S.78 of the Equality Act provides a power to require large private sector employers to report on their gender pay gap starting in 2013. For the meantime, the Government, has decided that it will work with employers to promote reporting of equality data on a voluntary basis. Each year the Government will review how many companies are publishing such information and its quality in order to assess whether alternatives are required, including using a mandatory approach through S.78 of the Equality Act. While this voluntary approach is being assessed, the Government will not commence, amend or repeal S.78.
S.159 of the Equality Act 2010 allows employers to use positive action in recruitment and promotion. It will come into force from April 2011. Formal guidance for employers will be published early next year. Employers will be allowed to consider using positive action where there is enough evidence to make them reasonably think that people with a protected characteristic suffer some sort of disadvantage because of that characteristic or are disproportionately under-represented. When either of those two conditions apply, this new provision will enable an employer who is faced with making a choice between candidates who are of equal merit to opt to offer that job to a candidate with a targeted protected characteristic.
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