New Equality Bill to ‘close gender pay gap’

A package of measures designed to close the gender pay gap and eliminate inequality in the workplace have been unveiled by the Government.

Equality Minister Harriet Harman told the Commons that the new Equality Bill would ‘address the serious inequalities that still exist’ in the UK.

Under the proposals firms will be banned from imposing ‘gagging clauses,’ enabling work colleagues to then compare wages and challenge employers who unlawfully pay them less.

Currently almost a quarter of employers do not allow staff to discuss their wages, with research indicating that women are more likely to be in the dark about colleagues' pay than men.

The plans, which will be introduced in England, Wales and Scotland, will also outlaw all forms of age discrimination in society.

Whilst trade union groups have welcomed the move, David Frost, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, has warned that the Bill will create a ‘bureaucratic nightmare for small businesses’.

He said: ‘What the 100,000 businesses we represent tell me is that there is a limited number of good people out there and they want to recruit and retain the best people for the job irrespective of their gender or race.

‘Increasing the complexity of the tendering process for public contracts and putting more emphasis on positive action in the workplace are unlikely to make life simpler for anyone - least of all business.’