The government has confirmed it is to reinstate equal pay protection legislation after previously scrapping the European Union (EU) law behind it.
The protection was axed among other laws after the UK left the EU as part of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 which was passed in June.
However, the government has stated that it will remain part of UK law, meaning women will still have the right to equal pay and terms in line with men if they work for the same source that sets their employment terms and conditions.
According to UK equality law, men and women in the same employment performing equal work must receive equal pay, unless any difference can be justified. An EU provision known as the single source test closed this loophole, helping lower-paid women take action against their employers over pay.
Dr Zara Nanu, chief executive officer at Gapsquare, said: “While the decision to reinstate equal pay protection legislation is a positive, progress for equal pay continues to be halted with ill-guided legislation changes and unchanged, aged, polices. This legislation is the bare minimum for protecting equal pay in the UK, and the current government’s approach feels like one step forward, two steps back in the pay equality journey.
“While the legislation is still playing catch up, organisations can take a proactive approach on this. From leveraging technology to analyse gaps and root out the core problem, or moving pay analysis into a more regular activity, organisations can do a lot more to tackle gender pay gaps and go beyond what’s simply legally required.”
Audrey Williams, employment partner at Keystone Law, added: “The government’s confirmation that it will reinstate the EU derived protection under equal pay laws is essentially confirming that the status quo will remain as set out in the current Equality Act legislation and, one assumes, the related case law.
“Equal pay claims are notoriously difficult to pursue and defend, but reducing the protection would have been unwelcome when inequity in gender pay remains a problematic. While it remains a relatively underused provision, the single source argument has been an effective line of attack with claims brought in the public sector and, more recently, against employers with complex group structures in the private sector. For example, where there may be multiple subsidiaries, ultimately owned and controlled by the same parent which is the decision maker when it comes to pay and benefits.”