Pay gap between Men & Women halts

The Institute of leadership and Management - ILM has reported a news story today "Gender pay gap progress has halted"

The gap between the amount women and men earn has stopped closing, according to a new report.

According to the How Fair is Britain report, women aged 40 earn on average 27% less than men of the same age.

Motherhood also impacts on women's earning potential, with females with a degree facing a 4% loss in lifetime earnings. Mothers with no qualifications face a 58% loss, the report also shows.

The news comes just months after the charity Gingerbread found that a lack of family-friendly jobs is stopping single parents from returning to work.

Trevor Phillips, Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission said: "In the 21st century we face a fresh challenge - the danger of a society divided by the barriers of inequality and injustice."

However, the report also found that public attitudes have become much more tolerant of diversity and much less tolerant of discrimination.

Stereotypical views about the roles that men and women should play in family and society have become less prevalent, while opposition to working for a boss from an ethic minority has dropped.

Source: ILM

For More information See our Blog "Equality Commission launches landmark report: 'How fair is Britain?'"

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Large companies must embrace diversity

8th October 2010 - A week after the Equity Act became law there is a headline on the politics.co.uk website "Corporations 'must embrace diversity'"

The report goes on to say "Large companies must embrace diversity if they are to cut costs and improve their products, according to business leaders.

The comments came at an awards ceremony for supplier diversity in which Pepsi scooped the 'corporation of the year' award, narrowly beating ExxonMobil.

"Despite significant progress over the last few years, the volume of business won by ethnic minority owned businesses in the UK remains small," said Sara Todd, chair of Minority Supplier Development UK (MSDUK) and executive director at Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD).

"In the US, companies have been far quicker to embrace supplier diversity and the resulting commercial benefits."

Ms Todd also encouraged minority-owned businesses to improve their professionalism and better understand the needs of large corporations.

Mayank Shah, Director of MSDUK, added: "Given the changing make up of the UK's population and the need to build a sustainable economic recovery, it's critical that diversity is debated at a national level.

"Discussions at the conference around the impact of the new Equality Act, the business case for diversity and processes to extend the supplier base were all keenly attended."

The Equality Act, which brought together nine separate pieces of equality legislation together, came into force last week.

Ethnic minorities were largely unaffected by the new law, which consolidated and cleared up various strands of legislation from previous decades.

Aspects relating to audits of firms in a bid to narrow the gender pay gap are still under review by the government, however, with an eye to avoiding placing any new demands on British business as the economy emerges from recession."

politics.co.uk is the leading specialist UK politics news website. Each month more than 300 new and original articles are written by our in house team of journalists attracting more than 100,000 unique visits from MPs, journalists and politically aware members of the public.

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Equality Act 2010 implementation welcomed by charity

"Charity welcomes implementation of the Equality Act 2010" 1st October 2010

The new Equality Act starts to come into force across Britain today.

Although it may seem like a lot of small changes, together they will make a big difference; helping Scotland too to become a fairer society, improving the public services we all use and helping business perform well.

The new Act, aimed at creating a society built on equality and fairness, will cover everyone; it simplifies our laws - consolidating over one hundred pieces of legislation into one practical act - and makes it easier for us to treat other people fairly.

The new legislation protects everyone to some extent, as people have several of the characteristics it covers, namely age, race, religion and belief, sex (meaning gender) and sexual orientation; and some people also have the protected characteristics of disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity.

Under the Act, people are not allowed to discriminate, harass or victimise another person because they belong to a group that the Act protects, are thought to belong to one of those groups or are associated with someone who does.

Age Scotland spokesperson Lindsay Scott says: "We know that despite the great leaps forward in terms of tackling discrimination and changing attitudes over the last thirty years, many old inequalities remain and new and emerging challenges exist.

"A fixed date for implementation has yet to be determined for protection from age discrimination in access to goods, facilities and services and the public sector equality duty, and we would like to see this happen sooner rather than later. However, we welcome this additional tool for building a fairer society."

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has released an online starter guide to the legislation for employers and service providers. The guide contains nine bite-size modules which set out the essential.

Source: Age Concern Scotland

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40 Years after “Made in Dagenham” employees get a new weapon in the fight for equal pay - The Equality Act 2010

Press Release from Government Equalities Office - 1st October 2010

"Equality Act: Four decades after the “Made in Dagenham**” pioneers, employees get a new weapon in the fight for equal pay"

On the day a new film is released that tells the story of how a group of 1960s women fought for equal pay, today’s workers have won new rights that will help to stamp out pay discrimination.

