Pay transparency and equal pay audits 




In some very limited circumstances, tribunals can order an employer to conduct an equal pay audit and to publish the results on its website. The penalty for non-compliance is a fine of up to £5,000, payable to the Treasury. 


To make this kind of order, the tribunal must have ruled that the employer has committed a breach of equal pay law affecting pay. In other words, the power to order an audit is only available to a tribunal if a woman has already won an equal pay claim. 




An equal pay audit is an audit “to identify action to be taken to avoid equal pay breaches occurring or continuing” (Equality Act 2010 (Equal Pay Audits) Regulations 2014 (EPAR14)




The EHRC has prepared an equal pay audit toolkit, available from their website.