By Vivienne Russell
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has disappointed unions and campaigners by failing to call for compulsory pay audits to be included in upcoming equality legislation.
But the commission has strongly rebutted reports that it believes the recession has made equal pay unaffordable.
On March 16, EHRC chief executive Nicola Brewer was quoted in the Guardian as saying there was a need to be ‘realistic about the economic climate’.
This prompted anger from trade unions and equality campaigners, who said the drive for equality could not be put on hold until the economy recovered.
But a commission spokeswoman told Public Finance that there were ‘good and practical reasons’ for compulsory pay audits to be left out of the Equality Bill.
The commission maintains that compulsory pay audits alone will only prompt more women to take out individual legal actions that will clog up the tribunal system.
‘Equal pay is a complex issue that pre-dates the economic downturn,’ the spokeswoman said. ‘We’re not saying we don’t need pay audits but they have to work as part of a package.’
The commission wants ‘root-and-branch’ reform of the 1975 Equal Pay Act, which it claims is no longer ‘fit for purpose’.
Unison agrees the Act is outdated but wants the law to include mandatory pay audits. Bronwyn McKenna, organising and membership director, said: ‘The EHRC must take a tighter grip on the issue and end the gender pay gap once and for all.’
Local Government Employers welcomed the commission’s call, saying: ‘Tribunals should be the last resort, not the first resort, and any changes to the law that makes it more attractive to use tribunals, when so many local authority employers are near to agreement, will not speed up achievement of equal pay.’