Most provisions of the 2010 Equality Act take effect from today (1 October), including a measure to stop pay secrecy clauses being used to hide unfair differences between what men and women are paid.

The change in the law coincides with the release of “Made in Dagenham,” a British film about the women of the Ford assembly plant in East London who, in 1968, launched a campaign to demand equal pay. Their actions led to the creation of the 1970 Equal Pay Act.

Around 90 per cent of the Act comes into force today, making the law simpler by bringing together nine pieces of legislation under a single banner. The Government will announce in due course its plans for the remaining parts of the Equality Act not due to be implemented on 1 October.

Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equality Theresa May met four of the original strikers last week .

She said: “Thanks to pioneers like the women who feature in “Made in Dagenham,” the workplace is much fairer than it was in 1968. But there is still plenty of room for improvement.

“In these challenging economic times it’s more important than ever for employers to make the most of all the talent available. When a company reflects the society it serves, it’s better for the employer, the employees and the customers, so being a woman should never be a barrier to being treated fairly at work.

“From today the gagging clauses that stop people discussing their pay with their colleagues will be unenforceable, allowing women – and men – to find out if they’re being paid unfairly.

“This move towards transparency is just one part of the Equality Act, which also makes it easier for businesses to comply with discrimination law by streamlining the equality laws, and provides more protection to disabled people.”

The Act brings together nine different laws – including the Equal Pay Act – into a single piece of legislation, simplifying the law and reducing the administrative burden on businesses.

More information about The Equality Act 2010

1. The nine pieces of legislation being brought together under the 2010 Equality Act are:

•Equal Pay Act (1970)
•Sex Discrimination Act (1975)
•Race Relations Act (1976)
•Disability Discrimination Act (1995)
•Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations (2003)
•Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations (2003)
•Employment Equality (Age) Regulations (2006)
•Equality Act (2006)
•Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations (2007)


2. Key changes to the law being introduced today include:

•Making pay secrecy “gagging” clauses unenforceable. This will protect employees who choose to discuss their pay with each other for the purposes of uncovering discrimination.
•Extra protection for disabled people. The new law restricts the circumstances in which employers can ask job applicants questions about disability or health prior to offering them a position, making it more difficult for disabled people to be unfairly screened out.
•New powers for employment tribunals. Where an employment tribunal finds that an employer has discriminated against an employee, the tribunal will be allowed to make recommendations that could affect the whole workforce – for example, calling for harassment policies to be more effectively implemented – instead of being restricted to measures that will benefit the employee who brought the action.
•Extending protection from third party harassment to all protected characteristics, meaning employers have a responsibility to protect their staff, where possible, from harassment by customers.

Source: Government Equalities Office
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** Made in Dagenham - Is a dramatization of the 1968 strike at the Ford Dagenham car plant, where female workers walked out in protest against sexual discrimination. This walkout was instrumental in the Equal Pay Act 1970. The film stars Sally Hawkins, Miranda Richardson, Rosamund Pike and Jaime Winston. It is directed by Nigel Cole with Screeplay by Billy Ivory.

Equality & Human Rights Commission make a statement on new Eqality Act

The new Equality Act became law from the 1st October 2010. The act replaces most of the previous discrimination legislation.

The objective of the act is promoting equality for all by preventing discrimination under several protected characteristics Age, Disability, Gender Reassignment, Marriage and Civil Partnership, Pregnancy and Maternity, Race, Religion or Belief, Sex and Sexual Orientation. The Act applies to the provision of services as well as employment.

The Equality & Human Rights Commission issued a Press Release on the 1st October. "Commission statement on the implementation of the Equality Act 2010"

The majority of the Equality Act 2010 comes into force today, bringing together existing equality law into one place so that it is easier to understand and extending protection to some groups so that they are treated more fairly.

The Commission’s role, given to it by Parliament, is to help people understand equality law and to enforce it.

The new law protects everyone in Britain to some extent as people have several of the characteristics it covers, namely age, race, religion and belief, sex (meaning gender) and sexual orientation; and some people also have the protected characteristics of disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity.

Under the Act people are not allowed to discriminate, harass or victimise another person because they belong to a group that the Act protects, are thought to belong to one of those groups or are associated with someone who does.

