Gender pay gap dealt a blow by new UK law, as companies must now publish salary differences

On 6 April, a new UK law was introduced requiring larger companies to publish their pay gap figures before April 2018.

Companies with more than 250 employees are now required to publicly declare their company pay gap, with full breakdowns of the pay difference between male and female employees in various salary bands, and between the bonuses those companies give to men and women.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission will be enforcing the law, ensuring that over 9,000 UK companies comply. In total, the law looks to affect 15 million employees. However the Financial Times found the lack of a penalty makes the law seem more like a partnership with businesses rather than an implementation of punishments for those who do not comply.

The impact of the law could be significant. The gender pay gap currently stands at 9.4 percent for full-time staff in the UK. But there's a long way to go, particularly if companies will not face penalties for not complying.