The Government Equalities Office has started a consultation on proposed regulations to implement S.78 of the Equality Act 2010, which requires employers with at least 250 employees to publish information about the differences in the pay of their male and female employees, but no more frequently than at intervals of 12 months. A gender pay gap is defined as “the difference between the average earnings of men and women as a percentage of men’s earnings.” The document states that the overall UK gender pay gap is 19.1% which shows that a woman, on average, earns around 80p for every £1 earned by a man. In order to find a workable approach to implementing S.78, the consultation sets out the three main options for presenting gender pay gap information:

– Calculate one overall gender pay gap figure that captures the difference between the average earnings of men and women as a percentage of men’s earnings.

– Calculate separate gender pay gap figures for full-time and part-time employees.

– Show the difference in average earnings of men and women by grade or job type.

The consultation closes on 6 September 2015. The Government plans to bring S.78 into force in the first half of 2016.

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