EMPLOYERS WILL BE required to publish details of the gender pay gap in their workforce under a proposed new law.

Justice and Equality Minister Charlie Flanagan and Minister of State with responsibility for equality David Stanton announced the publication of the Gender Pay Gap Information Bill yesterday.

The provision will initially apply to companies with 250 or more employees and the threshold will drop to 50 when the legislation becomes fully operational.

Firms in both the public and private sectors will be subject to the requirement and employers would also be obliged to set out the steps they have taken, if any, to tackle the gender pay gap.

Employers will be required to publish the following information if the bill becomes law:

• The mean and median gap in hourly pay between men and women.
• The mean and median gap in bonus pay between men and women.
• The mean and median gap in hourly pay of part-time male and female employees.
• The percentage of men and of women who received bonus pay.
• The percentage of men and of women who received benefits in kind.

“The aim of this Bill is to provide transparency on the Gender pay gap,” Minister Flanagan said.

I believe firms which can report a low or non-existent pay gap will be at an advantage in recruiting future employees and I hope mandatory reporting will incentivise employers to take measures to address the issue insofar as they can.

The legislation requires the information to be published annually. The EU Commission recommended that member states introduce the measures back in 2014.

Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Equality, Immigration and Integration, Fiona O’Loughlin said the legislation alone is not enough.

“Measures to increase the number of women in senior and better-paid roles, improved childcare provision and dealing with gender stereotypes all need to be undertaken in tandem with the legislation,” she said.