Most companies feel prepared for gender pay gap reporting

Nine out of 10 companies feel they are sufficiently prepared for the new gender pay gap reporting regulations, which come into force in 2017.

However, research by Willis Towers Watson also reveals that only around a third (35%) have all the data they will need to run their reports. Eighty-one percent say they have the right tools in place to make the calculations.

Just under two thirds (63%) of companies have already taken action to prepare for the new reporting legislation, and 16% have needed to change their reward programmes, Willis Towers Watson found.

The research also discovered that less than a third (29%) have recently run an equal-pay audit, but more than three quarters (77%) are planning to run one in the next year. 

The majority of companies who responded to the survey have well documented policies on setting base pay (77%) and performance management (94%) as well as work life balance (68%), all of which are key to reducing the gender-pay gap.

However, fewer companies have robust policies on promotion, job moves and gender pay levels – at 44%, 35% and 35% of respondents respectively. Only 15% have targets for recruitment and retention of women.

Tom Hellier, GB practice lead, rewards at Willis Towers Watson, said: “The survey shows the first challenge for most employers will be accessing the data they need to run the required reports. For most companies, base pay figures are easy to access and analyse, but to comply with the legislation the same will need to be true of total pay data, the various components of which are often scattered across multiple systems.

Employers need to ensure that their total pay calculations include bonus, sales commissions, maternity pay, and car allowances, he added.

“The reporting requirement helps nudge companies in a direction that many were already moving towards. However, it is important to acknowledge that gender pay gaps are not just the result of pay decisions and design. They are just as likely to be indicative of culture, talent management and diversity issues,” said Hellier.

“Elements such as recruitment and succession planning need consideration to understand any unconscious bias in high potential candidate selection or a gender imbalance for recruitment. This type of potential issue needs addressing in all organisations before we will see a more significant closure of the gender pay gap.”