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UK top companies have reached a "major milestone" in increasing the number of women in their boardrooms, but more needs to be done, according to the Davies report. There are now no all-male boards in FTSE 100 companies says the report's author, former trade minister Lord Davies, as FTSE 100 firms met a voluntary target of 25 per cent of women board members. But he says this should now be replaced by a new target of 33 per cent of women board members at FTSE 350 firms by 2020.
Commenting from an employment law perspective, [Client to Confirm] at ELAS Group, says: “The ‘steady and sustained’ increase in female representation at boardroom level demonstrated within the findings of this report is encouraging. However, as Lord Davies rightly states, more needs to be done.
“Although it is promising to see revised targets set in order to continue the trajectory of the progress already made, there are still more steps that firms and the Government could be taking to ensure equality across all business functions – from representation throughout the business, to maternity and paternity rights through to equal pay and bonus pay.
“As an example, last year companies with 250 employees or more were asked to volunteer information on staff pay as per the Equality Act 2010. With more than 200 companies signing up, this initiative seemed to be a positive step towards equality from both the Government and businesses. However, to date, only four firms have published the required information about staff pay. This has been missed opportunity to drive change at an earlier date and a setback to achieving equality in business, and as a consequence, the Government has announced plans for the mandatory publication of staff pay information.
“Unfortunately, discrimination remains a reality in the UK with cases regularly brought against employers. Those employers who are discriminating, particularly when it comes to wages due to a host of new laws, are leaving themselves increasingly at risk. Mandatory pay reporting sends a clear message to employers and although only applicable to large companies, there is a hopeful assumption that good practice will breed good practice.
“From a legal standpoint, businesses must ensure that any discrepancy is justifiable, including with bonus pay following recent changes. This new legislation is likely to uncover gender pay gaps that are not, which could prove to be extremely costly for employers. In fact, the amount of compensation a victim of discrimination can claim against their employer on the grounds of discrimination is uncapped with the largest ever pay-out to an employee in a race and discrimination case standing at £4.5 million.
“Any initiative that tries to close the gender pay gap while highlighting the importance of fair pay is a positive step and it will be interesting to observe the difference this policy might make over the coming years.”
