UK workers think ethnicity pay gap reports should be mandatory

The latest survey has found that over half of the workers in the UK think reporting on pay gaps by ethnicity should be mandatory.

A total of 55% of them feel this way, which is the finding of a survey conducted by not-for-profit organisation People Like Us. These workers believe that the government should make it a legal requirement for companies to report details of pay gaps by ethnicity before the end of 2026. A further 40% of them said that reports of that kind would create more opportunities for career progression.

When it comes to workers who are ethnic minorities, the percentage that believes rises to 55%. This is understandable given that 56% of them told the survey they had experienced being paid less than colleagues from other ethnic backgrounds.

Jummy Okoya from the University of East London said to HR Magazine that HR teams were important to this issue. She argued they needed to put pay equity at the heart of the culture of their companies.

Collecting and analysing the data is a major task though, especially for companies with large workforces. Some may decide outsourcing it to HR services in Northampton is the best way to accomplish it without distracting from the day-to-day operations.

Okoya went on to say:

“Even without mandatory requirements, employers can choose to measure, publish and act on their data, and in doing so send a clear signal to their people that equity matters.”

This would mean using it during processes like hiring and promoting.