WOMEN working for Poole council are paid more per hour than their male counterparts by some measures, new figures have revealed.

Borough of Poole is the first local employer to have revealed its gender pay gap as required by new laws.

It showed that although the mean rate of pay for women – the mathematical average – was 1.1 per cent lower than men, the median figure was 3.2 per cent higher for women.

The median – the mid-point in the range of figures – is preferred by many observers, including the Office for National Statistics, because it less distorted by a small number of high earners.

The figures also showed women made up the majority of the council’s staff at all levels of the organisation, comprising 67.5 per cent of the highest-paid quartile of staff.

New laws require all employers with more than 250 staff to report on their gender pay gap by April 2018.

Borough of Poole had not commented at the time of going to press, although its 1.1 per cent gap in mean earnings compares favourably with a national gap of more than 19 per cent.

Employment law expert Kate Brooks, a senior associate solicitor with Dorset and New Forest law firm Ellis Jones Solicitors, said: “Currently the relevant legislation does not provide any enforcement provisions or sanctions for non-reporting. As a result, I question whether the reporting requirements will make a real difference.

“A more likely effect is that the information will make a difference in whether an employer is able to successfully recruit a female candidate. Research shows that the majority of women aged 16 to 30 would consider a gender pay gap when deciding whether to apply for a role.

"In light of this, the Borough of Poole median figures – showing the female hourly rate as 3.2 per cent higher – make particularly interesting reading.”

Peter Rolph, managing partner at Steele Raymond Solicitors in Bournemouth, said of the new legislation: “The recent requirement for larger employers to publish statistics regarding their gender pay gap has made some interesting reading.”

He added: “As more statistics become available, they will be extremely useful in benchmarking gender pay gap and encourage all employers to look at eroding and eliminating gender inequality.

“It will drive recruitment decisions and in sectors where there are specialist skills shortages, candidates in demand will consider gender pay gaps to select those employers most in line with equality.

“It is to be hoped that the more statistics that become available the greater the pressure on employers to reduce the gaps and reward all employees fully and equally irrespective of gender.”