Gender pay reporting requirements finalised for education sector

Thanks to the recent publication of new Equality Act reporting regulations for public authorities, we now have a complete picture of how the gender pay reporting requirements will apply in the education sector.

As we have known for some time, the gender pay data that must be published will be the same for all organisations with at least 250 staff. However the “data snapshot date” varies: 31 March for public authorities and 5 April for other employers.

In the education sector most institutions including universities, FE colleges, maintained schools and academies will fall under the public sector requirements. Educational charities, private schools and some privately funded educational institutions will be covered by the private sector regulations. In both cases, these requirements will only apply to organisations with at least 250 workers, even though some other equality reporting requirements will continue to apply to smaller public sector employers.

One key variable is likely to be the amount of explanatory information that each organisation will choose to publish with its gender pay data. Subject to any sector-specific guidance, this will be entirely at the employer’s discretion. The recently published draft guidance from ACAS and the Government Equalities Office has some suggestions for best practice, but it is no more than that.