The government has published the draft Equal Pay Audit Regulations under which employers who are found to be in breach of equal pay law will be required by the tribunal to carry out equal pay audits.
The regulations are due to take effect on 1 October 2014 in respect of equal pay claims brought on or after that date. The audit would involve the publication of relevant gender pay information, identifying any differences in pay between men and women and the reasons for those differences and include the reasons for any potential equal pay breach identified by the audit and set out the employer's plan to avoid breaches occurring or continuing. The employer must send its audit to the tribunal which will determine if the audit is compliant. If it is, the employer must publish it on its website where it must remain for three years.
The circumstances where a tribunal is not required to order an audit include where the employer has carried one out in the preceding three years; the breach gives the tribunal no reason to think there might be other breaches and the disadvantages of carrying out an audit outweigh the benefits.
Employers that fail to carry out the order may have to pay a fine of up to £5000. Micro businesses (fewer than 10 employees) and new businesses will be exempt. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2014/9780111116753/pdfs/ukdsi_9780111116753_en.pdf
EBA report
The European Banking Authority has published a report on benchmarking of remuneration practices in the EU based on a sample of EU banks. The EBA will use this report to review its guidelines on remuneration policies and practices.
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