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The City is set for a massive pay shake-up and the end of the “cultural secrecy” surrounding bonuses following the Government's publication of its new Equality Bill.
That is the view of employment lawyers after the Bill controversially launched “equal pay audits” to ensure firms treat staff fairly and not leave themselves open to sex discrimination claims or other inequality suits.
Not only do women in the City get paid on average 17% less than male counterparts, their bonuses are nearly 50% lower than the payouts to men, figures show.
Julie Morris of employment lawyers Russell Jones & Walker said: “It is amazing the cultural secrecy has continued for so long given bonuses are a massive part of City pay. The new equal pay audits should introduce transparency allowing employees to check whether they are being paid fairly.”
Audits for firms with more than 250 staff will increase employment costs, the Institute of Directors argues. “This is a further example of unnecessary regulation at a time particularly when many businesses are struggling to survive,” said the IoD's Miles Templeman.
He added: “Directors take the equality agenda extremely seriously. This is a retrograde step that will do little to tackle the discrimination problem.”
Reader views (2)
A last gasp effort to get womens votes. However the women around me find this proposed legislation demeaning and ill thought.
- Dave Davies, Basingstoke
When all the self righteous huffing and puffing is done this is just another Nu Labor PC waste of time. Look at where the big bonuses are earned, Prop Trading Desks, front line M&A bankers, Hedge Funder partners, leading Fund Mangagers. Very few women in these jobs for two simple reasons. Firstly they are mega stress and huge committment jobs which take everything out of the people doing them. No time for "relationships", secondly talent. If women had these talents they would get the job and the pay or else they walk elsewhere, the human capital mobility factor in markets does what PC laws never will do. All these laws do is further stifle London as a centre for financial innovation and line the lawyers and civil,service jobsworths pockets. Utter waste of time.
- James Macleod Ritchie, Oyster Bay Cove
