Make ethnicity pay gap reporting mandatory - PDA urges Labour government

Ethnicity Pay Gap Campaign - Employers are encouraged to pay their staff fair and equal wages regardless of race or ethnicity 

Marking Ethnicity Pay Gap Day 2025 today (January 8), the Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has highlighted the need for clear and transparent pay structures.

The trade union is calling on the government to make ethnicity pay gap reporting mandatory, similar to the existing requirements for gender pay gap reporting.

The PDA BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) Network and the wider PDA have long campaigned for the introduction of compulsory ethnicity pay gap reporting for organisations with 250 or more staff.

Despite these efforts, the previous government announced in July 2023 that it would not implement such measures.

With the new Labour government now in place, the PDA is renewing its call for the inclusion of mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting in the proposed Employment Rights Bill.

Lola Dabiri, president of the PDA BAME Network, emphasised the importance of addressing pay disparities.

He said, “The injustice of individuals being paid less because of their ethnicity, is something that we all know happens at some employers, and pay gap reporting is the accepted way to identify such issues.”

Statistics from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) show that individuals from Black, Asian, or Ethnic Minority (BAME) backgrounds earn, on average, 89p for every £1 earned by their white counterparts.

Paul Day, PDA director of membership and communities, reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to tackling inequality in all forms.

He encourages pharmacy employers with more than 250 staff to "monitor and report ethnicity pay gaps in advance of it becoming compulsory to do so, just as they are already required to do for gender pay gap reporting.”

He noted that larger pharmacy employers, with well-resourced HR departments, are well-positioned to undertake this task.

“Having a pay gap does not necessarily mean it has been deliberately created, but unless the workforce’s pay is monitored for the possibility it may exist, then any such gaps will continue unchecked,” Day stated.

“Even if these larger employers choose not to report publicly on ethnicity pay gaps before it becomes a requirement, they could still commence the necessary data collection and analysis now which would inform them about the issue and allow them to begin to fix things sooner,” he added.

The PDA has four Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Networks that provide a platform for members to work together to address discrimination and promote fair and equal wages.

The PDA's EDI Networks include the PDA BAME Network, the PDA LGBT+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender pharmacists) Network, the PDA Ability (disabled pharmacists) Network, and the PDA NAWP (National Association of Women Pharmacists) Network.

The Ethnicity Pay Gap campaign is hosting its second summit on 7 February 2025 in association with the Fawcett Society, of which the PDA NAWP Network is a member.