MPs attack ministers’ ‘nonsensical’ refusal to make firms reveal race pay gap

theguardian.com:

A group of MPs has accused the government of lacking the “will or care” to create a fairer and more equal society, after it rejected calls to force companies to reveal the pay gap between white employees and others.

On Friday the government stated its intention to instead accept the recommendation of its controversial report on racial disparity, which was widely condemned by MPs, unions and equality campaigners as “divisive” and a missed opportunity for systematic change when it was published in March 2021.

In February, the cross-party women and equalities committee called for legislation to introduce mandatory reporting for companies with more than 250 employees, a requirement that has existed for the gender pay gap since 2017. It argued that mandatory reporting would help address pay disparities between employees from different ethnic backgrounds.

The government has backtracked on the issue of ethnicity reporting. In 2018 the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy launched a consultation that stated: “The government believes it is time to move to mandatory ethnicity pay reporting.” The consultation closed in January 2019, but the government is yet to publish a response. The minister Paul Scully promised in January that the government would respond “in due course” – a commitment reiterated on Friday.

The government said it would not make companies report their ethnicity pay gap, arguing the move would have “significant statistical and data issues” – instead saying it would give guidance to employers reporting their ethnicity pay gaps voluntarily.

The guidance includes advice on reporting the distinction between different ethnic groups and advice for employers in regions with statistically low numbers of