British charity Business in the Community (BITC) has called on the UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Leader of the Opposition Kier Starmer to implement mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting as a “matter of urgency”. In an open letter, the organisation, which promises responsible business and corporate responsibility, recommended that the government introduce mandatory reporting by for UK firms with more than 250 employees. It also called out the government for failing to introduce mandatory ethnic pay gap reporting after the Women and Equalities Select Committee held an inquiry in 2022 advising it to by April 2023. In 2017, the McGregor-Smith Review found that if diverse ethnic talent is fully utilised, it could boost the UK economy by £24 billion (US$29 billion). BITC named London-headquartered insurer Aviva and supermarket chain Sainsbury’s among examples of employers who are currently publishing their ethnicity pay gaps. “Currently, there are just over 888,000 employees who are employed by companies that publish their ethnicity pay gap which is less than 3% of the entire UK workforce,” the BITC letter said. “Mandatory reporting is the only way that we can ensure that workplaces are one step closer to being equal for everyone, regardless of background.”
📢We’re calling on @RishiSunak & @Keir_Starmer to work together to introduce mandatory #EthnicityPayGap reporting for UK employers with over 250 employees. Utilising diverse talent could boost the economy by £36bn by 2051. Read the full story: https://t.co/K1710yyOEm #inclusion pic.twitter.com/ZACtBtwK22
— Business in the Community (@BITC) March 13, 2023
