Pay secrecy and information on the pay gap

Section 77 of the EA 10 bans contract terms that prevent workers discussing their pay, where the purpose of discussions is to establish whether there is evidence of unlawful pay discrimination. It also makes it unlawful to penalise an employee for asking colleagues about their pay for this purpose. Contract terms banning discussions of pay for any other reason remain lawful.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is monitoring the effect of this provision and has published guidance on its website: Discussing pay with colleagues (http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/private-and-public-sector-guidance/employing-people/equal-pay/discussing-pay-with-colleagues).

Employees do not have to discuss their pay if they do not want to.