A SCOTTISH company that helps organisations simplify the gender pay gap reporting process has received a funding boost.
Cloud-based technology business Spktral has announced the completion of a seed investment round with funding provided by a group of investors including Paul Atkinson, non-executive chair of Taranata Group; John Hall, and Philip Pritchard.
Over the next five years, organisations will come under increasing pressure to reduce inequality. In 2021, ethnicity pay gap reporting is expected to become a statutory requirement in the UK, followed by disability.
Spktral’s platform helps organisations to quickly and easily prepare their own pay gap reports and see where inequalities lie. The user can either undertake the process in-house, or fully outsource it to Spktral. Further services provided can help organisations address issues identified during the pay gap reporting process. These include analytics support, equal pay analysis and benchmarking, stakeholder communications, learning and business change programs. These valuable insights into where improvements can be made will enhance organisations’ brands and reputations as employers.
Anthony Horrigan, CEO of Spktral, said: “As a result of this investment, Spktral is now ideally placed to help its clients address the wider sustainability agenda that’s gathering pace among business leaders globally. Diversity, inclusion and equality are part of the global sustainability agenda and are recognised as being key to an organisations’ future success and attractiveness to employees, customers and investors. Studies have identified a direct link between diversity and business performance. Spktral’s goal is to help clients quickly and easily understand where they lack diversity. From there we can help them develop a plan and measurement framework to address this complex issue”.
Champion of gender equality within business, Fiona Hathorn, CEO of Women on Boards, added: “The issue of inequality in organisations will continue to maintain its profile over the coming years. While Brexit may have delayed the legislative agenda, we will see more on equal pay in 2020 as a result of the #metoopay campaign led by Dame Moya Greene. More cases will be taken through an open legal process as opposed to being resolved under non-disclosure agreements, increasing reputational risks for employers as these cases are profiled by the media.”
Atkinson said: “The issue of equal pay and the gender pay gap is something that will impact businesses across the whole of the UK. Alongside current employees, who are already paying close attention, organisations will soon find prospective candidates also interrogating the pay gap. The larger the gap is, the less desirable an employer they will be, and those organisations who act on their gender pay gap reports will be the big winners.”
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