The Government has today published its ‘Inclusive Britain’ plan in response to the report by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, in which it has agreed with the Commission not to make ethnicity pay reporting mandatory. It does, however, commit to publishing guidance on voluntary reporting this summer and agrees with the recommendation that companies that do report should publish an accompanying diagnosis of its data and an action plan of what will be done to tackle disparities.  

Ben Willmott, head of public policy at the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development comments:  

The Government has missed an opportunity to tackle racial discrimination and inequality in the workplace by failing to introduce mandatory ethnicity pay reporting. Unfortunately, we know from previous schemes that a voluntary approach will not help drive the changes that are needed in many organisations.  

“Diversity and inclusion strategies are increasingly a key focus for many organisations. However, it will be extremely hard to fully assess any impact and drive positive change without monitoring and reporting on data.  

"Ethnicity pay reporting can highlight where inequalities exist in an organisation and consequently where to target changes to policies and practices. 

"In the absence of legislation, the CIPD will work with the Government to support the development of official guidance to try and maximise the adoption of voluntary ethnicity pay reporting. We will also support the new Inclusion at Work panel and the development and dissemination of evidence-based resources and training for employers to tackle bias and promote fairness at work."

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