Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee

Recommendation 31

31 Rejected Paragraph: 135

We were disappointed that the Government chose to suspend, rather than delay, gender pay gap...

Conclusion
We were disappointed that the Government chose to suspend, rather than delay, gender pay gap reporting and enforcement for this year. Given the high number of women who have been furloughed or worked reduced hours due to caring responsibilities, and the evidence of continuing gender inequality in other areas, this should have been a time for more - not less - transparency.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government rejects the committee's disappointment, explaining that the EHRC extended the gender pay gap reporting deadline for 2020/21 by six months due to the unprecedented impact of the pandemic on businesses, asserting this was the right and sensible decision.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference: 135
Government Response Rejected
HM Government · verbatim extract Rejected
Due to the unprecedented circumstances currently facing employers, the EHRC announced that employers will have until 5 October 2021 to report their gender pay gap information. The changes for the 2020/21 reporting year gives those required to meet the regulations an additional six months to report their data before legal action begins. The Government is fully committed to women’s economic empowerment but, given the impact of the pandemic on businesses, extending the deadline by six months is the right and sensible thing to do.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