ERA 2025: Gender Pay Gap Reporting — What Has Changed

Gender pay gap reporting has been mandatory for large employers since 2017. The Employment Rights Act 2025 does not replace that regime — it strengthens it. The key additions are: a requirement to provide a narrative alongside the numbers, and the introduction of equality action plans (for employers with 250+ staff) as a companion publication.

The narrative requirement matters. Publishing a pay gap figure without context is now insufficient. You must explain what is driving the gap — whether it is occupational segregation, part-time working patterns, or a particular pipeline issue at senior levels — and what you are doing about it. Tribunal and EHRC guidance both indicate that a gap accompanied by a credible explanation and a clear plan is treated differently from one published with no context.

Mellow's pay equity analysis calculates your gender pay gap across mean, median, and quartile splits. The data is exportable in the format required for the government's reporting service. More importantly, it gives you the analysis to write a genuinely explanatory narrative — not just the number, but an understanding of where it comes from.