Mandatory equal pay reporting shelved

Businesses will not be required to publish the pay gap between male and female employees, despite the clause in the Equality Act which makes this possible, the government has said.The Equality Act, passed under the previous Labour administration, contained an enabling clause that if firms did not reduce the gender pay gap by voluntary means, then mandatory equal pay reporting could be introduced in 2013.However, equalities minister Lynne Featherstone yesterday confirmed that this would not happen and that the coalition government were committed to a voluntary approach.