Find out what's meant by fair pay, what pay information UK employers must disclose by law and the opportunities pay narratives bring
The UK has introduced rules to ensure organisations treat people fairly, including workers, customers, and investors. For example, employers must treat employees fairly in how they manage and reward them. Big companies also have to publish pay specific gender pay gap data.
This factsheet looks at pay fairness, including equal pay and differences between high and low pay. It explains what companies have to report, including gender pay gaps, and shows how sharing pay stories can help employers prove they’re being fair.
Explore our stances on low pay and financial wellbeing and executive pay in more detail, along with actions for government and recommendations for employers.
In the UK, the Office for Equality and Opportunity (OEO) has issued revised guidance concerning gender pay gap reporting. We are working to update this content to reflect this revised guidance.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 will make it compulsory for employers with 250+ employees (so those employers already reporting gender pay gap statistics) to develop and publish equality action plans. This requirement is expected to come into force in 2027, with voluntary publication being encouraged from 6 April 2026. The Act also allows for regulations to be made to require that outsourced individuals be included in pay reports. It is expected that these regulations will be made in 2027.
The Equality (Race and Disability) Bill, if enacted, will also make ethnicity and disability pay reporting compulsory for employers with at least 250 employees. The Bill also proposed to extend the right to make equal pay claims based on race and disability status. Keep up to date with the latest on these changes with our tracker of potential law changes.
This factsheet outlines the current requirements around pay reporting that can still be followed until any changes come into force. We will update this page once any changes are brought into force.
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Explore the CIPD's detailed analyses of 2025/2026 gender pay gap reporting in the UK and Northern Ireland, updated in May 2026. CIPD members can also download these datasets to benchmark and compare your organisation's performance against national data.
Stay up to date with the latest pay intentions among employers in the UK, with data analysis from the CIPD's Labour Market Outlook report. CIPD members can also download the data for use in your internal organisational benchmarking, discussions, and business cases.
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