Equality Bill

When this clause about discussion with colleagues was discussed in another place, we put on record our absolute support for it and I reaffirm that support from these Benches. We believe it to be absolutely right that employees should be protected from employers who would seek to impose any sort of pay secrecy clause; this should not be condoned in any way as it could be a method of trying to cover up pay inequalities in the workplace. The Bill allows discussion to take place between an employee and a colleague, or a person who used to be a colleague. The amendments tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Lester of Herne Hill, would widen this still further to include any person at all. This would certainly increase transparency, particularly in circumstances in which, for example, an employee was too nervous to talk to someone at their place of work. Nevertheless, there could also be concern that it perhaps widens provisions too far, as the noble Lord, Lord Lester, graciously acknowledged. For instance, would that mean that an employee could discuss pay information with a competitor of their company or an outside group with a vested interest in using this information improperly? We want to ensure that companies are called to account for any gender inequality in their pay programmes. Nevertheless, it would not be desirable for companies to be damaged as an unintended consequence of legislation that is designed to ensure so much good.