The Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 was signed into law on 13 July 2021 and requires certain public and private employers to publish the remuneration of their employees by reference to gender for the purpose of demonstrating differences, if any.
Gender Pay Gap refers to the hourly difference in pay between men and women across the workforce. The number of employees will dictate when you must report on a snapshot date in June.
- +250 employees: 2022
- +150 employees: 2024
- +50 employees: 2025
Employers with less than 50 employees will not be required to report.
Snapshot Date
The snapshot date must be in June, but you can choose any day in June.
Employers must then report on their gender pay gap information within 6 months after this chosen date, i.e., if you chose 1 June, your deadline is 1 December. The report should be based on remuneration for the 12-month period that precedes the snapshot date.
You are still required to report if your employee numbers reduce after the snapshot date.
Headcount
The report for the snapshot date needs to include all employees. It is also important to include employees not rostered to work on that date and employees on leave.
You should also consider contract workers, as the type of contract certain workers are engaged in will determine whether they are employees and if you should include them in your organisation’s headcount and gender pay gap calculations.
Who should be included?
All employers will need to include part-time, temporary employees and new starters before the June snapshot date.
In short, all employees on the snapshot date should be included i.e. full-time, part-time and fixed-term employees. This will also include employees on long-term sick leave or maternity leave.
What data must be included in the report?
- Ordinary pay; including pay, allowances, pay for piece work, shift premium or overtime pay.
- Bonus remuneration.
- Benefit in Kind, including any non-cash benefit.
- Total Hours worked.
Not included:
- Remuneration related to redundancy or termination of employment.
- Remuneration other than money.
The Act requires Organisations to report on the difference in remuneration between male and female employees in the following areas:
- the difference between both the mean and median hourly pay of male and female Employees;
- the difference between both the mean and median bonus pay of male and female Employees;
- the difference between both the mean and median hourly pay of part-time male and female employees and
- the percentage of male and female Employees who received bonuses and benefits-in-kind.
The employer must publish this report on their website highlighting the differences in pay between males and females but also including what measures you have put in place to reduce or eliminate the gap.
Tips when publishing your report
- Gather your data
- Involve key stakeholders
- Interpret the data and understand the Pay Gap
- Plan your narrative and how you deal with the results
- Publish on your website
- Implement change to address any gaps
For further detail, see “FAQs for Employers” and “How to calculate the gender pay gap metrics: Guidance note,” published by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
