Hourly pay gap
Mean and median difference in hourly pay between men and women across the workforce.
Filed right, filed on time
Gender pay gap reporting, start to finish
Gender pay transparency is no longer a large-employer concern. Under the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021, the reporting duty has been phased down to employers with 50 or more employees. PurpleTree handles the whole exercise: collecting and validating the data, running every required calculation, drafting the statement that explains your figures, and publishing a report that is accurate, compliant and on time.
Understand what the data really shows.
The Figures Behind a Gender Pay Gap Report
Gender pay gap reporting means calculating and publishing the difference between the average earnings of men and women across your organisation. It is distinct from equal pay for like work, and a gap usually reflects how men and women are distributed across senior and junior roles rather than unequal pay for the same job.
The legislation prescribes a specific set of metrics, and a report is only compliant if every one of them is calculated correctly. Our team produces all of them, and our guide to equal pay and WRC awards explains how the gap differs from your equal pay obligations.
Bonus gap
Mean and median difference in bonus pay between men and women.
Bonus and benefits
Proportions of men and women who received a bonus and who received benefits in kind.
Pay quartiles
The split of men and women across the four lower, lower-middle, upper-middle and upper pay bands.
Part-time pay gap
Mean and median hourly pay gap calculated separately for part-time employees.
Temporary pay gap
Mean and median hourly pay gap for employees on temporary or fixed-term contracts.
Know whether the rules now apply to you.
Who Has to Report, and When the Deadline Falls
The reporting duty arrived in stages. It applied first to employers with 250 or more employees, then to those with 150 or more, and from 2025 it reaches employers with 50 or more. Because headcount is measured on your chosen snapshot date in June, a business that has grown through 50 employees over the year is very likely now in scope.
The calculations cover the twelve-month period ending on the snapshot date, and the report with its statement is published on the employer's own website later the same year, with submission also made through the Government's now-mandatory central portal.
The threshold and the timeframe have both shifted through successive regulations, so the work each year is confirming the current deadline and reporting on time. This sits alongside the wider direction set by the EU Pay Transparency Directive, which our pay transparency mistakes guide covers in detail.
- Reporting now reaches employers with 50 or more employees
- Headcount measured on a snapshot date chosen in June
- Calculations based on the twelve months ending on that date
- Report and statement published later the same year
- Submitted through the now-mandatory central portal and published on your own website for at least three years
Turn a duty into a reputation builder.
Why Gender Pay Gap Reporting Is Worth Doing Well
A gender pay gap report is a public document, so the question is not only whether you comply but how the result reads to staff, customers and candidates. Treated properly, the exercise becomes an asset rather than an obligation. It demonstrates a genuine commitment to fairness, supports recruitment among people who weigh diversity when they choose an employer, and gives you the data to tackle the structural causes of any gap rather than guessing at them.
- Legal complianceMeet your statutory duty under the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 with confidence.
- Employer reputationShow staff, customers and candidates a real commitment to fairness.
- Trust and engagementTransparent reporting, handled honestly, strengthens trust within your team.
- Talent attractionAppeal to the growing share of job seekers who weigh fairness and diversity.
- Data for real changeIdentify the structural barriers behind your gap and act on the evidence.
Accurate figures, handled without the headache.
How We Run It End to End
Gender pay gap reporting is detailed work, and a single calculation error can undermine the whole report. We run the process end to end so you are not interpreting the regulations yourself. We scope the project to your headcount and the complexity of your payroll, then agree it in writing before we start, so you know the cost in advance rather than facing an open-ended bill. See how we price HR support.
- Data collection and preparationGuidance on gathering and validating payroll and demographic data, handled in line with GDPR.
- Accurate calculationsEvery legally required metric computed correctly, from hourly and bonus gaps to the quartile split.
- A credible action planInterpreting the findings and building a realistic, measurable plan to address any gap.
- The required statementDrafting a clear, compliant narrative that explains your figures rather than leaving them open to interpretation.
- Publication supportPreparing the report for the central portal, publishing it on your own website for the required three years, and helping you communicate it internally and externally.
Tell the story your numbers can't on their own.
The Statement and Action Plan Matter as Much as the Figures
The numbers tell you there is a gap. The statement is where you explain why and what you intend to do about it, and it is a required part of the report rather than an optional flourish.
A figure published without context invites the least charitable reading, while an honest narrative and a credible action plan turn the same result into evidence of a fair, improving employer.
