A survey by workplace expert Acas has found that 20% of workers in manufacturing believe women do not get paid as much as men at their organisation.
Across all sectors, that number rises to more than one-third of women (36%) believing they are not paid the same as their male counterparts.
The YouGov survey was commissioned by Acas to mark International Equal Pay Day (18th of September) to survey perceptions of pay equality.
By law, men and women must get equal pay for doing ‘equal work’. Acas’s individual dispute resolution service, Early Conciliation, which helps to resolve potential employment tribunal claims, saw a 34% increase between 2022/23 and 2023/24.
Acas Head of Inclusive Workplaces Julie Dennis said:
“Having an equal pay policy can help bosses be open and clear with their staff about how they achieve equal pay and how they will resolve any pay issues. “This can help tackle any perceptions that men are being paid more than women and help ensure employers are not breaking the law. “Women doing equal work to their male colleagues should not be paid less and employers should be consistent when deciding people’s pay and contractual terms and conditions.”
Acas has advice for employers on setting equal pay policies, and performing an “equal pay audit” if businesses have more than 50 employees. An “equal pay review” is for businesses that have fewer than 50 staff to check for potential issues. Employees who believe they are not receiving equal pay should talk to their employer to try to resolve the issue. Acas also provides advice on raising the issue formally as a grievance and making an equal pay claim.
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size for employers was 1025 employees. Fieldwork was undertaken between 29th August – 9th September 2024. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of British business size and region.
Participants were asked: Do you think that women get equal pay with men for doing the same work in your organisation?
The results were:
Manufacturing
Yes, they do 64%
No, they don’t 20%
Don’t know 16%
Overall
Yes, they do 64%
No, they don’t 22%
Don’t know 15%
Male
Yes, they do 77%
No, they don’t 10%
Don’t know 13%
Female
Yes, they do 48%
No, they don’t 36%
Don’t know 13%
Equal Pay Early Conciliation cases:
2022-23 1,135
2023-24 1,519