Equality watchdog says UK workers should have right to know colleagues' pay
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has recommended that UK employees get a legal right to learn what colleagues earn, and that employers be barred from asking applicants about current salary. The aim is to reduce pay discrimination, especially against women.
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The story, neutrally told
Mixed · 2The UK's Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has said employees should have a legal right to find out what their colleagues are paid, in order to cut pay discrimination, particularly against women. BBC NewsN “Employees should legally be able to find out what their colleagues are earning, the UK's equality watchdog has said.” Read at BBC News ↗ The GuardianLC “Workers should have a legal right to know their colleagues’ pay to help prevent pay discrimination, particularly against women” Read at The Guardian ↗ Left · 1The Guardian reports the recommendation was made in response to government proposals to overhaul equal pay laws. The GuardianLC “The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) made the recommendation in response to government proposals to overhaul equal pay laws” Read at The Guardian ↗ Mixed · 2The EHRC wants employers to be required to respond to employee questionnaires about colleagues' pay; at present, employers do not have to respond to such requests. BBC NewsN “At present, employers do not have to respond to employee requests for salary information about colleagues.” Read at BBC News ↗ The GuardianLC “Ministers are considering forcing bosses to respond to staff questionnaires about their colleagues’ pay” Read at The Guardian ↗
Left · 1According to the Guardian, ministers are considering reintroducing a right that was abolished in 2014 as part of a drive to cut red tape for businesses. The GuardianLC “reintroducing a right that was abolished in 2014 as part of a drive to cut red tape for businesses” Read at The Guardian ↗ Mixed · 2The information staff could request includes a colleague's basic pay and hours worked, plus bonuses, overtime, shift premiums and performance-related pay, and the EHRC wants a set deadline for employers to answer. BBC NewsN “information including colleagues' basic pay and hours worked, how employees' pay compares with each other, and information about bonuses, overtime, shift-premiums and performance-related pay, within a specific timeframe” Read at BBC News ↗ The GuardianLC “bosses should be forced to respond within a “specified timeframe”” Read at The Guardian ↗ Left · 1The Guardian adds that the EHRC would let staff ask about job evaluations (grades, salary benchmarks, internal scores), request a ranking of workers in a similar team, and challenge data they believe is inaccurate or incomplete. The EHRC argued the measure should be mandatory, since otherwise "employers may delay, provide evasive responses or avoid responding". The GuardianLC “They should also be able to ask for details on any job evaluations carried out by bosses, revealing job grades, salary benchmarks, internal “scores””“Without such a requirement, employers may delay, provide evasive responses or avoid responding” Read at The Guardian ↗
Mixed · 2The watchdog also wants employers prevented from asking applicants about their current salary. Employers may currently ask, though applicants need not answer. BBC NewsN “employers should be prevented from asking about current salary when offering a job to stop a history of discrimination from carrying on” Read at BBC News ↗ The GuardianLC “Companies are currently allowed to request that information, but potential recruits do not have to respond.” Read at The Guardian ↗ Centre · 1EHRC chief executive John Kirkpatrick told the BBC that asking about salary history can "embed a history of disadvantage or discrimination in future salaries", and that while employers should be able to offer competitive pay, this should not "create a pattern that discriminates". BBC NewsN “"When they do, what tends to happen is that can embed a history of disadvantage or discrimination in future salaries," he said.” Read at BBC News ↗ Centre · 1The Fawcett Society has previously made a similar argument, saying the question risks maintaining historic unfair differences in pay by gender, race and disability. BBC NewsN “has previously said that asking the question risked maintaining historic unfair differences in pay due to gender, race and disability inequality” Read at BBC News ↗
Left · 1The EHRC said greater transparency could help firms avoid employment tribunals through "early resolution of pay disputes" and help close the gender pay gap. The Guardian cites ONS data showing women in full-time work earned 6.8% less than men at the median as of April, with wider gaps in finance (24% mean, 22% median). The GuardianLC “early resolution of pay disputes”“women in full-time work earned 6.8% less, on average, than men in the UK, according to the Office for National Statistics” Read at The Guardian ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left1 outlet
- Framing
- The Guardian reports the recommendation as a response to government proposals on equal pay laws, with policy detail and pay gap data.
- Emphasis
- The detailed information workers could request, the need for a mandatory deadline, the history of the 2014 repeal, and gender pay gap figures, including finance.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Does not quote Kirkpatrick or the Fawcett Society.
- Charged language
- “Crucially”
- For example
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“Ministers are considering forcing bosses to respond to staff questionnaires about their colleagues’ pay, reintroducing a right that was abolished in 2014 as part of a drive to cut red tape for businesses.” — The Guardian
Centre1 outlet
- Framing
- BBC News presents a short explainer on what the watchdog proposes and why, quoting the EHRC chief executive and the Fawcett Society.
- Emphasis
- Salary-history questions and how they can carry past discrimination into new pay; a reader-engagement question closes the piece.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Does not mention the government consultation, the 2014 abolition of the earlier right, or pay gap statistics.
- For example
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“You may get the right to find out what your colleagues earn - here's why” — BBC News
Right0 outlets
No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
What every side reports
- The EHRC says workers should have a legal right to know colleagues' pay.
- The EHRC wants employers barred from asking applicants about current salary.
- Employers currently need not answer staff requests about colleagues' pay, and applicants need not disclose their salary when asked.
- The stated aim is to reduce pay discrimination, especially against women.
Equality and Human Rights Commission organisation
The EHRC says a legal right to know colleagues' pay, with mandatory employer responses within a set timeframe, and a ban on asking about salary history, would reduce pay gaps and discrimination against women.
“will likely reduce pay gaps and discrimination against women” — The Guardian
“The rights watchdog argued that this would help cut pay discrimination, especially against women.” — BBC News
Left1 article
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Give UK workers right to know colleagues’ pay to prevent disparities, says watchdog
Neutral Policy-focused report tying the EHRC recommendation to government equal pay proposals, with detail on the mechanics and pay gap data.
Centre1 article
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You may get the right to find out what your colleagues earn - here's why
Neutral Concise explainer of the EHRC proposal, with a quote from its chief executive and background from the Fawcett Society.
Right0 articles
No coverage yet.
- 28 Oct 10:42 First BBC NewsN You may get the right to find out what your colleagues earn - here's why
- 28 Oct 13:34 +2h 51m The GuardianLC Give UK workers right to know colleagues’ pay to prevent disparities, says watchdog
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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