The consultation closes on 27 October 2026. For employers, this is not simply another standalone consultation to keep an eye on. It forms part of a wider direction of travel under the Government’s Make Work Pay agenda and the Employment Rights Act 2025, with increasing emphasis being placed on transparency, accountability and fair treatment at work.
The consultation is aimed at strengthening the existing equal pay framework, which the Government has described as complex, costly and slow for both workers and employers. The Office for Equality and Opportunity (OEO) has said it is seeking views on how equal pay protections can be made more effective for ethnic minority and disabled workers.
As part of its reform agenda, the Government is intending to establish an equal pay regulation and enforcement unit, including with the involvement of trade unions, and to consider how the law should respond where outsourcing arrangements are used in a way that avoids equal pay obligations.
The OEO has published its findings from its call for evidence on equality law that ran from April to June 2026 and which received 176 submissions. This concluded that pay discrimination persists across sex, race, and disability boundaries, with a range of structural disparities and inequalities at their root. These included occupational segregation, differences in valuing roles, and the availability of flexible working.
The first phase of reform is aimed at bringing pay issues into the open earlier. One of the headline proposals is a requirement for employers to disclose salary information in job adverts or before interview. That would be a significant cultural shift for many UK employers, particularly where pay has historically been treated as confidential or negotiated individually.
The practical implications could be considerable. Once pay information is more visible, applicants and existing employees may be more likely to question why roles are paid differently, why individuals sit at different points within a salary band, or why advertised salaries exceed current employee pay. Employers will therefore need to be able to explain and evidence their approach to pay.
The consultation also proposes bringing back a statutory questionnaire process, allowing individuals to ask formal questions about pay and potential comparators before deciding whether to bring a claim. Even if responses are not compulsory, an inadequate or evasive response may be taken into account by a tribunal. Employers should therefore ensure that pay decisions are capable of being justified by clear, objective and contemporaneous evidence.
The proposed Equal Pay Regulatory and Enforcement Unit may also change the enforcement landscape. If the unit is given powers to require disclosure, review job evaluation arrangements or monitor compliance, equal pay risk will no longer depend solely on individual employees raising claims. Employers should expect closer scrutiny of pay structures and should take steps now to identify and address any unexplained disparities.
The second phase of reform addresses a long–standing inconsistency in the current legal framework. Sex-based pay discrimination is dealt with through the distinct equal pay regime, whereas race and disability pay claims are generally brought as ordinary discrimination claims, with different remedies and evidential rules.
The Government is seeking views on how protections can be “levelled up” across sex, race and disability. However, the consultation does not appear to envisage race and disability pay claims being placed within exactly the same legislative structure as gender-based equal pay claims.
In practice, reforms could involve tribunals being given power to modify contractual terms and order equal pay audits following successful race or disability pay claims. Claimants may also be able to rely on comparators whose work is rated as equivalent or of equal value. The consultation is less clear on whether employers would have access to a material factor defence in the same way as they do in existing equal pay claims, so this will be an important point for employers to watch as the proposals develop.
Although the equal pay proposals are still at consultation stage, employers do not need to wait for the final legislation before taking sensible preparatory steps. In particular, employers may wish to review whether pay bands, bonuses, allowances and progression criteria are clearly documented and consistently applied. Where pay differences exist between comparable roles, employers should consider whether those differences can be objectively explained and evidenced, rather than assuming that historic pay practices will withstand scrutiny.
Recruitment practices should also be reviewed. If greater pay transparency is introduced, employers may need to be more open about salary information at an earlier stage of the recruitment process. Even before any legal requirement comes into force, clearer pay information can help improve consistency, reduce the risk of challenge and build trust with applicants and existing employees.
Employers who rely on outsourced workers or complex labour supply chains should also keep the consultation under review. If the Government proceeds with reforms aimed at preventing outsourcing from being used to avoid equal pay obligations, organisations may need to consider whether their contractual arrangements and workforce structures could attract closer scrutiny.
The equal pay consultation is another reminder that employment law reform is moving towards greater transparency and stronger enforcement. For employers, the key point is preparation. Those who take time now to understand their pay practices, identify potential disparities and document the reasons for pay decisions will be better placed to respond as the reforms develop, and less exposed if greater transparency brings existing pay practices under closer challenge.
Laura Salmond, Partner: lis@bto.co.uk / 0141 673 6117
Morgan Francis, Trainee Solicitor (Author of article): mfr@bto.co.uk / 0131 222 2936
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