Rick Stein’s restaurant firm among those to miss gender pay reporting deadline

TV chef Rick Stein’s restaurant company and the owners of property platform Purplebricks and fashion retailer Jigsaw are among those to be named for failing to report their gender pay gap data.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) revealed a list of 10 organisations that missed the deadline to report by several months.

Among those was Seafood Trading Limited which is behind Rick Stein’s The Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall, and says it is one of the largest private sector employers in the region with an average of around 400 staff.

Strike Limited, which bought rival online estate agency Purplebricks and is backed by Carphone Warehouse founder Sir Charles Dunstone, was also named.

Another company named was Robinson Webster, which is behind women’s fashion retailer Jigsaw and had about 620 staff at the start of 2024, according to its latest accounts.

UK rules require organisations with 250 or more employees to publish the average difference in pay between men and women in their companies each year.

The deadline for doing so is April 4, and the EHRC will give companies that fail to publish their data a warning notice which threatens enforcement action.

This can include forcing them to put in place action plans, launching an investigation if equality laws have been breached, or potentially going on to impose fines.

John Kirkpatrick, the EHRC’s chief executive, said: “In order to address potential pay inequality or discrimination, organisations must give themselves the tools to find out if it’s happening.

“Without tracking and reporting their gender pay gaps, they are unable to do so.

“We’re disappointed that 10 organisations have failed to report their data and have written to them again to remind them of their legal obligations.

“If they fail to submit their data following this, we will take appropriate enforcement action.”

A spokeswoman for Purplebricks said: “The gender pay gap is an important measure of progress towards pay equality.

“This year’s report has been slightly delayed due to additional administration following the change of ownership, but we expect it to be filed shortly.”

Seafood Trading Limited and Robinson Webster could not immediately be reached for comment.