New rules for reporting gender pay by employers with more than 250 employees will come into force on 1 October 2016.

The regulations will require larger employers to publish the mean and median pay between male and female employees using data from each 12 month paid period starting with the period ending 30 April 2017.

The provided information will also relate to bonuses and other forms of long-term incentive payment.

Employers will need to publish the following:

• Differences in relation to the relevant pay period in both mean (average) pay and median pay – include basic pay, paid leave, maternity pay, sick pay and car allowances
• Differences in mean bonus pay between male and female employees and those who have received bonus pay – including payments from profit sharing, productivity and other bonuses
• The numbers of male and employees in each pay band – including overall pay range based on the gross hourly rate of pay in order of increased value.

Reporting must be accurate and published on the employer’s website for at least 3 years then published to a government sponsored website.

All publications must be done annual within 12 months of 30 April each year.

Nicky Morgan, former secretary of state for education, commented on launch of the initial consultation documents in February 2016:

“These regulations are only one element of our strategy to tackle the complex drivers of the pay gap, and we are committed to promoting gender equality.

“This government will ensure that women are given the support they need to progress from the classroom to the boardroom.”