Ibec, the group that represents Irish business, has published a new guidance report to support businesses in gender pay gap reporting.

It comes as mandatory Gender Pay Gap reporting requirements for employers with 250 or more employees will commence in December 2022.

Ibec says the guide shows employers how to interrogate their data and consider appropriate actions to address their gender pay gap.

As the report outlines, it is important to understand that gender pay gap reporting does not indicate discrimination or bias within an organisation, or even an absence of equal pay for equal value work. What it does report is a gender representation gap and whether women are equally represented across an organisation.

Ibec Head of Social Policy, Dr Kara McGann, explained: “A gender pay gap figure is a point in time, the culmination of a variety of decisions and choices made by individuals, organisations and society over many years.

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“It does not indicate discrimination or bias, or even an absence of equal pay for equal value work.

“It does report a gender representation gap and will capture whether women are equally represented across the organisation. For example, if women hold more of the lower paid jobs in the organisation than men, the gender pay gap is usually bigger.

“The true value of gender pay gap reporting is what actions will be taken to tackle the causes and influence change in the outcome. The gender pay gap figure should be seen as a starting point rather than a destination, and an opportunity to create a more equitable workplace for all,” McGann added

The national gender pay gap in Ireland is estimated to be 11.3% according to Eurostat figures (2019) compared to an EU average of 13%.

What is the gender pay gap?

The gender pay gap is the difference in the average hourly wage of men and women across a workforce.

It compares the pay of all working men and all working women; not just those in same jobs, with the same working patterns or the same competencies, qualifications or experience.

From June 2022, the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 requires organisations to report on their hourly gender pay gap across a range of metrics. Organisations with over 250 employees are required to report for the first time in 2022.

Organisations with over 150 employees will report in 2024 and those with over 50 employees will report in 2025.

There are seven broad reporting requirements:

• The mean and median pay gap in hourly pay between male and female employees

• The mean and median pay gap in hourly pay between part-time male and female employees

• The mean and median pay gap in hourly pay between temporary male and female employees

• The mean and median bonus pay gap between male and female employees

• The percentage of male and female employees who received bonus pay

• The percentage of male and female employees who received benefit in kind

• The percentage of male and female employees in each of four pay band quartiles

In 2022, employers must choose a ‘snapshot date’ in June, which will mirror their reporting date in December 2022. Any resulting gender pay gap will be then used for year-on-year comparisons into the future.

Pay gap regulations

The government published Regulations in June 2022 to further clarify what was required by the calculations including how to calculate hourly remuneration, bonus remuneration and total working hours. This was supplemented by a general guidance document and FAQ document for employers.

Where an employer fails to comply with the Regulations, and produce a gender pay gap report, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is empowered to apply for a court order compelling them to report.

Failure to comply with such an order would be a contempt of court. Additionally, employees may also complain directly to the Workplace Relations Commission.

Currently there are no mechanisms in place for penalties such as financial penalties to be awarded against an employer who does not comply, or fails to follow through on actions to eliminate their gender pay gap.

Therefore, unless equal pay provisions have been broken, there are no legal penalties for employers.