Nicola Harkin

Now, I think if organisations get that level of certainty, that would certainly help them manage the cost of preparing for it because it would give them the time and space to do it right without having to invest huge amounts of money in consultants and exercises and all of that in order to prepare for it.

But that's not to say that there won't be a cost.

I think there will be a cost to employers in preparing for this directive and getting the processes and evaluations in place.

But it'll probably vary across companies depending on their size, depending on their sector, but also depending on the...

diversity of roles within the organisation.

An organisation with a lot of the same roles, it will be a little bit easier for them to prepare for this directive than an organisation that has a big diversity of roles within their business.

I would be hopeful that we will get sight of a draft legislation, certainly in Q3.

I think that'll absolutely be necessary.

As I say, in our view, it's very difficult to see how any of the provisions that go beyond the pre-employment elements of the directive could come into place.

any time before June 2027.

Because this EGA toolkit I mentioned, which is the only toolkit we have seen around job evaluations, even that acknowledged that this job evaluation process that employers need to undergo takes about six months.

And that's before we've even seen the national toolkit.

So even the toolkits that have been produced at an EU level recognises the time that this takes.

So it's very difficult for us to see how the rules could be brought in before at least June 2027.

It's not enough to be given the time.

Employers need to know that they'll have the time.

Because if everybody is rushing to an unknown deadline, the directive isn't going to be effective long term.

We need the certainty as to the timing of this in order for the directive to be a success, I think.

I think it'll certainly, this directive is a very useful diagnostic tool and I think it will certainly address issues

equal pay for equal work.