Sarah Johnson analyses employees gagging for a pay discussion
Gagging staff will become more difficult next month, at least where pay discussions are concerned. Some contracts include pay secrecy terms. However, these could prevent someone discovering whether they are paid less for discriminatory reasons.
When the Equality Act 2010 (the Act) comes into force on 1 October 2010, reliance on gagging clauses will be restricted. The Act does not ban gagging clauses altogether, but a clause will be unenforceable if it seeks to prevent a “relevant pay disclosure”. The intention is to ensure greater workplace transparency and dialogue about pay. “Pay” could cover salary, bonus and other benefits, such as pension.
Under s 77 of the Act, a term of a person’s work that purports to prevent or restrict that person (P) from: (i) disclosing or seeking to disclose information about the terms of P’s work is unenforceable against P in so far as P makes or seeks to make a relevant pay disclosure to colleagues or third parties, or (ii) seeking disclosure of information from a colleague about the terms of the colleague’s
