In 2017, rules were introduced under the Equality Act for employers with 250 or more employees to report their gender pay gap data and make it publicly available on their websites.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Government Equalities Office today announced that it will suspend enforcement of the gender pay gap deadlines for this reporting year (2019/20). This means the Equality and Human Rights Commission (the “EHRC”) will not seek to impose fines on private companies if they fail to report their gender pay gap data before the 4 April deadline this year, effectively giving employers a year off. 

In a joint statement, Minister for Women & Equalities, Liz Truss, and the EHRC Chair, David Isaac, said:

“We recognise that employers across the country are facing unprecedented uncertainty and pressure at this time. Because of this we feel it is only right to suspend enforcement of gender pay gap reporting this year.”