THREE Colchester-based companies have defended their record on women's pay after failing to produce gender pay gap reporting figures.

Alpenbest, Apex Prime Care and Care Quality Services - all based on Severalls Industrial Estate – were among six organisations named by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) for missing deadlines to report their 2023-2024 gender pay gap data.

The EHRC sent reminder notices between April and May this year to more than 600 organisations which had missed the initial deadline – with only six organisations then failing to report. 

Speaking for all three Colchester companies, a spokesman for parent company Care Quality Services defended their record and said gender pay gap figures had been provided under a previous company name.

“Providing women with good working conditions, fair pay and meaningful opportunities for career progression is a fundamental priority for us at Care Quality Services," they said.

“Our gender pay gap figures for this financial year were submitted under our previous company name, Allied Homecare Limited, which changed to Care Quality Services during 2023.”

The spokesman added: “Women at Care Quality Services earned two per cent more than men during this period, meaning we had a negative gender pay gap.

“We are updating these filings to reflect our current company name in the coming days.

“Due to a change in legal entity, the gender pay gap reports for Apex Prime Care and Alpenbest this year were also delayed. We have been addressing this and are in the process of filing these figures shortly. 

“During the prior financial year, women at Apex and Alpenbest earned £1 for every £1 men earned.

“The results for the most recent year are similar, putting these companies well above the national average.”

The spokesman also said that “a large proportion" of their workforce is female, making “working conditions, training, and career outlook” a priority.

Private sector organisations across Britain and English public bodies with 250 or more employees are required by law to publish their gender pay gap information each year.

The total number of non-reporters is lower than in 2022-2023, and the EHRC will write to those organisations to warn them before conducting an investigation.