Only a fifth of Irish employers believe they have made significant progress on the outstanding issues around the European Union’s pay transparency directive, a new survey carried out on behalf of legal firm Mason Hayes and Curran has found.
More than half say they do not currently disclose salaries when posting recruitment ads and are not comfortable with staff members discussing their pay with colleagues.
The pay transparency directive was due to have been implemented in full in Irish law by early June of this year but the Department of Children and Equality said at that time it was still working to finalise some of the detailed legislative changes required to give effect to to it and so the new regulations are to be introduced “on a phased basis” expected to stretch into next year.
The Government maintains, however, that much of the directive has already been transposed into law here with measures like gender pay gap reporting already in place for several years.
Employers’ groups said the uncertainty regarding the regulatory changes was making it difficult for their members to make the preparations required for a smooth transition while trade unions said the delays meant those intended to benefit from the changes were missing out.
Under the terms of the directive, employers will need to inform prospective employees of the pay or pay range for particular roles in advance of any interviews and they will not be permitted to ask the interviewees about their salary history.
Employees will be allowed to ask for a breakdown by gender of pay for those performing similar roles or work of similar value.
Where gender pay gaps for such groups persistently exceed 5 per cent, the employer would be required to consult with unions or other employees representatives on the measures required to address the situation.
Where claims for pay discrimination are made in workplaces that do not meet the directive’s transparency requirements, the burden would shift to the employer to show there had been no discrimination.
The new research indicates that just 20 per cent of employers believe the changes will have a positive impact on their workplaces, down from 31 per cent four months ago.
Almost half of those surveyed (48 per cent), listed the job evaluation and grading process as the greatest challenge presented by the directive while 27 per cent said legal interpretation of the new rules and 25 per cent, the data and systems requirements involved.
Just 20 per cent of employers said they always post salaries in jobs ads at present with the same proportion believing the new regulations will have a positive impact.
Almost two thirds (61 per cent) said they had made some progress on the issues involved but 19 per cent said they have yet to prepare in any way.
“The legislative timeline in Ireland has slowed, but the compliance requirements haven’t changed, and employers will face significant internal restructuring once domestic law lands,” said Catherine O’Flynn, partner in employment law and benefits at Mason Hayes and Curran.
“We’re working with clients now to classify roles, build job frameworks and ensure that pay decisions are based on objective criteria. Organisations that start that work today will avoid a last minute scramble once the legislation is published.”