Helen Hughes, interim Chief Executive of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said: “It’s more than just an Act. Simplifying equality legislation and extending protection to a wide range of groups that face discrimination will help Britain become a fairer society, improve public services, and help business perform well.

“For example, banning the use of pre-employment questionnaires under the new Equality Act could make it easier for veterans who have been recently disabled in the line of duty to get work; and protecting young mums from discrimination in school or college could mean they finish their education rather than drop out.

“It is also a reminder that treating people fairly protects organisations from costly discrimination claims.”

Detailed guidance to the new Equality Act is being rolled out by the Commission. The Commission is producing statutory guidance (“Codes of Practice”) for legal professionals and can be referred to in legal cases; and other guidance (“non-statutory guidance”) aimed at people who want to know how the law applies in different settings.

Source: The Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Who are a statutory body established under the Equality Act 2006, which took over the responsibilities of Commission for Racial Equality, Disability Rights Commission and Equal Opportunities Commission. It is the independent advocate for equality and human rights in Britain. It aims to reduce inequality, eliminate discrimination, strengthen good relations between people, and promote and protect human rights.

The Commission enforces equality legislation on age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation or transgender status, and encourages compliance with the Human Rights Act. It also gives advice and guidance to businesses, the voluntary and public sectors, and to individuals.

The Equality Act 2010 - Are you compliant? Find out here how jml Training can help your organisation

Equality Act may take employers by surprise

"Employers may be taken by surprise by Equality Act" is the headline on the 30th September on the British Chamber of Commerce website.

British business owners have been told to prepare for the impact of the Equality Act, due to come into force on Friday October 1.

Companies of all sizes will be affected by the legislation, which has been more than five years in the making, as it will raise a range of practical points for employers to consider to avoid the risks of discrimination claims by employees.

Rachel Dineley from law firm Beachcroft LLP, said: “The new Act has been a long time coming. Its fundamental purpose is to bring together all existing discrimination protection into a single Act, with a view to ensuring consistency and clarity over how employees and job applicants are protected against incidents of discrimination in the workplace.”

Some of the key issues of the Act include: an extension of discrimination law, the prohibition on employers asking job applicants questions about their health, and new laws that allow employees to freely discuss their pay with one another.

Beachcroft LLP has informed employers that any action they take against workers discussing pay will be unlawful victimisation.

They have warned that with the recent changes in government and current focus on cost cutting, employers may be taken by surprise as job applicants and employees take advantage of the revised protection provided by the Act.

Source: British Chamber of Commerce / Crimson Business Ltd

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nebusiness.co.uk - News - Features - Women can now make a NEWW move

nebusiness.co.uk - News - Features - Women can now make a NEWW move

The Equality Act 2010 - Are you compliant? Find out here how jml Training can help your organisation

Will the Equality Act to spark employee demand for pay rises?

According to "The Grapevineonline" 6th October 2010..."Equality Act to spark employee demand for pay rises"

The newly enforced ban on pay secrecy gagging clauses could result in a wave of employees demanding salary increases.

The Equality Act, which came into effect last Friday (1 October 2010), prevents organisations from enforcing contractual agreements that stop employees from discuss their pay with colleagues as long the conversation is intended to uncover instances of discrimination.

According to research from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), almost half (49%) of UK employees would demand a pay rise or quite look for a new job if they found out that colleagues which held positions at the same level were paid more than them.

Michael Rendell, Head of HR Consulting, PwC comments: “Although the provisions in the Equality Act banning gagging clauses were watered down considerably in the final drafting of the legislations, the new rules are put of the growing culture and regulatory drive for greater disclosure around pay.

“A further step in this direction will be the requirement also contained in the Equality Act for private sector employers with more than 250 employees to report their gender pay gap. This obligation is due to come into force in 2013, although it is possible it may happen sooner.”

Source: Grapevineonline - The Grapevine Magazine is published every month providing an insight into the world of talent management. It is the only publication dedicated to this unique and growing part of the HR market. Packed with features, case studies and specialist columns it is essential trade reading for both Practitioners and Supplier to this industry

The Equality Act 2010 - Are you compliant? Find out here how jml Training can help your organisation

Increase in discrimination claims when Equality Act comes into force?

"Businesses fear increase in discrimination claims when Equality Act comes into force" - Press Release - 1st October 2010

•Equality Act becomes law on 1 October 2010
•Three quarters of HR professionals predict increase in discrimination claims


According to new research from international law firm Eversheds, 75% of HR professionals surveyed fear that the Equality Act 2010, which comes into force on 1 October 2010, will lead to an increase in claims.


