Sexism in the City
By Sarah - Friday, June 27th, 2008
Equality minister Harriet Harman has set out her plans for the equality bill. You can watch her speech here.
In summary, the plans are designed to stamp out the pay divide and will be brought about in three ways:
1. In the use of the proposed Equality Bill.
2. By using secondary legislation.
3. By action in by the newly formed Equality and Human Rights Commission.
It would take another 80 years, Harman says, to equalise pay so they are going to make it compulsory for companies to report on equality issues by gender pay for their employees to see in the same way that hospitals and schools publish league tables on waiting lists and exam results.
The plan is to bring equality in five ways. Firstly be using the public procurement process. Presumably this will mean it will be harder for companies to secure public sector contracts unless they are seen to be good role models.
Secondly, they will outlaw clauses in the employment contracts which prohibit employees from talking to one another about their pay. Some employers use these clauses not to allow a gender divide but to stop those in similar positions finding out each others salary to get into a bidding war.
The third measure is to give the Employment Tribunal extended powers to make recommendations not just in relation to the successful complainant but to all affected employees. Whether this will extend their powers in the same way as protective awards remains to be seen.
Next the Equalities and Human Rights Commission is to use its statutory powers of investigation. Harman says that they will start with the financial sector in a bid to outlaw sexism in the city. This is something this firm has seen first hand for one of its employees against a large UK plc (and won I hasten to add!)
The final measure relates to the reporting provisions I have set out above. It therefore appears that we have some important changes to employment legislation on the horizon so watch this space for further updates. We will also be launching our Employment law training programme in early July which will enable you to keep up to date.
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