Gender Pay Gap reporting and Covid

Did you know that due to the continuing impact of Covid 19, the Equality and Human Rights Commission have delayed Gender Pay Gap reporting requirements? You now have until 5 October 2021 to report your information, but do you know what to do about previous year reports? And what about staff who have been furloughed? And why does any of this matter anyway?

Enforcement of Gender Pay Gap (GPG) reporting was suspended for 2019/2020 due to the Covid 19 pandemic. Because of the continuing impact, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) have announced that employers will have an additional six months to report their GPG information. This means that all employers have until 5 October 2021 to report their GPG information.

What about furloughed staff?

You must include furloughed employees in your gender pay gap report. If you've topped up a furloughed employee's wages to 100%, they count as a  'full-pay relevant employee'. This means that you must include them in in your head count, and in all gender pay gap calculations. If you've put an employee on furlough but not topped up their wages to 100%, they count as a 'relevant employee'. This means that you must include them in your head count, and in gender pay gap calculations that include bonus pay. If furlough and Covid 19 has affected your gender pay gap, you should explain this in your report. You can do this in a voluntary statement called a 'supporting narrative'.

The chair of EHRC, Baroness Kishwer Falkner, has 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.

“Taking action to reduce the gender pay gap must continue. Reporting provides an opportunity for employers to demonstrate their commitment to gender equality, which will be more important than ever as the effects of the pandemic continue. Employers should still report their gender pay gap data for 2020/21 on time if they can and we encourage them to demonstrate the steps they are taking to reduce long-term pay gaps through detailed action plans.”

I have written several equality news updates over the last two years on GPG reporting – take a look at these if you are unsure on what you need to do. For example:

Are you meeting your gender pay gap regulations? Read here

Have you unintentionally misreported your gender pay gap? Read here

Publishing your gender pay gap. Read here

You can also find advice and guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission here

You can find the CIPD guide on gender pay gap reporting here