Mind the gap! Closing the gender pay gap in small businesses

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HR Strategy and Culture
Mind the gap! Closing the gender pay gap in small businesses

The gender pay gap has been in the news again, with businesses getting a six-month reprieve if they miss the 4th of April 2021 gender reporting deadline.

What the law says for big businesses

Employment law legislation requires that employers with 250 or more staff publish their reports about gender and pay. It’s likely that companies such as the British Museum – where there’s zero difference in pay between the genders, will have their pick of the bunch when it comes to recruiting. With both men and women feeling reassured and refreshed that they are applying to a company that really and truly values equality.

What about small businesses?

As a small or medium business, you are in a fantastic position to take action to close any gender pay gap that currently exists in your organisation. Whilst the number of employees means that you don’t have to legally or publicly publish your data yet, addressing equality of pay will be easier whilst your business is still relatively small, and will give you time to tackle any issues.

There are a few steps you can take to crack this nut and get your ducks in order so you’re one step ahead of the game. When the company grows to over 250, or the legislation changes to include smaller businesses, you can be quietly smug, safe in the knowledge that you have it all in hand. In doing so there are almost certainly added benefits for the business too!

Steps you can take now

✔ Establish exactly who does what and how much they get paid.

This is the perfect opportunity to update your HR system. HR software today allows for easy viewing of all salaries (as below). At the click of a button, you can see exactly who is paid what, including bonuses, benefits and overtime. If there are gender differences in pay for similar roles, consider why this might be. If it seems that the only reason for a difference is gender, this could be in breach of discrimination laws and should be addressed immediately.

✔ Look forward and modernise!

Get love for your company by conveying to the world that you are managing a brand that’s forward thinking and on the ball with equality and diversity! This socially conscious edge could increase sales and brand loyalty in a world that loves to buy into a product that cares. As the company builds a great rep, it’s likely to entice better and more diverse candidates to work for you too.

In addition, letting your current staff know that you’re aware of the issue (and are addressing any unfair differences by immediately equalising pay) will boost morale no end.

✔ Diversify from the top down

If you’re part of a medium-size business with several management roles, are they all male? Are they all female? Gender equality filters down from the top, you can consider diversifying your management staff. If you notice that there seems to be a bias for hiring one or other gender, you might consider if there’s some subconscious discrimination at play (there may not be!). The gender pay gap stems from out-dated notions of women’s roles, and to avoid this kind of discrimination it might pay to have a closer look at recruitment and training processes and make sure they offer equal opportunities to both sexes.[/ticklist]

Perhaps there are opportunities available to men as well as women to work flexibly and play a bigger role in family life, in turn allowing women to undertake full-time work as well if they choose.

2021 – the age of technology! (and equality)

If you still store employee data manually, on spreadsheets or in filing cabinets, our glorious HR software can lift you out of this paperwork hell.

Why is this relevant to closing the gender pay gap?

Here’s why; HR software means the data you’ll need to access (to spot any pay gaps) is easily accessible. It keeps all the relevant information safe and in one place so with this issue and many others it’s all there and ready for you in an easily digestible format. As legislation surrounding employment law, reporting and data handling increases, it’s more important than ever (and more useful) for small businesses to move over to a cloud-based HR system, so that whatever issue may arise your company is organised and ready!

Please do get in touch with us on 0333 014 3888 or book a demo for free here.

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