Aimed at reversing gender pay inequality, the Gender Pay Gap Information Bill has been referred to the Select Committee on Justice and Equality. Once enacted, this legislation will initially apply to workplaces of over 250 employees but will ultimately apply to workplaces of over 50 employees.

The key message for organisations is to understand that gender pay gap reporting will have implications for an organisation’s standing in the market both from a competitive and reputational standpoint.

Maura Connolly, Partner and Head of Employment at Eugene F. Collins said: “While the legislation is still at an early stage, employers can start to prepare by conducting a business-wide gender pay gap audit, assess their ability to explain the results and reduce the gap, where required.

“Where pay gaps are identified an employer should consider the reason for this. This reason may not necessarily be discriminatory and could be attributable to socio-economic factors. Employers should use the data to understand the underlying causes and why certain categories of staff may be particularly affected.”