Harman: Pay gap a major problem

The pay gap between men and women remains a major "systemic problem", equality minister Harriet Harman has said.

She made the comments to the BBC after a surprise call from the Equal Opportunities Commission for a moratorium on new tribunal equal-pay claims.
 
Harman said pay inequality had been "slowly narrowing" under Labour but was not yet approaching "proper closure", and claimed the government was considering "a range of options" to address the problem.
 
She also pointed out that the pay gap was most pronounced in the private sector, but said that any action to address back pay entitlements in the public sector had to be sensitive to spending plans.
 
Her comments came after the EOC, which is being replaced by a new equalities body, warned that the tribunal system is buckling under the volume of equal-pay claims.
 
Chairman Jenny Watson said: "In return for accepting a legal obligation to check their pay systems are free from discrimination and taking robust steps to put their house in order should they find they have a problem, we think employers should have some breathing space from individual claims for a limited period.
 
"This approach - what we're calling a protected period for transitional arrangements - is the kind of modern approach that's needed."
 
The EOC wants employers to be required to conduct an "equality check" to identify possible pay gaps and to take action to tackle its causes.
 
If the cause was pay discrimination, employers would be required to carry out an equal pay review and develop an action plan.
 
In return, they could qualify for a "protected period" from individual claims for a transitional time.
 
The government has been reviewing discrimination laws in a bid to clarify and streamline legislation and a draft Single Equality Bill is expected next year.
 
Harman said she had no "ready answer" to the moratorium call, but accepted pay inequality remained a major issue.
 
"It is evident that there is a problem and it is evident that the problem is a big one in scale," she said.
 
"We've got to make sure that from here on in there is not unfair pay, but we have also got to address the question of the back pay that's owed to women who have not been getting equal pay."
 
Theresa May, shadow minister for women, said employers should be subject to compulsory pay audits.
 
She argued that it was "grossly unfair" that if employers were found guilty of pay discrimination, the finding only applied to an individual case.