ICESCR concluding observations 2025, paragraph 37
Plain English recommendation
Government should:
(a) Link minimum wage to cost of living and update it regularly, working together with affected groups. This should ensure that workers and their families have an adequate standard of living. Ensure minimum wage rules are fully followed in all jobs and across all jurisdictions;
(b) Do more to ensure equal pay for equal work, especially for women, disabled people and ethnic minorities. This includes mandatory and transparent reporting on how much people are paid, creating ways to compare jobs across different sectors to determine fair pay and making new rules with penalties to close pay gaps;
(c) Work with the devolved Northern Ireland government to ensure the pay gap reporting rules in the Employment Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 are properly put into action.
Original UN recommendation
The Committee urges the State Party:
(a) To index the minimum wage to the cost of living and adjust it regularly, in collaboration with social partners, to ensure that workers and their families enjoy an adequate standard of living and to guarantee full compliance with minimum wage regulations across all sectors and forms of employment in all jurisdictions;
(b) To strengthen measures to guarantee equal pay for work of equal value, particularly for women, persons with disabilities and ethnic minorities, by enforcing mandatory pay transparency reporting, establishing cross-sectoral job valuation and introducing binding measures with appropriate sanctions with a view to closing the pay gaps;
(c) To ensure, in coordination with the devolved government of Northern Ireland, the implementation of the mandatory pay gap reporting provisions under the Employment Act (Northern Ireland) 2016.
Date of UN examination
12/03/2025
Original UN document
Download the original ICESCR concluding observations 2025 on the UN website.
Last updated on 21/08/2025