Government launches long awaited consultation on the current equal pay regime-

By Jo Seery, Professional Support Lawyer

The government has launched a consultation on reforms to equal pay and race and disability pay discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. The proposals form part of a wider effort to strengthen transparency and enforcement in pay discrimination cases, while extending protections beyond traditional equal pay claims. The consultation closes on 27 October 2026.

The proposals are divided into two phases. The first focuses on proposals seeking to reduce litigation, improve enforcement mechanisms, encourage prevention rather than claims, and make the regime work better for employers as well as workers. It does this through considering changes such as:

• requiring employers to publish salary information in job adverts or before interview
• reintroducing statutory questionnaires for pay discrimination claims,
• allowing the use of hypothetical comparators in an equal pay context (currently prohibited),
• giving tribunals the power to extend time limits for pursuing equal pay claims (in the same circumstances as in other areas of discrimination),
• expanding the circumstances in which tribunals can order equal pay audits,
• considering provision for tribunals to be able to order mandatory job evaluation schemes
• creating a new Equal Pay Regulatory and Enforcement Unit with powers to require employers to disclose evidence and undertake audits. 
• Imposing duties on organisations involved in outsourcing arrangements to uphold pay equality

The second phase seeks to align protections for race and disability pay discrimination more closely with those available in sex-based equal pay claims. Measures under consideration include extending the ability of workers to be able to bring claims for differences in pay linked to race and disability discrimination (where such claims are currently limited to differences linked to sex discrimination), with tribunals then able to amend contractual terms following successful claims.

The proposals have the potential to strengthen workers' ability to challenge discriminatory pay practices and improve pay transparency across the labour market. However, as with many employment law consultations, the detail of any future legislation will be crucial. It remains to be seen how far the government is prepared to go in tackling the structural inequalities that continue to drive gender, race and disability pay gaps across UK workplaces.