The most effective action plans connect to the wider pay framework, which is why this work runs alongside our pay and reward, salary benchmarking and job evaluation and pay transparency services. Analysing the data often surfaces structural causes a business had not seen, and addressing them improves retention and employer brand well beyond the reporting deadline.
- A written statement that explains the reasons behind your gap
- A measurable action plan with concrete steps to close it
- Links to pay structures, grading and benchmarking that drive the numbers
- Findings tied into a wider equality and pay transparency strategy
Built for the rules that apply here.
Why Irish Employers Partner With PurpleTree
Working with PurpleTree gives you a partner who manages the reporting from consultation and scoping through data validation, analysis, drafting and publication, and who reads the legislation against current Irish practice rather than an adapted UK template. We are a Longford-based team serving employers across Ireland, so the advice is grounded in the rules that actually apply to you. Reporting also rarely sits on its own, and we can fold it into broader people work through our outsourced HR support or our wider strategic HR consulting.
- Comprehensive end-to-end supportFrom data collection through to publication, with one team across the whole exercise.
- Tailored to your businessScoped to your size, sector and equality goals rather than a generic template.
- Assured complianceConfidence that every required metric and the statement meet the legislation.
- Insight, not just numbersUnderstanding the causes behind your gap so the action plan addresses something real.
Get your gender pay gap report right
Ready to handle GPG reporting with confidence? Let PurpleTree make your report accurate, compliant and a credible statement of a fair employer. See how we price HR support, then contact us for a confidential discussion about your headcount and snapshot date.
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Common questions from employers
The Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 introduced the duty on a phased basis. It applied first to employers with 250 or more employees, then to those with 150 or more, and from 2025 it reaches employers with 50 or more employees. Headcount is measured on the snapshot date you choose, so a business that has grown past 50 during the year is very likely now in scope. If you are unsure whether you cross the threshold this year, we will work it out with you before the reporting window opens.
They are two separate things and it matters not to confuse them. The gender pay gap is the difference between the average pay of all men and all women across your organisation, regardless of role. Equal pay is the legal right of a woman and a man to the same pay for like work under the Employment Equality Acts. A business can be fully compliant on equal pay and still report a gender pay gap, usually because men and women are spread differently across senior and junior roles. Our guide to equal pay and WRC awards explains where the equal pay risk sits.
You report the mean and median gap in hourly pay between men and women, the mean and median gap in bonus pay, the proportions of men and women who received a bonus and who received benefits in kind, the same hourly pay gaps for part-time and for temporary employees, and the proportions of men and women in each of four pay quartiles. Alongside the figures you publish a written statement that explains the reasons for any gap and sets out the measures you are taking to address it.
You choose a snapshot date in June, and the calculations are based on the relevant twelve-month period ending on that date. The report and its accompanying statement are then published later the same year. The headcount threshold and the reporting timeframe have both moved through successive regulations since 2022, so the practical task each year is confirming the current cycle's deadline and reporting on time. We track that for you so the date does not slip.
For the 2026 cycle there is a dual obligation. You submit the report through the Government's central Gender Pay Gap Portal, which is now mandatory, and you must also publish the report and statement on your own website, or otherwise make them publicly accessible, for at least three years. Publishing on your own website is a continuing legal requirement, not an optional extra. We prepare the report in the format the portal expects, check the numbers, and make sure the supporting statement reads clearly for the employees, customers and job seekers who will see it.
The written statement is part of the legal requirement, not an optional extra. It explains why any gap exists in your organisation and what you are doing about it. The figures on their own invite the worst interpretation, while a clear, honest narrative and a credible action plan turn the same numbers into evidence of a fair and improving employer. This is where the reporting exercise earns its keep, and it connects directly to our pay and reward work.
Enforcement runs through the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, which can apply to the Circuit Court for an order compelling a non-compliant employer to report, and an employee can also bring a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission. Beyond the legal route, the reports are public, so an inaccurate figure or a weak statement carries a reputational cost with staff and candidates. Getting the data and the narrative right the first time is far cheaper than correcting either after publication.
Prepare now. Building defensible pay structures, validating payroll data and drafting a credible action plan takes months rather than weeks, and the EU Pay Transparency Directive is pushing pay transparency obligations further regardless of your exact headcount. Employers who start this work early report calmly and on time, while those who wait until they cross 50 tend to scramble. Our pay transparency mistakes guide covers the groundwork, and we can scope the right level of support for your business. See how we price HR support.