Brexit and Equality Review
Gender pay gap reporting has reached its second anniversary; for organisations that are required to report, communication is key. Changes and improvements in gender pay gap data are a marathon, not a sprint, and expectations should be managed about the pace of change.
Following a number of government consultations into ethnicity pay reporting, sexual harassment and pregnancy and redundancy, a number of potential changes may arise in the workplace.
Employers may need to undertake ethnicity pay reporting within the next few years, but which employers and the way the information is to be compiled and reported on remains to be seen.
Employers may also need to make changes to contracts of employment and precedent settlement agreements if legislative changes to confidentiality clauses are enacted. Such changes seek to avoid employees being prevented from disclosing sexual harassment suffered in the workplace.
Finally, the government is proposing to extend the so called “super rights” of women on maternity leave, when it comes to receiving preferential treatment for suitable alternative employment. Those rights would be extended to women who have disclosed their pregnancy and for the first six months after returning from maternity leave. Similar rights in other “family friendly” legislation would also be updated.
All of these potential changes remain as a “watch this space” for now, but employers need to be ready to review and update their policies and procedures if they are enacted.”