The research, which canvassed the opinions of over 200 HR professionals, also reveals that many employers (57%) have responded to these concerns by implementing training on the Act for managers or staff, or intend to do so. However, nearly a third (29%) had no plans to implement training.

Audrey Williams, head of discrimination law at Eversheds, comments:

“While the Equality Act is designed to streamline existing discrimination law, it also expands it in some areas. This explains why employers are concerned that they will see an increase in claims after the Equality Act becomes law on 1 October 2010.

“Most employers seem to recognise that one important way to protect themselves against claims is to train managers and staff so that they understand what is and isn’t considered acceptable. For example, the Act imposes new restrictions on what questions employers can ask about job candidates’ health. Anyone involved in the recruitment process needs to know about this change. Those employers who have yet to consider training should do so immediately.”

Nearly half (49%) of those who responded said their internal policies will be changed ahead of the Act coming into force in October, while a third (33%) didn’t intend to change their policies.

Audrey Williams comments:

“Many employers will have had to change their equality policies to reflect the fact that the Act increases the scope for organisations to be held liable if one of their employees is harassed by a third party, such as a customer, service user or supplier. Such policies should tell staff what to do if they feel they have been harassed and reassure them that their concerns will be taken seriously. For those who said they hadn’t changed their policies, it may be that they don’t have to as they already cover the relevant areas. That said, we would still recommend they check their existing policies to ensure they deal with the changes made by the Act.

“Depending on the nature of the employer’s activities, it might also be appropriate to specifically bring to the attention of clients, customers and commercial contacts that inappropriate behaviour towards staff will not be tolerated.”

The research also gives an insight into some of the more controversial aspects of the Act that are still under review, such as the provision for ‘positive action’

Audrey Williams comments:

“Perhaps the most contentious aspect of the Act is a provision for ‘positive action’ that would allow employers to recruit or promote employees because of their sex, race etc if they are 'as qualified as' other candidates. The coalition has, so far, declined to implement this part of the Act, and refuses to be drawn on when, if ever, it will take effect. Other types of positive action will, however, be allowed where it is aimed at remedying perceived disadvantage or underrepresentation. However, Eversheds’ survey suggests there is little appetite for this amongst employers, with only 7% saying they will definitely adopt some form of positive action.”

Another aspect of the Act that the coalition has held back from implementing concerns the publication of pay data. Under the Labour Government there was talk of requiring larger private sector employers to publish information about their gender pay gap, i.e. the difference in pay between male and female employees. With that in mind, the Act contains a section that would give Ministers power to introduce new regulations, at some future date, to make reporting compulsory.

Neither the Conservatives nor the Liberal Democrats were happy with this provision, albeit for different reasons. One option available to the coalition would be simply to bring the relevant section of the Act into effect without ever using the power to introduce regulations. By declining to implement this provision the coalition appears to be sending out a message that it does not think forcing employers to reveal what they pay to men and women is the solution to the stubborn problem of the gender pay gap.

Audrey Williams comments:

“Labour ministers had hoped that employers would voluntarily reveal information about their gender pay gap, promising further regulations only if voluntary reporting did not take off. However Eversheds’ survey suggests this may have been something of a pipe-dream, with only 13% of employers saying they will publish the data voluntarily.

The drive for pay transparency is also behind a provision in the Act that limits the effect of so-called ‘pay gagging clauses’, which are contract terms that seek to prevent employees discussing their pay. The Act limits the effect of such clauses by making them unenforceable against employees who discuss pay within the workplace with a view to finding out if there has been any unlawful discrimination in pay rates. However, Eversheds’ survey reveals that few employers are likely to be affected by this part of the Act. Less than one in 10 organisations surveyed by Eversheds currently has some form of contractual provision in place purporting to ban the discussion of pay, and of those, only a fifth (21%) say they intend to keep it post 1 October.

Audrey Williams concludes:

“So called ‘pay gagging clauses’ tend to be found in sectors such as financial services. Whilst there is no need for employers to abandon such clauses, managers do need to be aware that it won’t always be appropriate to take action against someone who has revealed details about their pay.

“This is an important piece of legislation, and employers need to fully up to speed with all the changes to avoid potential claims.”


The research was conducted in September 2010 among 237 HR professionals.

