In February, Labour announced plans to introduce ethnicity pay gap reporting; a think tank said the state pension age needed to rise; and the government published a report on barriers to work for people with autism.
Labour planned mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting
The Labour party first announced their plans for making ethnicity pay gap reporting mandatory.
The party said if they won the general election (spoiler: they did), they would extend equal pay rights given to women to people from ethnic minorities and disabled people.
The announcement received mixed reaction. Shabna Begum, interim CEO of race equality thinktank Runnymede Trust, said the proposals would not tackle the “deep income and wealth inequalities that shape and limit the lives of so many workers”.
Labour further committed to introducing the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill in the Employment Rights Bill, published on 10 October. However, further details of the bill are yet to be announced.
State pension age must increase by 2050
The state pension age will need to increase to 71 by 2050 for the state pension to remain affordable, a report by the International Longevity Centre suggested.
The change would account for projected labour shortages and economic inactivity among the working age population.
Kate Smith, head of pensions at asset management company Aegona, said the change would be “a shock for many”.
Meanwhile, Lizzy Holliday, director of public affairs at workplace pensions provider NOW:Pensions, noted the pensions system needed further reform.
Report on barriers autistic people face at work
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) published a report that identified the barriers people with autism face in the workplace.
The report laid out 19 recommendations for employers and the government to take forward.
“This important review has shone a light on the woeful situation autistic people face,” commented Jolanta Lasota, chief executive of charity Ambitious about Autism.
“We’re pleased to see its focus on solutions to tackle these problems.”
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