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Equal Pay Day 2024
Today is Equal Pay Day, a UK campaign led by the Fawcett Society, a charity which campaigns for gender equality at work. On average, from this point onwards until the end of the year, women effectively work for free. The Fawcett Society uses the same data that the ONS used to release their November report on the gender pay gap (GPG). However, while the ONS report focussed on the fall of the median GPG for full-time employees from 7.5% in 2023 to 7% this year, the Fawcett Society draws attention to the increase in the mean GPG for full-time employees, which is now 11.3%, up from 10.7% last year. The society calls on the government to draft and deliver a ten-year strategy to reduce the GPG. In particular, it is calling for:
• the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill to include further measures on pay transparency, restricting interview questions about previous salary, and equal pay audits;
• a duty to advertise about flexible working; and
• reforms to childcare and parental leave.
We await publication of the Bill and further consultation on flexible working reforms and parental leave.
UK councils are free to implement a four-day week
The government has freed up councils to implement four-day weeks by lifting formal concerns expressed pre-general election. In May the previous government issued South Cambridgeshire District Council with a Best Value Notice outlining concerns about its trial of a four-day working week which, the government argued, would remove up to a fifth of the authority’s capacity. The council was required to provide data demonstrating that it was fulfilling its Best Value Duty. However, that notice has now expired and will not be renewed, with the expiration notice stating: “Although it is not government policy to support a general move to a four-day working week for five days’ worth of pay, we recognise that local authorities are independent employers who are rightly responsible for the management and organisation of their own workforces”. Angela Rayner, Deputy Prime Minister, also recently announced that councillors will be allowed to take part in debates from home using their computers.
Survey of flexible and family-friendly working policies published
Working Families, a charity for working parents and carers, published its annual benchmark survey of flexible and family-friendly working policies and practices. The benchmarking report aims to allow employers to measure the extent to which they’ve created a family-friendly and flexible work culture, highlights areas they can develop, and enables comparison with other best practice employers.
The following are key findings on participants’ practices:
• 62% report that over three quarters of their employees work flexibly;
• 86% carry out a job analysis on some or all of the roles they advertise, to determine the options for flexible working;
• 67% explicitly include a statement about flexibility in external job adverts;
• on average they offer: 18 weeks of fully paid maternity leave; 5 weeks of fully paid paternity leave; 14 weeks of fully paid shared parental leave; and 21 weeks of fully paid equal parenting leave; and
• 55% offer paid carer’s leave.
International Men’s Day
It was International Men’s Day on Tuesday, and we caught up with two of our colleagues from our EDI consultancy, Brook Graham to hear why recognising this day matters. Kieron O’Reilly made the point that International Men’s Day is not just about celebrating men, it's about addressing the challenges they face. From mental health issues to societal expectations, men often navigate complex pressures. Positive male role models also demonstrate attributes that benefit everyone. Kieron posted on LinkedIn asking everyone to encourage the men in their lives to take care of themselves and seek support when needed. Echoing this, David Marsden Pearson said that “men have a key role to play in fostering positive culture change, not least because they make up the majority of leaders and managers in many organisations (and often the majority of employees too). Amongst themselves, men also have very unequal opportunities and outcomes around the world, so the empowerment of men who lack access to advantages that others have is also part of building a more balanced culture and society”. More information on International Men’s Day is available online.
This page is updated weekly with News and Views from that week’s employment weekly briefing email. For previous articles, please contact us: Employment Law Plus.
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Employment law horizon watching | Upcoming employment law changes