Latest news with #paydiscrimination
Telegraph
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Labour's obsession with equality will make us all poorer
We've all had that thought: 'Why is that lazy b------ paid more than me? He seems to spend most of his day browsing Amazon and eBay, then dashes home at the earliest possible moment while I toil on way beyond my contracted hours.' Perhaps even more aggravating than the general feeling that one is not being justly remunerated for one's labour is the feeling that someone else is undeservedly being more richly rewarded. These petty resentments may become much worse under proposals that Labour is considering. Taking a break from wrecking our schools and taxing aspirational parents, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, wearing her other hat as Minister for Women and Equalities, is directing the Office for Equality and Opportunity to come up with plans to tackle pay discrimination. These could include forcing employers to tell their workers how much their colleagues earn. Pay transparency, or so the argument goes, is the elixir to eliminate unfairness in the workplace. The reality is likely to be rather different. Equal pay for equal work may indeed be a worthy cause, but who is to judge what endeavours are equivalent? Basing pay simply on seniority does not acknowledge the different contributions different employees make. In recent decades, the trend has been in the opposite direction. We have been steadily eroding pay transparency in a raft of professions. While the armed forces, the police and to a lesser extent, the civil service, may still have fairly rigid pay grades, they have been eroded in academia and school teaching. Both still have pay spines which apply broadly, but as people are promoted, this becomes much less true. Academy schools, whose freedoms Phillipson is fast eroding, have much more flexibility as to how to reward exceptional staff – professorial pay is now largely a matter of negotiation. Pay differentials in both teaching and academia have vastly increased as a result. This is not happening due to education providers being malignly unfair, but rather because they feel it necessary to attract and retain the best. With Labour's obsession with equality, Phillipson may well believe it is her duty to ensure fairness in the workplace. But greater transparency is likely to have unintended consequences. In thousands of whispered conversations, complaining about what colleagues are paid is a quintessential British, indeed probably global, office pursuit. Nothing is less conducive to office harmony – and indeed less motivating – than someone's undeserved annual salary leaking out. If so-and-so is receiving X, why am I only getting Y? These plans would institutionalise these exasperations and amplify them to previously unknown levels. The UK is facing a productivity crisis, and it is hard to think of anything better designed to worsen it. It would make workplaces across Britain less contented, more antagonistic environments. Pay transparency would also represent a massive and unprecedented invasion of privacy. In certain jobs, especially those paid from taxpayers' money, it is absolutely right that salaries are made public. It is appropriate that we all know that MPs are on £93,904, a London police sergeant receives between £51,408 and £53,943, or that a lieutenant colonel is paid between £92,520 and £106,955. It is also right that charities need to declare how many of their staff receive over £60,000, and that they have to give pay bands for higher-paid employees, or that floated companies need to declare directors' pay. Donors and shareholders should have access to this information. In all these instances, those applying for these roles are fully aware that their pay will be a matter of public record. But this is not the case with the vast majority of jobs. Our fairness commissars would in fact be bringing into life myriad new unfairnesses. Those of us who have entered into a role on the basis that only ourselves, our employer and HMRC are entitled to know our remuneration, would have that understanding ripped up by diktat. Greater transparency in pay is more likely not to result in a pay bonanza, but rather for employers to be more reluctant to offer raises, in case others then also demand a similar increase. There is a more profound flaw in the demands for openness. They assume that fairness is something that is achievable or indeed desirable. But it is in fact a hollow myth. Is it fair that the median pay of a FTSE 100 chief executive (their pay is of course already public) is 113 times that of UK median pay? Almost certainly not. But then very little is fair. It is not fair that some people are much more intelligent than others; nor is it fair that some are beautiful and others are the opposite; nor is it fair that some are born into carefree luxury and others into abject, miserable poverty. But the cure for solving these unfairnesses – an overbearing state that intrudes into every aspect of our lives – would be a dystopian nightmare. Fairness may be the promised land, but we will never reach it. Let us give up on this chimera and carry on with our lives. We might all end up happier.
The Independent
17-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Now government unit could let you find out how much your colleague is paid
The government is considering new measures to overhaul equality laws and end pay discrimination, potentially requiring businesses to disclose salary bands in job adverts and inform workers of colleagues ' earnings. A new Equal Pay Regulatory Unit may be established with the power to issue fines, change employment contracts, offer advice, and provide mediation to address gender, race, and disability-based pay discrimination. Business groups have expressed concerns that mandatory salary disclosure could hinder their ability to attract and retain staff, while the government has rejected suggestions that such measures would penalise middle-class individuals. Recruitment site Indeed suggests that job seekers would welcome pay transparency, as it helps employees feel valued, identify better opportunities, and promotes a healthier labour market. The Federation of Small Businesses has cautioned that some proposed measures may not be suitable for small businesses, many of which hire through informal networks and lack dedicated HR departments.
The Independent
17-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Businesses could be forced to tell you how much your colleagues are paid
Businesses could be forced to disclose salary bands on job adverts and tell workers what their colleagues are earning. Ministers are discussing the possible changes as part of plans to overhaul equality laws as the government seeks to end pay discrimination. This could include a new Equal Pay Regulatory Unit, which would have the power to issue fines and change employees ' contracts if needed, with legislation to expand on gender-based equal pay rules to include race and disability discrimination too, The Times reports. The body may also be able to offer advice and offer mediation if required. The move to potentially enforce the publication of salaries would be a notable shift, with business groups showing initial concern that it would make it difficult to attract and retain staff. A suggestion from the Conservatives that such a move would penalise middle-class and privately educated people was rejected by the government, saying 'positive discrimination is not permissible under the Equality Act'. 'Our research shows that businesses of all sizes are taking proactive steps to create equitable workplaces. That includes proactively identifying and removing all barriers to employment and progression opportunities,' said Jane Gratton, deputy director for public policy at the British Chambers of Commerce. 'While always ensuring fairness in pay, employers need to retain the flexibility to reward individuals for performance and experience. This agility is also crucial to help firms compete for skills and talent in a competitive labour market.' Jack Kennedy, senior economist at recruitment site Indeed, said job seekers would welcome the need for businesses to finally show what they intend to hire for all jobs, with expectations being set on both sides ahead of interview time, a key factor in building trust and saving time. 'The news of potential legislation around pay transparency, particularly on job postings, will be welcome news to workers across the UK,' Mr Kennedy said. 'Displaying salaries not only helps employees to feel more valued and empowered to address pay discrepancies, but also helps people identify where better opportunities may lie, supporting a healthier labour market that drives productivity and economic growth. 'Legislation will also help to set expectations for job seekers. Being aligned from the outset helps ensure candidate relevancy, making for a more efficient recruitment process, while it can also boost employer brand. So, by having stronger rules around transparency, both candidate and hiring teams can build trust from the first interview and help drive better matches.' Tina McKenzie, policy chair for the Federation of Small Businesses, said: 'Encouraging greater pay transparency is a good thing in principle but some of the measures being suggested simply don't fit the reality of small business life. It's also important to remember that many small firms don't formally advertise roles at all; they hire through word of mouth or their own networks. 'This is a clear case where it would be excessive for government to impose detailed regulatory rules on small employers who simply don't have HR departments.'
