Labour Stands By "Significant Change" In Its Race Equal Pay Plans

Shadow equalities secretary Anneliese Dodds has insisted that Labour's new race equality act will represent "significant change" despite criticism that Labour's proposals could risk making equal pay claims more complicated.

Labour's race equality act proposals, which the party argues will "enshrine in law the full right to equal pay for Black, Asian and ethnic minority people", follows data from the Office for National Statistics in November which showed the pay gap for Black, African, Caribbean or Black British people compared to their white counterparts has remained steady for over a decade. The figure was at 5.6 per cent in 2012, and in 2023 at 5.7 per cent.

On average in 2022, the ONS found Black, African, Caribbean or Black British employees earned £13.53 median gross hourly pay while White employees earned more at £14.35. Mixed White and Black Caribbean employees fared the worst of all groups, who had a pay gap of 18.5 per cent with their median earnings at £11.75 an hour in 2022. 

Labour's new act would also place a duty on public services to collect and report data by ethnicity on staffing and pay, and will aim to "strengthen protections against discrimination for people who face prejudice because of a combination of protected characteristics".

However the proposals have been heavily criticised by government ministers, with equalities minister and Trade Secretary, Kemi Badenoch describing the plans as "pointless".

"Labour’s proposed new race law will set people against each other and see millions wasted on pointless red tape," she wrote on X last week. "It is obviously already illegal to pay someone less because of their race. The new law would be a bonanza for dodgy, activist lawyers."

Employment lawyer Darren Newman,