VTCT has released its gender pay gap report.
The importance of transparency is recognised across the organisation and the opportunity to voluntarily, publically report on gender pay gap is welcomed.
VTCT and iTEC are committed to ensuring that personnel are recruited, selected, monitored and can progress within the organisation in a fair and equitable manner, based on their relevant attributes, skills, experience and performance only as required by the Equality Act 2010. This commitment to equality and fairness is equally applied when selecting contractors who perform a personal service.
When reading this report it is important to understand the difference between the gender pay gap and equal pay. Inequality of pay is unlawful whilst a gender pay gap is not. The Equality & Human Rights Commission describes the difference between the two as:
‘Whilst both equal pay and the gender gap deal with the disparity of pay women receive in the workplace, they are two different issues:
1) Equal pay means that men and women in the same employment performing equal work must receive equal pay, as set out in the Equality Act 2010.
2) The gender pay gap is a measure of the difference between men’s and women’s average earnings across an organisation or the labour market. It is expressed as a percentage of men’s earnings.’1
The gender pay gap is not within the direct control of the organisation but taking action to try and address any gap is.