less than their male counterparts.
The BBC also had their own issues when its female China correspondent made public her views of been paid significantly less than her male, American correspondent, counterpart.
A report was produced whereby some of the biggest corporations in the country were forced to publish their pay gap to bring transparency. The results showed that on balance, women were paid less than men.
Transparent Pay Scale
In order to develop a diverse and balanced business and to attract the best female employees to your organisation, it is crucial to have a fair and transparent salary scale.
Although the mandatory gender pay gap reporting only applied to major corporations, it is advised in the interests of fairness to ensure that men and women doing the same job at the same level and experience rate should be paid equally.