Is Your Gender Pay Gap Report Non-Compliant?

A recent analysis of all Gender Pay Gap reports submitted in 2018 found that one in four of all reports were non-compliant.

This was because they had not conformed to government guidelines, and therefore may suggest they are misrepresenting their pay gap.

9% of employers’ data was found to be statistically impossible according to HR analytics firm Staffmetrix, while 1% of report claimed to have a bonus gap greater than 100%.

What makes a gender pay gap report inaccurate or non-compliant?

Aside from the two issues raised above, there are a number of issues that can cause a report to be non-compliant. Some of these issues include:

• Not linking to a written report.
• Uploading the same report from the previous financial year.
• Changing data that has already been submitted.
• Non-responsible employees being named as responsible people.

What are the most common errors?

Although the issues above present the biggest problems with compliance, they are not the most common issue with pay reports.

The main issue found in gender pay reports is simply that there are basic mathematical errors, some small, others large enough to claim extraordinary gaps, and in some cases claim that women are paid nothing at all, which cannot happen for obvious reasons.

Other organisations are reporting a median Gender Pay Gap of zero, but this cannot be true as the male quartile gap is not zero.

How can you ensure reporting compliance?

Errors such as these may seem clear upon review, but completely invisible on first glance. To make sure mistakes like this don’t occur, be sure to review the report when complete and seek a second opinion.

What’s the current situation?

Interestingly, the latest reports show that the gender pay gap has fallen since the Gender Pay Gap reports first came in. The overall gap is now at 8.6%, which is down from 9.1% since the previous year. There is still some fluctuation in earnings dependent on age, as older female workers tend to be underpaid the most by comparison.

We are now at the halfway mark between last year’s Gender Pay Gap reporting deadline, and the deadline in 2019.

Next year’s deadline will be the true test for employers, as the reports will be closely scrutinised to see if they have made a real effort to change and if they're compliant.

Expert Support

For assistance creating your Gender Pay Gap report, or to review your current reports, speak to a Croner Reward expert on 01455 858 132.