I had hoped to be writing something this week to inspire you to make a start with your gender pay analysis, following the anticipated publication of the relevant legislation. Instead I am writing with the news that the legislation has been delayed until next year.
The Government Equalities Office (GEO) has confirmed these regulations will be laid before Parliament this autumn, but are likely to now come into force in April 2017.
This delay might sound appealing to some, but in reality it means employers have less time to get to grips with any changes that may be made to the current draft requirements. Me included. I’ve created an Excel template and draft report for our Maritime HR Association members, to meet the needs of the current draft regulations. I had hoped these would simply require a tweak or two once the legislation was finally published but the more time passes I fear the more likely we are to see more significant change. So I may have a little more work to do than I had anticipated.
Still, every cloud has a silver lining as they say. Myself and the team here at HR Consulting are still beavering away on the Maritime HR Association Salary Survey for 2016 – due to be published imminently. For the first time this year we have captured employee gender data so I’m looking forward to analysing this in more depth and assessing the gender pay issues within our maritime community – both in the UK and around the globe. I’ll have some breathing space to do this now, and I wonder how maritime will compare to the Global Gender Gap Index 2015…watch this space!
Meanwhile, I would still recommend employers make a start on some analysis sooner rather than later – either based on the current draft regulations or your own common sense. Members can use our forthcoming salary survey to support this. When benchmarking your own staff salaries against the industry, how do your male and female employees compare?
Highlighting issues early and trying to take steps to address them can only act in your favour. The salaries we are paying now will be coming under scrutiny, so they can’t be ‘fixed’. However, the narrative you provide to accompany these figures will demonstrate your commitment to making any necessary changes.
Sarah Hutley, Compensation & Benefits Consultant, HR Consulting, Spinnaker Global
