Business urged to adapt equal pay policies

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) have called on small and medium size businesses to examine their pay systems and ensure they comply with equal pay laws.

On average, full-time female workers are paid 16.4% per hour less than men on average, rising to 21.6% in private firms, according to the EHRC.

To tackle the issue, the Commission and BBC have published a new guide for employers to solve equality pay issues, which should take no more than four hours to implement.

"Businesses want to pay people fairly for the job that they do. This guidance should help smaller businesses analyse any pay gap and make any changes required by law," said BCC Director General David Frost.

"Taking action now to make pay systems transparent and fair should help businesses recruit the best talent to enable the private sector to drive economic recovery."

Jean Irvine, an EHRC commissioner, added: "Employers need pay systems that are both transparent and fair. While transparency is not enough in itself to reduce the pay gap between men and women, it does provide clarity. It is difficult, if not impossible, to resolve a problem that cannot be seen.

"Linking equal work to equal pay will see employees rewarded fairly for the work they do.

"Employees will enjoy the benefits of working for a company which actively promotes equality while employers will protect themselves from a potentially costly and time-consuming equal pay claim."

40 years on from the Equal Pay Act, women are still undergoing salary prejudice. With the upcoming Equality Act aimed at tackling employment discrimination of all kinds, it is important that businesses prepare themselves for a changing future.