British gender pay gap bonuses to be revealed

Businesses in England, Wales and Scotland will have to publish amounts awarded to both men and women as bonuses in a new initiative aimed at combating the gender pay gap.

The new regulations will apply to larger employers with more than 250 employees in a move that women and equalities minister, Nicky Morgan, said was a "first step."

Equality-boosting

Ms Morgan said the changes to regulations meant "going further than ever before to ensure true gender equality in the workplace."

As the first of a number of "equality-boosting measures", the news was welcomed by The Chartered Management Institute, who said it would "force transparency" on companies. However, The TUC said the measures should also cover medium-sized businesses and that non-compliance should lead to fines being levied against offenders.

Over 10 million workers will be affected, although a much smaller figure actually receive bonuses.

Gender pay discrepancy

Ann Francke, chief executive of the Chartered Management Institute, said that bonus gaps were "one of the biggest drivers" of gender pay discrepancy and that those at senior levels were more at risk of being affected.

Francke explained: "Bonuses are also where gender bias can creep in easily as they are amongst the least transparent forms of pay."

"There's a tendency to reward those in our own image or to think that because men may be the 'main breadwinners' they deserve higher bonuses," she added.

The new measures are contained in the Equality Act 2010, but are only now being implemented.