The Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 (the Gender Pay Gap Act” ) sets out the basis for gender pay gap reporting in Ireland and was signed into law on 13th July 2021.
Organisations with over 250 employees in Ireland will be required to report on their gender pay gap for the first time this year in an effort to advance women’s rights in the workplace.
In essence businesses will be asked to select a “snapshot” date next month, and their reporting will be based on the employees they have on this date. They then have six months to prepare their calculations and publish a report on their findings. Employers will be required to calculate the mean and median hourly remuneration of male and of female employees, then calculate the gender pay gap, and report on both. They will also be required to evaluate and publish data on bonuses. Companies will then have to report the data publicly, publishing the report on their website. In addition, the relevant employers will be required to report on the reasons why any differences exist and any measures being taken by the employer to eliminate or reduce such differences in that employer’s case.
From 2024, firms with more than 150 employees will be obliged to report and from 2025 it will apply to businesses with more than 50 staff.
We are currently awaiting Regulations which are hoped to provide clarity on what will be required for employers and it expected these Regulations will deal with a number of issues such as (a) prescribing the classes of employer and employee to which the regulations will relate (b) how to calculate the number of employees an employer has (c) how to calculate the pay of employees and (d) the form, manner and frequency with which information is to be published
We will provide a separate post once the Regulations are published.
