Govt shelves equal pay audits
Compulsory audits to close the gender pay gap have been abandoned by the government.
Instead, companies will be asked to disclose their pay figures voluntarily. It had been widely suspected that the compulsory audits in the Equality Act inherited from the last government would not survive the Act’s review process, infuriating campaigners.
The plans were announced by equalities minister Lynne Featherstone. It is a particularly embarrassing position for the Lib Dem MP, who said in opposition two years ago that “a voluntary audit system for private industry is hardly worth the paper it’s printed on”.
Today, she claimed: “We want to move away from the arrogant notion that government knows best, to one where government empowers individuals, businesses and communities to make change happen.
“Different organisations face different challenges in promoting equality so if we are to get this right for everybody a much more flexible approach is needed.”
The volte face comes as little surprise given the Conservatives well-known dislike of many of the provisions of the Equality Act, the brainchild of Harriet Harman.
Ministers insist that the option for compulsory audits remains open if the voluntary scheme is unsuccessful.
Business leaders are suspicious of the Act, claiming that more burdensome regulation will only hold back the recovery.
But the move to shelve compulsory audits will infuriate campaigners for equal pay angry at the government’s watering down of the Act’s provisions.
Also unveiled in today’s announcement were plans to introduce more positive discrimination among employers so that in cases with candidates of equal merit, companies will be encouraged to favour those from under-represented groups.
