Not enough firms 'publish gender pay gap data'
Less than one in 10 firms publish gender pay gap information, so face a "significant challenge" in meeting planned new reporting requirements, a study has shown.
Research by the EEF manufacturers organisation found that less than a third of companies were prepared for the move to publish data, currently being consulted on by the Government.
Only a third of the 100 companies surveyed said they had held a pay audit in the last five years, while almost half said they did not have an official pay scale.
Tim Thomas, of the EEF, said: "The good news is that many firms recognise gender pay gap reporting requirements as an opportunity to improve their systems and to benchmark themselves against peers and other industries.
"The bad news is that, if asked for the data today, it's clear that the majority of manufacturing and engineering firms would struggle to provide it.
"Not only are there significant gaps in many firms' pay processes and systems that will make providing accurate and robust information a real challenge, but there is also a real concern that gender pay gap reporting could reflect poorly on industries with low numbers of skilled female workers."
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