Gender pay gap audit & reporting services

The Act introduces regulations requiring Irish employers to publish their gender pay gap (“GPG”) information for their employees, the reasons for any GPG in the employer's case, and the measures (if any) being taken to eliminate or reduce GPG.

What is the gender pay gap?

The gender pay gap is the aggregate difference between what women are paid compared to men. In 2019, women's gross hourly earnings were on average 14.1 % below those of men in the European Union. The highest GPG in the EU was recorded in Estonia at 21.7% and the lowest was Romania at 3.3%. According to Eurostat, the statistics office of the European Union, Ireland’s GPG currently stands at 11.3%, a reduction from the reported 2017 figure of 14.4%*. 

Studies have shown that women are generally paid less than men. Where women are under-represented, the pay gap tends to be higher and can be significant for senior-level occupations.

In summary, equal pay is being paid the same for the same/similar work whereas GPG is the difference in average pay between two groups in a workforce. While GPG does not necessarily identify if gender discrimination exists in an organisation, it does typically indicate that there is a gender imbalance across different grades within an organisation.

GPG reporting provides a mechanism for organisations to make positive changes, encourage talent and enhance their reputation externally. Those organisations that are proactive and gain an understanding of GPG will be successful in not only addressing any issues that might exist in their organisation but also position themselves for future opportunities.

Calculation and reporting

Under the Act, employers are required to publish the following data on their workforce:

• The mean and median gap in hourly pay between men and women.
• The mean and median gap in bonus pay between men and women.
• The mean and median gap in hourly pay of part-time male and female employees.
• The percentage of men and of women who received bonus pay.
• The percentage of men and of women who received benefits in kind.

The reporting requirements will initially apply to employers with 250 or more employees and is expected to begin in 2022 following the publication of specific reporting regulations later this year.

These requirements will expand on, or after, the second anniversary of reporting regulations, where employers with less than 250 employees will be required to publish their GPG data. On, or after, the third anniversary of regulations, employers with less than 150 employees will be required to publish their GPG data.

Our gender pay gap reporting

We offer the following services to support organisations with GPG reporting

Calculation

Using our bespoke GPG analysis tool, we can calculate your gender pay gap in accordance with legislative requirements.

We will help you in the definition of the data required to support the calculation, the specification of the approach to extracting it from your source systems, the calculation using our tool and the presentation of the results using the visualisation element of the tool which ensures that your GPG results are accurate, robust and clearly understood.

We can also help you with communication of the GPG and the development of a plan to address the gap noted.

Assurance

We can provide an independent assessment of the accuracy of an existing or trial GPG calculation or any preparatory work that you have done in relation to the calculation of your GPG.

This can be conducted in a number of different ways including through examination of the definitions and assumptions made, the reperformance of the calculation using our proprietary GPG tool and the analysis of the approach adopted.

We will provide you with a report setting out our opinion on the accuracy and completeness of the work which you have conducted and any recommendations which should be considered.

Preparation support

With GPG reporting expected to be introduced in early 2022, we can support you in preparing for your reporting obligations at any stage along the process from data definition to calculation reporting and presentation.

We can also train your staff in the GPG process. Our support can be delivered through training, walkthroughs, analysis or process mapping.

Wider support

Once you have identified your GPG, we can help you in the design, development and implementation of initiatives to address the gap noted.

This includes action plans, D&I frameworks, culture reviews, D&I strategies, recruitment and selection techniques and training amongst other things. We can also develop data models to determine the impact that certain initiatives or actions may have on your gender pay gap over time

*Eurostat Gender pay gap statistics