Gender Pay Gap Reporting in 2022

by Tríona Sugrue, Knowledge Lawyer in the Employment Law Practice Group at A&L Goodbody.

The Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 was signed into law last year, but regulations prescribing the details and requirements associated with the reporting of the information are still awaited. On International Women’s Day, 8 March 2022, the Minister for Children, Equality, Diversity, Integration and Youth announced some details of what the regulations will contain.

The key points to note from the announcement are as follows:

• The Minister stated that the regulations will be published in the coming weeks
• Employers with 250 or more employees will choose a ‘Snapshot’ date (the relevant date for the payroll data) in June 2022 and will be required to report their gender pay gap (GPG) on the same date in December 2022

While further details are still awaited, the announcement indicated the following information will be required to be reported:

• The mean and median hourly wage gap. The mean calculation will reflect the entire pay range and the median will exclude the impact of unusually high earners.
• Data on bonus pay
• The mean and median pay gaps for part-time employees and for employees on temporary contracts
• The proportions of male and female employees in the lower, lower middle, upper middle and upper quartile pay bands

As outlined in the Gender Pay Gap information Act 2021 the employers in scope will be required to publish a statement setting out, in their opinion, the reasons for their GPG and the measures (if any) being taken or proposed to be taken to eliminate or reduce their GPG.

With reporting due to commence in December 2022 this does not leave much time for employers who are in scope to prepare.

We recommend employers seek advice early so that they allow sufficient time to:

• Determine what technology and supports may be required to “run” the calculations and provide any necessary staff training
• Establish what elements of pay need to be inputted in the calculations
• Identify the quartiles across employee headcount
• Gather and analyse payroll data
• Prepare for the requirement to publish a statement accompanying the GPG report outlining the reasons for the GPG and the measures (if any) being taken or proposed to be taken to address it
• Identify and mitigate any equal pay or discrimination issues and ensure compliance with data protection principles

Given the potential impact on an employer’s brand reputation, recruitment and retention of staff, it is vital that compliance and messaging around an employer’s GPG are managed carefully.

About the author
Tríona has many years’ experience in advising on all aspects of contentious and non-contentious employment arrangements. Her expertise includes the provision of ongoing support to HR managers in relation to internal reorganisations and rationalisations, terminations, audits of employment-related documentation and transfer of undertakings. She has vast experience representing employers and employees in employment disputes including applications for injunctions, actions for breach of contract and personal injury for stress and bullying; and all claims under employment legislation before the Workplace Relations Commission, the Labour Court and the civil courts.
Having completed a Degree in Law and German at UCC and a Masters Degree in European Law at UCD, Tríona qualified as a solicitor in 2006. She subsequently completed the Diploma in Employment Law at UCD in 2007.
Tríona is a Lecturer and Tutor in Employment Law to students at the Law Society of Ireland