The long-awaited rules on gender pay reporting are expected to come into force in April 2017. The Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017 apply to all U.K. private and voluntary sector employers with 250 or more employees. The information that must be disclosed is potentially extremely revealing, so affected companies are focusing on the legislation as a priority.

The report must include four types of information:

• Overall gender pay gap
• Numbers of male and female employees in each of four pay bands
• Gender bonus gap
• Proportion of male and female employees who received a bonus in a 12-month period

Employers can also add a voluntary narrative that provides context, explains any pay gaps, and sets out what actions will be taken to narrow the gap. The report must be published on the company’s website and remain available for three years. It must also be uploaded to a government website.

This legislation was expected, but it is still raising alarm bells for large employers who are concerned about their employee data. The calculations in the legislation are complex but allow a degree of flexibility, so companies are keen to ensure their data is presented in the most positive way.