The most likely explanation for the anomalies identified in the gender pay reports published so far is the fact that, whilst well-intentioned, the Regulations and accompanying guidance leave many of the most important questions unanswered. Organisations are finding themselves forced to navigate their own way through the requirements.
One in 20 UK companies that have submitted gender pay gap data to the government have reported numbers that are statistically improbable and therefore almost certainly inaccurate, a Financial Times analysis has found.
Sixteen companies, each with more than 250 employees, reported that they paid their male and female staff exactly the same, that is they had a zero average gender pay gap measured by both the mean and median.