UK Employees Call for Action on Wage Imbalance: Strong Backing for Required Disability and Ethnicity Wage Gap Reporting Obligation
In a significant move towards promoting fairness and transparency in the workplace, Britain's Ethnicity Bill is gaining momentum. This proposed legislation, formally known as the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill, aims to mandate ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting in the UK.
Currently, pay disparities affecting ethnic minorities and disabled workers are not compulsory to disclose. However, the government has recently concluded consultations on implementing mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting as part of this separate Equality (Race and Disability) Bill. The Employment Rights Bill does not include these reporting requirements but supports the call for applying equal pay rights more effectively to ethnic minority and disabled people.
The government is also considering activating a provision against "dual discrimination" (combined discriminatory treatment based on two protected characteristics), currently under the Equality Act 2010 but never activated.
Public and worker support for this legislation is robust. Surveys show that about 70% of UK workers back mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting, and over 75% support disability pay gap disclosures. Campaigns like "Britain’s Ethnicity Bill," led by advocacy groups such as People Like Us and Scope, highlight the substantial economic cost of pay inequality. They estimate a £3.2 billion annual loss in earnings for ethnic minorities due to the pay gap.
The planned Equality (Race and Disability) Bill is expected to expand current gender pay gap reporting obligations to cover ethnicity and disability pay gaps for large employers. This initiative aims to foster fairer pay practices and reduce in-work poverty among disabled and ethnic minority employees.
Workers are not only supporting the bill but are also experiencing the consequences of pay inequality. Over three-quarters (77%) of workers agree that employers should have to publish the salary range for a job in a job advert. Structural inequalities mean that workers from Black, Asian, and mixed ethnic backgrounds are significantly more likely than their white counterparts to take time off for reasons related to pay.
Disabled workers are also disproportionately affected. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of disabled workers have taken time off in the past year compared to 44% of non-disabled workers. The absence of a salary range can deter job applicants, with 56% having been deterred by this factor.
The bill's advocates, such as Sheeraz Gulsher, co-founder of People Like Us, and James Taylor, strategy director at disability equality charity Scope, emphasize the need for swift government action to create a fairer workplace environment. They call for the implementation of remedial measures or clear justifications whenever pay discrepancies are found, with over nine in ten (92%) expecting firms to do so.
In summary, Britain’s Ethnicity Bill is a campaign and legislative effort to mandate ethnicity (and disability) pay gap reporting in the UK. It complements broader efforts to enforce equal pay rights and address intersectional discrimination in the workplace. The bill's anticipated draft is expected later in 2025, marking a significant step towards a more equitable and transparent employment landscape in the UK.
The Equality (Race and Disability) Bill, under discussion in the UK, may soon require businesses to disclose ethnicity and disability pay gaps, a move that could impact both general-news and finance sectors. This legislation, if passed, may also necessitate the publication of salary ranges in job advertisements, a change that could significantly affect hiring practices and business operations in the business realm.
