Gender and ethnicity pay gap

How to calculate and report your gender pay gap

Gender pay gap calculations are based on employer payroll data drawn from a specific date each year. This specific date is called the ‘snapshot date’.

Since 2017, businesses with 250 or more employees on the ‘snapshot date’ must comply with regulations on gender pay gap reporting. There are two deadlines which each have their own snapshot dates:

The snapshot date each year is:

• 31 March for most public authority employers
  These employers must report and publish their gender pay gap information by 30 March of the following year.
   
• 5 April for private, voluntary and all other public authority employers
  These employers must report and publish their gender pay gap information and written statement by 4 April of the following year.

Employers must report their gender pay gap information on the Gender pay gap service.

Although businesses with less than 250 employees are not required to report their gender pay gap, we encourage smaller businesses to do so voluntarily. Find out about the benefits of reporting your gender pay gap.

For information on how to calculate and report gender pay gap data use this step-by-step guide.

How to calculate and report your ethnicity pay gap

Although there are no legal requirements for businesses to report their ethnicity pay gap, we encourage businesses to do so voluntarily. Find out about the benefits of reporting your gender pay gap.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) provides guidance for UK employers on how to report ethnicity pay and take action. Find out how to calculate and report ethnicity pay gap data.

Take action to reduce the pay gap

Understanding how to report on pay gaps is the first step, the next step is ensuring there are positive actions in place to combat the pay gaps. Positive action is when an employer takes steps to improve equality for people who share a protected characteristic, for example by organising an open day for people from a particular ethnic background if they are under-represented in the workforce.

Employers are legally permitted to take action to overcome or minimise disadvantage, encourage participation in employment or training, or meet the specific needs of protected characteristic groups, for example, by facilitating mentor programmes for female staff. Here are six examples of positive action from the Equality and Human Rights Commission website.

• placing job adverts to target particular groups, to increase the number of applicants from that group
• including statements in job adverts to encourage applications from under-represented groups, such as ‘we welcome female applicants’
• offering training or internships to help certain groups get opportunities or progress at work
• offering shadowing or mentoring to groups with particular needs
• hosting an open day specifically for under-represented groups to encourage them to get into a particular field
• favouring the job candidate from an under-represented group, where two candidates are equally qualified.

Page last updated: 20 November 2023