PAY DISCRIMINATION
Compulsory pay audits would "not be effective", warns CIPD
The painfully slow progress in closing the wage gap between men and women has prompted calls for the introduction of compulsory pay audits to ensure that reward systems are free of sex bias. But are they really the answer? The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development remains sceptical.
The background
Women's average hourly earnings are still on average nearly a fifth less than men's.
There is currently no legal obligation on employers to undertake reviews of their pay systems for discrimination.
The Equal Opportunities Commission's Code of Practice on Equal Pay says that an internal pay review is "the most appropriate method of ensuring that a pay system delivers equal pay free from sex bias".
Recent research for the EOC discovered only 35% of employers had undertaken an analysis of pay by gender.
The CIPD view
So, would compulsory pay audits help? "The CIPD thinks they are probably not the answer: a compulsory approach would be likely to cause resentment among employers and would not end most unequal pay practices," says Nick Page, CIPD adviser on pay and employment conditions.
Writing in the latest issue of People Management, Page reckons that some employers could be labelled as treating women unfairly, yet the real reasons for the pay gap could be wider social and cultural issues.
"In short, a government imposed pay audit would probably not be effective in identifying causes of unequal pay, would be hard to police and could damage employee relations."
Voluntary pay audits
Page argues that voluntary pay auditing could play a constructive role in helping organisations develop pay systems free of sex bias. "Voluntary pay audits have proved to be a valuable tool, because the employers using them have been willing to reconsider how employees' pay is determined and what wider assistance, such as help with childcare, might be necessary."
"Perhaps the key to making significant progress on equal pay is raising awareness of the issue and convincing employers that the problem is widespread and may exist in their organisation."
Want to know more?
Title: "Time for compulsory auditing?", by Nick page, People Management, 8 February 2001.
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