Mandatory Gender Pay Gap Reporting: Starting Soon

If your business is in the private sector and employs over 100 employees, it’s well and truly time to get ready for your mandatory gender pay gap reporting obligations (if you haven’t already).

What is it?

The Labour government’s Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Closing the Gender Pay Gap) Bill 2023 which passed in March last year, requires all private sector companies with 100 employees or more to submit a mandatory report to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) containing their gender pay gap data, with reporting to commence on 27 February 2024. This information is then set to be made public on WGEA’s website.

Not only is a failure to comply with the new reporting requirements (i.e. remaining silent) likely to cause discontent and hostility from employees in the workplace for not addressing this issue, your business could also be:

1. ‘named and shamed’ publicly in WGEA reports to government ministers and in the media; and

2. ineligible to tender for Commonwealth contracts under their procurement framework, including for grants or other financial assistance.

Aside from the potential risks associated with non-compliance, we consider getting on the ‘front foot’ and embracing transparency, which is the purpose underpinning this new mandate.

Examining potential concerning trends within your business and addressing these openly will likely assist your business to craft an informed and targeted approach to dealing with these issues, with support from your workforce. This enables you to proactively address these issues rather than attempting to ‘hide’ them and receive public and internal backlash.

What should you do next?

We recommend the following best practice steps ahead of the WGEA Report on 27 February 2024 :

1. Identify whether there are any significant disparities existing within your business. If so, identify where these have come from, and what you can do to address them – sooner rather than later.

2. Communicate openly and as much as possible (keeping in mind confidentiality around naming particular individuals) – this should include announcing the upcoming reporting internally, and the steps that your business has already taken (and will take) to eliminate any gender pay gap. This can include letting your employees know ahead of time if there are any significant pay disparities and what you plan to do to address them.

3. Be Proactive – don’t just wait until the yearly reporting becomes due, regularly assess and consider your structural and cultural drivers which may be impacting your outcomes.

Don’t forget to celebrate and publicise the good news, too.

What’s coming next?

Starting on 1 April 2024, in addition to the mandatory gender pay gay reporting, there will be additional requirements in place for certain employers.

Employers with 100 or more employees

These employers will be required to provide further, more comprehensive data to WGEA, including mandatory reports on:

1. employee ages and primary workplace location;

2. CEO remuneration; and

3. prevention and response to sexual harassment and discrimination on the grounds of sex.

Employers with 500 or more employees

These employers will be required to hold a policy or strategy for each of the following gender equality indicators:

1. gender composition in the workforce;

2. gender composition of governing bodies;

3. equal remuneration between genders;

4. availability and utility of employment terms, flex work arrangements, support for family and carer’s responsibilities;

5. consultation with employees on gender equality in your workplace; and

6. sexual harassment, harassment of the grounds of sex and discrimination.

We know a lot of our clients will already be in good stead to seamlessly introduce these changes, but we encourage you to reach out (regardless of your business’ size) to ensure your business is ‘walking the walk’.

Edge Legal

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