Labour would fine firms if they fail to close gender pay gaps
1 min read
Companies that fail to close their gender pay gaps will face fines under a Labour government, the party has announced.
The Shadow Women and Equalities Secretary Dawn Butler said on International Women's Day: “Auditing is not enough. We need action.”
Under the proposals, which will go out to consultation, any employer with 250 workers or more and found to have significant pay gaps would face sanctions.
Firms would be forced to have tailored action plans to close the gaps and would be checked on by the Government every two years.
Ms Butler said: “Some of the companies are using loopholes to get out of giving the full picture, and then there’s no real enforcement if you are found to have a huge gap. We don’t just want people to identify the pay gap, we want the pay gap to close.”
She also said only firms which close the gender pay gaps will be awarded government contracts.
From April it will be a legal requirement for all major employers to publish their data on gender pay and bonuses.
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