Gender Pay Gap Reporting In Ireland 2022

The gender pay gap is the difference in the average hourly wage of men and women across the workforce. The Republic of Ireland’s gender pay gap suggests an average difference of 14% between the average pay of males and females within an organisation. This prompted the recent introduction of the much welcomed (and many would suggest long overdue) Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021, which was signed into law on 13 July 2021. 

Ireland’s Gender Pay Gap Reporting

The Act amends the Employment Equality Acts 1998 to 2015 in the form of the Employment Equality Act 1998 (Section 20A) (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2022 (“the Regulations”). Regulations under the Act published in the Irish Statute Book came into operation on 31 May 2022.

The Regulations require organisations with over 250 employees to report on their gender pay gap in 2022 and then publish the report on the same date in December 2022. The Act also requires organisations to report on their hourly gender pay gap across a range of metrics including hourly remuneration, bonuses, different contracts e.g. part-time, temporary, and permanent, and the percentage of male and female employees that received additional benefits.

The significance of this legislation highlights the concept of equal pay and the gender pay gap is not synonymous with each other. Even if an employer does not have an equal pay issue within job roles, a gender pay gap may still exist if for example lower paid job roles are predominantly filled by women and the higher paid roles are mostly filled by males, a gender pay gap will ultimately exist.

Benefits 

Reporting the gender pay gap is an effective mechanism for employers to demonstrate their genuine commitment to the equal treatment of employees. This commitment not only raises the morale of employees but also has significant benefits to the organisation in terms of attracting talent as it shows outsiders that the organisation not only supports equality but is committed to its improvement. EHRC suggests that almost two-thirds of potential recruits would consider an employer’s gender pay gap figures before joining an organisation, emphasising the need for such transparency to attract key talent into the organisation. 

While the need for Gender Pay Gap reporting is currently only applicable to larger organisations in Ireland, the benefits for smaller firms are indisputable. Reporting enables Organisations (particularly smaller organisations) to stay ahead of the competition and also attract clients. If organisations can demonstrate their commitment to transparency and fairness at work, then larger firms (particularly those required to report on such findings) may choose to work with them because they share similar values. 

One of the most significant benefits of reporting is that it fosters accountability and awareness within the organisation. Only when organisations are aware of the gender pay gap can they act on improving it. Monitoring and reporting on the gender pay gap allow employers to fully understand the dynamics of their organisation and it acts as an incentive to introduce change to maintain not only good perceptions internally but also externally to the organisation.

 

Reporting Requirements

Reporting requirements include:

• Mean hourly remuneration gap
• Median hourly remuneration gap
• Mean bonus remuneration gap
• Median bonus remuneration gap
• Mean hourly remuneration gap of part-time employees
• Median hourly remuneration gap of part-time employees
• Mean hourly remuneration gap of temporary contract employees
• Median hourly remuneration gap of temporary contract employees
• % of male employees who were paid bonus remuneration & % of female employees who were paid bonus remuneration
• % of male employees who received benefits in kind & % of female employees who received benefits in kind
• Percentage of males and females when divided into four quartiles ordered from lowest to highest pay

1. 1. Lower remuneration quartile pay band
   2. Lower middle remuneration quartile pay band
   3. Upper middle remuneration quartile pay band
   4. Upper remuneration quartile pay band

The number of employees in organisation will determine when the report on the gender pay gap will be required:  

• +250 employees: 2022
• +150 employees: 2024
• +50 employees: 2025

 

How To Calculate The Gaps

The gender pay gap is calculated by adding up the wages of all relevant employees and dividing the figure by the number of employees. The gender pay gap refers to the difference between what is earned, on average by women and men, based on the average hourly earnings of all employees – not just people doing the same job or at the same level or working pattern.

• The mean gender pay gap is the difference between women’s mean hourly wage and men’s mean hourly wage. It is the average hourly wage across the entire organisation.
• The median gender pay gap is the difference between women’s median hourly and men’s median hourly wage. It is calculated by ranking all employees from the highest paid to the lowest paid and taking the hourly wage of the person in the middle.
• Pay quartiles are calculated by splitting all employees in an organisation into four even groups according to their level of pay. Looking at the proportion of men and women in each quartile indicates the gender representation at different levels of the organisation.

The gender pay gap report is new for many employers, and it is advisable to plan and gather all data to be prepared to produce the report on time. Think People can support and assist with the gender pay gap report. If you would like more information, contact us at enquiries@thinkpeople.ie , justyna.kowalska@thinkpeople.ie or by calling 02890 310450 (ROI – 00353 1969 7865).