To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking regarding reports of stagnant pay progression for part-time workers, particularly with regard to the gender pay gap.
Answered on
19 February 2018
The majority of part-time workers are women, especially mothers of young children, and they often choose part-time work in order to balance work and family care. The unequal sharing of childcare responsibilities between men and women is a key driver of the gender pay gap. The Government is committed to tackling the gender pay gap, including through introducing a legal requirement for business to report their gender pay gaps in April this year. The Government has also taken measures to help parents to balance work and childcare. We introduced the right to request flexible working in 2014, and we have also introduced tax-free childcare and 30 hours free childcare for working parents of 3 and 4 year olds to support working families. We also launched a communications campaign on Shared Parental Leave on 12 February.
In response to Matthew Taylor’s Good Work report the Government will launch a joint taskforce with industry on flexible working to unlock the potential in the labour market, including amongst women.