Equality minister Roderic O’Gorman has clarified that only employers with over 250 staff will have to engage with gender pay gap reporting in 2022.

The minister said regulations under the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 will be published in the coming weeks. They will require organisations with over 250 employees to report on their gender pay gap in 2022.

Employers will choose a ‘snapshot’ date of their employees in June 2022 and will have to report on the hourly gender pay gap for those employees on the same date in December 2022.

The reporting requirement will extend over time to organisations with 50 or more employees:

+150 employees: 2024

In Association with

+50 employees: 2025.

The minister said his department will publish guidance for employers on how gender pay gap calculations should be made. He also promised an online reporting system for the 2023 reporting cycle.

The upcoming regulations will require employers to publish:

• The mean and median hourly wage gap, the former reflecting the entire pay range in an organisation and the latter excluding the impact of unusually high earners.

• Data on bonus pay.

• The mean and median pay gaps for part-time employees and for employees on temporary contracts.

• The proportions of male and female employees in the lower, lower middle, upper middle and upper quartile pay bands.

The regulations will also require employers to explain the reasons for the gender pay gap in their company and what measures are being taken or proposed to be taken by the employer to eliminate or reduce that pay gap.

Minister O’Gorman (pictured) claimed: “Persisting gender stereotypes, the glass ceiling preventing women from senior positions, and the fact that women take on a much larger share of family caring responsibilities and unpaid work in the home are all contributing factors to a significant pay disparity between women and men in Ireland.

“The Gender Pay Gap Act requires employers to not only report on the gender pay gap in their organisation, but also places an obligation on employers to provide details of measures being taken to reduce that gap.

“This reporting requirement will help to ensure pay transparency exists in organisations, and will play an important role in achieving gender equality in the workplace.”

Pic: RollingNews.ie