Statutory guidance

Overview

Updated 9 January 2024

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

The gender pay gap is the difference between the average pay of men and women in an organisation.

Any employer with 250 or more employees on a specific date each year must report their gender pay gap data.

Find out who needs to report their gender pay gap information.

You can search and compare gender pay gap data for a specific company or sector.

If you have to report your data

Read more about:

• when to report
• preparing your data
• making your calculations

What to report

When you have made your calculations, you must report your data on the gender pay gap service. 

You will also need to publish your gender pay gap information on your own website – or your intranet or parent company’s website, if you do not have a website. Tell your employees where they can find this information, and keep it online for at least 3 years.

You may also need to submit or publish:

• a written statement
• a supporting narrative
• an action plan

Written statement

If you are in the private or voluntary sector, upload a written statement when you submit your gender pay gap information. 

Your written statement must confirm that the information you have submitted is accurate. An ‘appropriate person’ – usually a director, partner or senior officer – must sign it.

Most public authority employers do not need to do this. Work out which type of employer you are.

Supporting narrative

All employers can choose to publish a supporting narrative on their website. This helps people to understand:

• why you think you have a gender pay gap
• what action you have taken to analyse and close it

Your supporting narrative could include:

• a more detailed analysis of your gender pay gap, and explanations for each of the figures in your report 
• information about what you have already done to close your gap
• reasons why some actions may take a while to affect your gap
• workforce statistics, to give a clearer picture of why your gap exists

Action plan

All employers can choose to publish their action plan on their website.

An action plan to close your gender pay gap will help you to:

• understand the reasons behind your gender pay gap
• know which actions to take
• track what is working to close your gap

If you fail to report your data

It is against the law to fail to report your gender pay gap data by the deadline.

It is your responsibility to determine if you must report gender pay gap information.

Penalties

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) may take enforcement action if you do not report on time, or report inaccurate data. This can lead to court orders and fines.

You can read more about EHRC’s litigation and enforcement policy.

The gender pay gap is different from equal pay. Equal pay is covered by the Equality Act 2010, and requires employers to pay men and women the same for work of equal value. Read more about equal pay and the law on the Acas website.

Reputational risk

You will get a ‘late badge’ on the gender pay gap service if you fail to report and publish your data for any year you had to. The late badges are visible to the public.

If you need support and advice

You can get advice on managing your gender pay gap from Acas.

Email the Equality Hub at [email protected] if you:

• need help with technical difficulties, managing your account, or using the gender pay gap service

• use an assistive technology, such as a screen reader, and cannot access all or part of the service

We cannot give case-by-case guidance on how you should calculate your gender pay gap or interpret the regulations.

If the available guidance does not cover your questions, get professional advice.