Pay transparency and equal pay audits

In its Equality Strategy Progress Report, May 2012, the government has said still favours a voluntary strategy for pay transparency, through a voluntary “Think Act Report” (TAR) framework, launched in September 2011, targeting private and voluntary sector employers with 150 employees or more.

However, the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 (section 139A) introduces a power for employment tribunals to order an employer to carry out an equal pay audit whenever the tribunal finds an equal pay breach, in both contractual and non-contractual pay (for example discretionary bonuses). An equal pay audit is defined as an “audit designed to identify action to be taken to avoid equal pay breaches occurring or continuing”.