Businesses, workers, trade unions and civil society organisations across Great Britain are being invited to help shape government reforms to the equal pay system.
The government has launched a 15-week consultation after publishing pay discrimination-related findings from a call for evidence on equality law, alongside wider research. It said the evidence showed the existing pay equality framework had become too complex, costly and slow.
Ministers said thousands of claims are stuck in the system, with proceedings in courts and tribunals often taking decades to resolve. The government said neither workers nor employers benefit from the current arrangements.
The consultation is seeking views on how to strengthen equal pay provisions and eliminate pay discrimination. The government said pay discrimination persists for ethnic minority and disabled people, women and outsourced workers despite existing legal protections.
Issues under consideration include making the right to equal pay effective for ethnic minority and disabled people, establishing an equal pay regulation and enforcement unit with trade union involvement, and preventing outsourcing from being used to avoid equal pay obligations.
The government said the reforms are intended to support greater equality in workplaces, help businesses find the right people for roles and encourage employers to act in good faith. Ministers said views from businesses, unions and civil society would inform the detail of the approach.