A proposed equality law designed to reduce salary discrimination is ‘deeply flawed’, an employment lawyer has warned.
The Government’s ‘Equality Bill’, which should come into effect in Autumn 2010, was drafted after reports predicted that men and women will not be on equal pay until 2085 – and ethnic workers would not have the same opportunities as white workers until 2100.
But the new legislation would do little to bridge the gap, according to Suki Harrar of Warwickshire law firm Wright Hassall.
The law change will encourage businesses with more than 250 employees to publish salary reports and also ban ‘secrecy clauses’ which forbid staff from discussing their pay with one another.
But Ms Harrar said these two key changes will achieve very little.
“Businesses will not publish their gender pay details voluntarily – why would they want to?” Ms Harrar said.
“There is no positive outcome for them financially, and it could lead to renegotiations with a number of their staff.
“The ban on secrecy clauses is almost pointless too – it hardly exists in modern employment contracts, and people do not like discussing their salary details anyway.
“The Government has said that in 2013 it will force companies to disclose gender pay reports, but there seems to be no logical reason for delaying that. They are just wasting time until then.”
Ms Harrar also feels that the Act’s only redeeming feature – a strengthening of law for positive discrimination – could still lead to problems.
“Positive discrimination can be a useful way to readdress the equality balance in an office. It gives employers the legal right to choose a less-represented candidate who has the same qualifications or experience,” she said.
“But it can have pitfalls – if a large-scale employer uses positive discrimination too much then it is likely to generate criticism from the traditional workforce.
“The new act will not help remedy those problems and it concerns me that this new legislation will have little benefit to individuals and businesses.”
