Employment law changes will combat unequal pay, says Harriet Harman

Posted 13/11/2009

Harriet Harman has pledged the government’s support to combating pay discrimination against women with forthcoming employment law changes.

The minister for women and equality stated that moves towards greater transparency over salaries, as outlined in the Equality Bill, will help to secure more equitable treatment for female workers.

This comes after the Office for National Statistics published new figures showing that the pay gap between men and women in the private sector now stands at 28.8 per cent.

Ms Harman described the findings as “disappointing” and welcomed the role the Equality Bill will play in “shining a spotlight on gender pay discrimination”.

She added: “Employers will no longer be able to rely on keeping their pay structure secret.”

Earlier this week, professional services firm KPMG expressed concern that too many private employers in the UK are currently failing to conduct audits to address the gender pay gap in their companies.