Men over 50 are paid on average around 30% more than women of the same age in the UK, the widest pay gap of any age group in the country, according to research published on Monday.
"
Caring responsibilities, which still fall disproportionately on women, mean that (the latter) can miss out on salary increases
," said Stuart Lewis, chief executive of Rest Less, an organization that represents the interests of over 50 years and who publishes the study.
These missed opportunities "add
up over time, widening the pay gap
" and this "
can have devastating long-term consequences on women's retirement and financial independence later in life
", he continues, quoted in a press release.
By way of comparison, 18-21-year-olds have an average pay gap of 18%, which falls to 12% until their thirties, before increasing again during working life, according to this study which is based on figures from the British Statistical Institute (ONS) published at the end of October.
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The data also reveals that the gap between median gross salaries, all ages, has narrowed by 5 points in ten years, to 19%, but has widened again in the country during the pandemic – except, precisely, for the fifty-year-olds, for whom it has slightly reduced.
The British government also announced on Monday its intention to increase flexibility at work, in particular to help employees “
to reconcile their work and their personal life
” in particular those who “
take care of children or vulnerable people
”, according to a press release.
Teleworking, jobs shared between several employees, flexible hours, spread over the year or compressed over a few days of the week: according to the reform wanted by the executive, employees will be able by default to ask to adapt their work as soon as they are hired, without wait six months as is the case today.
Employers will have the obligation to explore the options available with their employee before any rejection of a request for flexibility, and low salaries will no longer be able to see the application of an exclusivity clause which would prevent an employee from combining several jobs.