What is the law in Northern Ireland with regards to gender pay gap reporting?

The law in relation to gender pay gap reporting is set out in section 19 of the Employment Act (Northern Ireland) 2016. Section 19 specified that, no later than 30 June 2017, regulations were to be published and contain details of the regime. As a result of the collapse of the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2017, there has not been any regulations published with regards to gender pay gap reporting. It is likely that there will not be an update on this situation until May 2022 following the assembly elections.

These regulations will likely be very similar to those published in Great Britain where employers are required to provide:

• the percentage of men and women in each hourly pay quarter;
• the average hourly gender pay gap;
• the percentage of men and women who received bonus pay;
• the average gender bonus pay gap; and
• the person in their organisation who is responsible for the data.

Introducing pay gap reporting can be a useful way of evaluating the number of under-represented employees and taking steps to improve this. However, organisations may consider taking action to enhance their gender diversity by advertising for underrepresented groups, offering training to help certain groups get opportunities or progress at work and offering help to groups with particular needs.