Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to ensure that employers with a headcount of 250 or more continue to report gender pay gap data ahead of the usual annual deadlines.

On 23 February, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) announced that employers will have until 5 October 2021 to report their gender pay gap information. The EHRC enforces the regulations, contacting any late reporters and follows up on potentially inaccurate data. For the 2020/21 reporting year, enforcement activity will commence after the additional time period ends on 5 October 2021.

The government is fully committed to women’s economic empowerment but, given the impact of the pandemic on businesses, extending the deadline by six months is the correct decision.

Lots of positive work has been done by employers to encourage equality in the workplace, and although ONS figures show that the gender pay gap stands at a record low, we need to continue making progress, including making sure that we are tackling the causes of the gender pay gap.