Ireland Gender Pay Gap Reporting: What You Need to Know

To find the full text of the global pay reporting law in Ireland, refer to Ireland’s Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 and regulations.

Employees can challenge non-compliance through the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). While the current law in Ireland lacks direct financial penalties, public orders and potential media attention create significant reputational risks for employers. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission also has enforcement powers.

Employers should be aware that more penalties are on the horizon when Ireland transposes the EU Pay Transparency Act. Not only will the EU Pay Transparency Act require closing pay gaps that cannot be explained, there will be substantial new penalties for non-compliance. The exact penalties will vary by Member State, but they are likely to be substantial and adjusted based on the severity and duration of non-compliance, with stricter penalties for repeated offenses.

The law defines an “employer” as the entity that an employee has a contract with. This is the same definition used in the Employment Equality Act of 1998. There are nuances to consider for employees working abroad and for employers filing a report by legal entity. 

Global Pay Reports gives you the flexibility to calculate the metrics overall or by legal entity.

Employers must calculate and publicly publish the gender pay gap information for “relevant” persons — employees as defined in the Employment Equity Act employed on the chosen snapshot date. Calculations are based on those employees’ remuneration (pay) for the 12-month period that precedes the snapshot date.

If you’re a Syndio customer using Global Pay Reports, you’ll receive a detailed data template to help you prepare your report and determine which pay components to include. You can also ask Syndi, our expert AI, for country-specific guidance whenever you need it.

The pay gap requirement in Ireland focuses primarily on gender. The reporting requirements and metrics are designed to assess and address the gender pay gaps within organizations.

The law in Ireland only calculates gaps between employees who self-identify as male or female. The law does not require calculating race or ethnicity gaps, nor gaps between employees who identify as non-binary or third gender. In instances where an employee does not self-identify as either gender, an employer may omit the individual from the gender pay gap calculations.

The regulations do not define the terms ‘male gender and ‘female gender’ and the requirement to report your gender pay gap should not result in employees being singled out and questioned about their gender.

While the law doesn’t explicitly require reporting on race/ethnicity pay gaps, many organizations also analyse race and ethnicity gaps as part of their pay transparency strategy, where it is permitted by law.

Syndio’s PayEQ solution allows you to run pay and opportunity audits to ensure pay and advancement are truly merit-based and not subject to unlawful bias or discrimination. This ensures fair pay and advancement for all employees and gives you insight into your pay practices.

Syndio provides software and expert professional services to help companies comply with pay equity, pay reporting, and pay transparency regulations. Syndio helps you analyse, remediate, explain, and report on pay gaps so you can stay on top of compliance in Ireland. Learn more: https://synd.io/global-pay-reporting/.

The law in Ireland analyses pay gaps, not pay equity. What’s the difference? 

An unadjusted pay gap (also called an “uncontrolled pay gap”) is the difference between the median or mean pay of two groups, such as men and women.

• Median pay gap: Imagine lining up all the earnings for two groups of employees (e.g., men and women) from lowest to highest. The median pay gap is the difference between the middle earnings in each line. It’s a good indicator of typical pay differences.
• Mean pay gap: This compares the average earnings of each group. However, it can be skewed by extremely high or low earners.

Pay equity, or the adjusted pay gap, accounts for factors that can legitimately explain differences in pay, such as performance ratings, tenure with the company, or location.

The median and mean pay gaps provide valuable insights, but they don’t tell the whole story. There may be legitimate reasons for pay differences between employees. The adjusted pay gap (pay equity) accounts for these factors, revealing whether a pay disparity truly exists (which is unlawful in many countries) so you can take corrective action. Syndio’s PayEQ software is the trusted solution for global enterprises to rapidly identify, address, and prevent pay disparities.