Tips for preparing for the Equality Act 2010


Employers can follow a number of simple steps to ensure they are prepared:

· Review existing policies in all areas of discrimination to ensure they are still relevant

· Ensure all employees with line manager and interviewing responsibilities have attended training so they know when to recognise discrimination and ensure they comply with the law

· Ensure all staff are trained so that they know what to do if they experience harassment or discrimination

· Depending on the nature of the employer’s activities, it might also be appropriate to specifically bring to the attention of clients, customers and commercial contacts that inappropriate behaviour towards staff will not be tolerated.

Source: Eversheds LLP: - Eversheds LLP and its world wide offices have over 4,500 people who provide services to the private and public sector business and finance community. Access to all these services is provided through 47 international offices in 29 jurisdictions. Eversheds combines local market knowledge and access with the specialisms, resources and international capability of one of the world’s largest law firms.

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There's no such word as can't! says Dr Peter Honey

Peter Honey: There's no such word as can't! - 21st September 2010

World famous Learning Styles 'guru' Dr Peter Honey certainly inspired and entertained members of the Charity Learning Consortium at its recent meeting, in a thought provoking presentation. Can you force someone to learn, when they don't want to? Should learning always be fun? And is the Learning Styles Questionnaire sufficient to help promote learning? These were just some of the conundrums that Peter Honey tackled.

Even the unwilling can be helped to learn, said Dr Peter Honey - world famous for his Learning Styles Questionnaire - at an entertaining and thought provoking presentation to members of the Charity Learning Consortium (CLC).

Dr Honey used the analogy of a horse to illustrate his point - turning the assumption that 'you can lead a horse to water, but cannot make it drink' on its head. You could, he suggested, make sure the horse was really thirsty, perhaps ensure there were plenty of other horses drinking already to entice the horse to join them, or make the water somehow more attractive to a horse!

"You can't force horses to drink, but you can make it as easy as possible for them to do so," he said. Equally - he pointed out - you can maximise the probability of learning by engineering a successful learning environment.

Dr Honey challenged assumptions in this way several times - perhaps surprisingly stating that "of course the learning style questionnaire isn't sufficient on its own to promote effective learning" - as a learner's motivation, external pressures and their environment are all not taken into account (back to the analogy of the horse).

Another strongly held belief - that learning should be fun - was also challenged: "I've never bought into the idea that every learning experience should be jolly," he said. Don't we in fact learn from mistakes (which can be painful), and could there not be richer learning through adversity, he suggested?

"There is no correlation between the popularity of something, and how much you learn! If it's not so enjoyable you may have to put more effort in, and ultimately learn more as a result." But he recommended using a 'force and support' principal - if you are going to 'enforce' learning - for whatever reason - make sure there is support.

Peter Honey's memorable presentation was just one of the highlights of the CLC's members' meeting last week. At the initial roundtable introductions, one member commented "I come here to learn from everyone else, steal your ideas, go back to work and gain the glory for myself!"

Exchanging ideas is certainly one of the Consortium's strengths. More than 70 charities have joined the Consortium, which provides them all with access to a range of eLearning - including Microsoft Office, Personal Development and Leadership & Management. Initially charities may join because of the cost savings on offer, but they also benefit from networking with others working in L&D in the Third Sector, within an exclusive online group, and at quarterly members' meetings.

The CLC members' meetings are the perfect place to gain valuable feedback on projects, network, and learn together. High profile speakers like Peter Honey and Donald Taylor Chairman of the Learning and Skills Group and the Learning Technologies conference, have recently brought a new dimension to the debate. Workshop-style sessions with Laura Overton - Managing Director of Towards Maturity and winner of this year's Colin Corder award for services to IT training - have also been invaluable sources of inspiration, helping members progress their organisations on their L&D journeys. We wait to hear tales of glory...

More information about the Charity Learning Consortium

Formed in 2001 by six charities looking to share learning resources, the Charity Learning Consortium (CLC) now has more than 70 member organisations and continues to grow from strength to strength. The CLC provides members with a large portfolio of eLearning, offers networking opportunities and a place to discuss best practice in the voluntary sector. Members have access to an online networking tool; shared member resources and eLearning documentation. They may also be invited to attend quarterly member meetings (dependent on subscription level) to discuss developments, take part in free workshops and watch member presentations on their challenges and successes in implementing eLearning. Find out more at www.charitylearning.org

Source: Charity Learning Consortium