06/08/2024

NORTHERN IRELAND

Gender Pay Gap Reporting is not yet the law in Northern Ireland.

Whilst the laws for Gender Pay Gap Reporting are provided for in Section 19 of the Employment Act (Northern Ireland) 2016,  the legal obligation has yet to be implemented.

Gender Pay Gap Reporting is not included in the Department for Economy’s huge, Public Consultation: ‘Good Jobs’ Employment Rights .  This is because responsibility for Gender Pay does not sit with the Department for Economy but instead with the the Department for Communities.

The Department for Communities has stated that the Regulations will be implemented in due course.

It is of note that, when enacted,  the obligations and reporting requirements in Northern Ireland will go further than the rest of the UK. Northern Ireland will also require a breakdown of information for ethnicity and disability.

GREAT BRITAIN

In 2017, Great Britain introduced a legal requirement for public, private and voluntary sector organisations, with 250 or more employees, to annually report their gender pay gap using a specified snapshot date relevant to their sector.

Labour Government has committed to build on the existing Gender Pay Gap Reporting to introduce disability and ethnicity pay gap reporting for large employers.

IRELAND

In 2021 (taking practical effect in 2022) the Republic of Ireland introduced their equivalent obligations for eligible employers to publish their Gender Pay Gap. Initially the obligations to report only applied to employers with 250 or more employees at the ‘snapshot’ date however this was extended on 31^st May 2024 to cover employers with 150 or more employees.

We will of course keep Members informed of any updates from the Department of Communities in respect of Gender Pay Gap Reporting in Northern Ireland.