Equality Bill: Pay Audits

Fawcett Society/UNISON press release (24/04/09)

The Fawcett Society and UNISON have welcomed the Government's commitment to tackle inequality and discrimination in the Equality Bill' due to be published on Monday, but want action to toughen up equal pay legislation.

Dr Katherine Rake, Director of the Fawcett Society, said:

"The Equality Bill is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for this Government to end the national scandal that is Britain's gender pay gap. The success of the bill in delivering equal pay hangs on whether it includes three key measures: a requirement on employers to conduct pay audits to prevent pay discrimination, and permission for representative actions and the use of hypothetical comparators in discrimination claims so unfairly paid women can seek redress. We look forward to the publication of the bill on Monday 27th April and to finding out how it will deliver to women in the UK."

UNISON Director of Organising and Membership, Bronwyn McKenna, said:

"UNISON welcomes the Government's commitment to promote equality, fairness and tackle discrimination in our society, especially in these difficult times.

"We hope that the Equality Bill will contain measures to make sure public sector procurement - whereby services are outsourced often to the lowest bidder regardless of the effects on the workforce - will require equality to be part of the tendering process. It is only right that where public money is being spent, inequalities should not be allowed to exist.

"In particular we hope the Bill will help to finally end the injustice of unequal pay for women. It is a damning indictment of current laws, and a clear signal that tough new legislation is needed, that almost 40 years after the Equal Pay Act women still get paid 17% less than men. Too few women currently get equal pay through the courts. It is a lengthy and hugely costly process which forces women to jump over numerous technical hurdles. "It will be a missed opportunity for women if the Government does not take this chance to overhaul current laws and introduce tough new powers of enforcement."

ENDS Notes to editors

Fawcett Society is the UK's leading campaign for women's rights.

UNISON has nearly a million women in membership. The union has been battling for equal pay for women for decades and currently has more than 40,000 equal pay cases outstanding against public sector employers.