The TUC, CBI and Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) have issued a joint call for the government to introduce mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting.
The three organisations penned a letter to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Michael Gove, calling for ethnicity pay gap reporting to become mandatory.
It states that making this compulsory would “transform our understanding of race inequality at work” and would “drive action to tackle it where we find it”.
The letter also expresses that this would “enable employers to identify, consider and address the particular barriers facing ethnic minorities in their workplace”.
It further adds this would complement mandatory gender pay reporting which was introduced in 2017 for businesses which have a headcount of 250 or more employees.
In a survey of 321 companies cited by the BBC, almost three-quarters (73 per cent) supported compulsory ethnicity pay gap reporting for organisations with more than 250 staff.
This call for action comes after the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities published a report in April, ruling that institutional racism does not exist in workplaces.
However, the TUC, CBI and EHRC did agree with a key recommendation laid out by the Commission. This was that the mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting should be accompanied by a “narrative” which is comprised of key data, relevant findings and action plans to address race inequalities.
This, the joint letter stated, can “provide a real foundation to better understand and address the factors contributing to pay disparities”.
Along with introducing mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting, the Government have also been asked to set out a clear time frame in which to implement this.
A spokesperson for the Government responded to these comments:
The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities published its independent report earlier this year, which included recommendations on ethnicity pay gap reporting.
We are considering the commission’s findings on this matter alongside feedback to our consultation on this issue and other work, and will respond to the commission’s report in due course.
Monica Sharma is an English Literature graduate from the University of Warwick. As Editor for HRreview, her particular interests in HR include issues concerning diversity, employment law and wellbeing in the workplace. Alongside this, she has written for student publications in both England and Canada. Monica has also presented her academic work concerning the relationship between legal systems, sexual harassment and racism at a university conference at the University of Western Ontario, Canada.
