United Kingdom: government decides against compulsory ethnicity pay gap reporting for companies

The UK government has no intention of forcing large companies to disclose their ethnicity pay gap, despite prior promises from the Conservatives and widespread calls for such a requirement. This unexpected stance was revealed by the government on 17 March, in its response to a report by the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Disparity, published last year, which sparked controversy by – in the view of its critics – downplaying the effects of institutional racism. Instead the government has unveiled its so-called “Inclusive Britain” action plan, which encourages companies to publish their ethnicity pay gap on a voluntary basis.