Congress notes the announcement today – International Women’s Day - regarding the introduction of gender pay gap reporting in 2022.
While it is a significant development that Employers with 250 employees or more will be obliged to choose a ‘snapshot’ date of their employees in June 2022 and to report on the hourly gender pay gap for those employees on the same date in December 2022, it is a source of disappointment that the full regulations governing the process are still not available, with only a commitment to publish in the coming weeks being signalled.
Commenting on today’s announcement, Congress General Secretary, Patricia King stated that: “Congress has been to the fore in calling for the introduction of gender pay gap reporting and calls upon Minister O’Gorman to publish these regulations as a matter of urgency.”
Congress Equality Officer, David Joyce added that the requirement to publish a statement setting out, in the employers’ opinion, the reasons for the gender pay gap in their company and what measures are being taken or proposed to be taken by the employer to eliminate or reduce that pay gap are not sufficient. Employers must discuss the gap with workers and their representatives and agree a joint approach to tackling any gaps identified in an effective manner.
