Why have so many companies with the worst gender pay gaps changed their figures?

Women's underwear store Boux Avenue has the worst gender pay gap in the UK - but that dubious honour has belonged to no fewer than four firms over the past week as companies scrambled to amend their figures.

As the deadline for companies to publish their gender pay gaps came and went on Wednesday, the Press Association reported lists of the top 10 firms with the worst gender pay gaps.

But during that time at least six companies who at some point had been in the list of worst offenders revised their figures. Why?

Rainham Industrial Services Limited: 95.5% to 48.8%

The industrial services company calculated their figures as a proportion of female pay rather than a proportion of male pay. So, they worked out that men earn almost double women on average (95.5%) rather than reporting that women earn almost half what men do (48.8%).

NWN Media: 85.2% to -85.2%

The local newspaper company, which runs a host of regional titles in Wales, said an incorrect entry on the Government website led to their gender pay gap being reported as 85.2% in favour of men, rather than the real figure, which is in favour of women.

Millwall Holdings: 80.0% to 0.0%

The parent company of Millwall Football Club said it miscalculated its original figures, which put it as the firm with the worst gender pay gap in the UK at the 11.59pm deadline on Wednesday.

However, its mean gender pay gap is 159.0%, which the club says is because of its highly-paid male professional football players.

In a statement, the club said: "Having been listed in the 'top 10 worst offenders', the club has reviewed its calculations provided to the government and has noted an error in both mean and median metrics."

GoToDoc: 77.0% to -21.8%

GTD healthcare runs GP practices and provides urgent care and out-of-hours dental services in north-west England.

Their original gender pay gap statistics included the wages of its out-of-hours GPs, many of whom work overnight. A spokesman said that because they are self-employed staff, and paid on a gross basis rather than on a PAYE salary, GTD felt they were not comparing like-with-like, and so were removed from the data.

He added that most of the overnight GPs are male, saying: "Out-of-hours primary care is an environment across the country which tends to attract more men."

CB and I UK: 75.1% to 38.8%

CB and I UK, who provide technology and infrastructure to the energy industry, has been contacted for comment on why their details have changed.

Fosse Healthcare: 69.8% to 20.6%

A home care and healthcare service provider to the public and private sectors, Fosse Healthcare operates in the East Midlands. They have been contacted for comment on why their figures have been amended.

Meanwhile at the other end of the spectrum...

Earlier in the week luxury skincare brand Elemis were reporting a gender pay gap of 111.4% in favour of women, the largest gap in the country, which has now been changed to 0.9%. They have also been contacted for comment.

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