Brighton & Hove City Council Gender Pay Gap Report 2020 to 2021

1.1    

The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017 requires all public and private sector employers with more than 250 employees to report their gender pay gap based on an annual ‘snapshot’ pay period, for the public sector this is the 31st March each year. The reporting regulations require publication of the:

• mean and median gender pay gaps in hourly pay
• mean and median gender bonus gaps
• proportion of men and women who received bonuses
• proportions of men and women employees in each pay quartile

1.2    

The reporting data includes all council employees who were employed on 31 March. Apprentices, seasonal, temporary or casual employees are included if they fall within the reference period created by the snapshot date. The data excludes schools based staff. Under the Regulations the Governing Body of maintained Local Authority schools is responsible for the reporting duty for the employees of their school, where the regulations apply.

1.3    

The council publishes this information on our website and the government’s website.

1.4    

This report relates to the snapshot date of 31 March  2020.

2.1    

Gender pay is different to equal pay.

Equal pay means that men and women in the same employment performing equal work must receive the same salary and have equal contractual terms, as set out in the Equality Act 2010.

The gender pay gap is a measure of the difference between men’s and women’s average ordinary earnings (excluding overtime) across an organisation or the labour market. It is expressed as a percentage of men’s earnings. Both the mean (average) and median hourly rates are reported.

An employer can be equal pay compliant and still have a gender pay gap. The cause of a gender pay gap may not fall within the direct control of the employer, and is likely caused by the distribution of men and women in different job roles.

3.1    

Mean and median pay gap reporting

Brighton & Hove City Council has a negative pay gap for both the mean and median gross hourly rates, for example on average females are paid more than males. This is not uncommon but goes against the overall national trend.

3.2.1 

The Mean (average) gender pay gap in hourly pay is -6.1%. This is a 0.3% negative increase to the 2019 reported figure.

3.2.2  

The Median (middle) gender pay gap in hourly pay is -2.5%. This is a 2.4% positive increase to the 2019 reported figure.

3.3     

Salary quartile reporting is calculated by sorting employees by their hourly rate, from the lowest to the highest, then splitting them into four equal quartiles to show the proportions of male and female employees in each group. Definitions of the salary quartile information are shown in appendix A.

Salary quartiles

There has been minimal % change in the gender split in each quartile compared to 2019, these figures are shown within the graph columns above.

What the Salary quartile graph means

The lower salary quartile includes hourly rates between £7.70 and £11.30. The proportions of employees in the quartile is 43.8% male, 56.2% female. This is a 0.2% increase in the number of females in the quartile compared to last year’s reporting.

The lower middle quartile includes hourly rates between £11.30 and £13.70. The quartile is 42.4% male, 57.6% female. This is a 0.5% increase in males in the quartile compared to last year.

The upper middle quartile includes hourly rates between £13.70 and £18.03. The quartile is 38.3% male, 61.7% female. This is a 1.8% increase in males in the quartile compared to last year.

The upper quartile includes hourly rates between £18.03 and £82.52. The quartile is 36.6% male, 63.4% female. This is a 0.4% increase in males in the quartile compared to last year.

You can also view this data in a table.

3.4    

Bonus pay reporting

These figure are not applicable as the council does not pay bonuses.

4.1    

The council’s overall workforce gender profile is 60% female and 40% male. This is unchanged from the previous year reporting period.

4.2    

4,864 employees are included in the pay period comprising of 4,409 contracted employees and 455 casuals. As per reporting requirements employees on less than full pay have been excluded (97).

4.3    

The mean hourly rate of pay for male employees was £15.16. The mean hourly rate for female employees was £16.09, this results in the reported -6.1% difference. This negative gap has increased by -0.3% since last year because the female mean hourly rate has seen a greater increase, of 0.67p, compared to the male mean hourly rate, which saw a 0.58p increase.

4.4    

The median hourly rate of pay for male employees was £13.64. The median hourly rate for female employees was £13.99, this results in the reported -2.5% difference. This negative gap has positively increased by 2.3% since last year because the male median hourly rate has seen a greater increase, of 0.90 pence, compared to the female median hourly rate, which saw an increase of 0.62 pence.

Gender split

The council’s overall workforce gender profile is 60% female and 40% male. 4,864 employees are included in this reporting data.

4.5    

Salary quartiles

The % of female employees in each quartile is higher than the % of men. This is in line with the overall workforce gender profile, however, the % gap between the number of men and women in each quarter significantly widens between the 2 lower quartiles and 2 higher quartiles. The lower quartile has 12.4% more women than men, the upper quartile has 26.8% more women than men. This shows that a greater proportion of women hold roles which have a higher mean hourly rate of pay than men.

There are varies job roles within each quartile and the proportion of male and female employees in each role differs. Below are some examples:

4.6    

Basic Pay

Reviewing the main basic pay grades for job roles shows a similar pattern, where a larger proportion of female employees hold higher paid roles, particularly on management grades where 62% of roles are held by women. Similarly, 62% of roles with basic hourly rates over £11.19 are held by women, in contrast 47% of roles with lower basic hourly rates between £9.00 and £10.97 are held by men.

What the Basic pay graph means

The graph shows the proportion of male and female employees on example council pay grades. Proportionately a higher % of male employees hold roles on the council’s lower basic pay grade. 61% on the council’s scale 1 to 2 pay grade are male, with hourly rates between £9 and  £9.55.  Proportionately a higher % of female employees hold roles on the higher basic pay grades. 62% on the council’s management pay grades between M11 and M4 are female, with hourly rates between £16.60 and £35.57.

You can also view this data in a table.

4.7    

Pay and grading

The council’s annual pay policy statement provides details of the council’s pay and grading arrangements and can be found here.

4.8    

Allowances

25% of the workforce in the snapshot pay period received an allowance in addition to their basic pay, this is a 7% decrease from 2019.  Analysis by quartile of the mean and median hourly rates for employees in receipt of an allowance show that with the exception of the lower quartile, the mean and median hourly rates of female employees are consistently higher.       

4.9    

Working Patterns

A further contributing factor to the pay gap is the working pattern of an employee. Roles where hours are worked at the weekend and night attract enhanced rates of pay, 23% of the workforce receive such enhancements. While proportionally more men receive working pattern allowances than women, the basic hourly rate of roles held by men are proportionally lower than the roles held by women. The higher basic hourly rated pay for roles held by women in addition to the enhanced rate of pay increases the mean and median hourly rates of pay for women.

4.10   

Market Supplements. 51% of employees in roles attracting a market supplement are women, 49% are men. This is a 5% increase for male employees compared to 2019. Market Supplements are subject to annual review. 

4.11  

Salary Sacrifice is where an employee gives up the right to receive part of their salary due under their contract of employment, in return for the employer’s agreement to provide an equivalent non-cash benefit, the value of which is exempt from tax and national insurance contributions (NICs). 

Schemes include Cycle to Work, to help employees save on bikes purchased to commute to work, and Childcare vouchers to help employees save on child care costs – the government closed the latter for new applicants in Oct 2018 which accounts for the decrease of employees in a salary sacrifice scheme.

148 employees are signed up to salary sacrifice schemes, 99 are female with an average monthly deduction of £116, and 49 are male with an average monthly deduction of £155. The proportion of female employees in a scheme has decreased by 27% year on year, and a 29% decrease in the proportion of male employees in the scheme. For the purposes of gender pay gap calculations these values must be deducted from relevant employees pay thus reducing the overall pay to include for averaging.

5.1    

The council is confident that its gender pay gap does not stem from an equal pay issue. In 2010 the council introduced a new pay and grading system to ensure all roles are graded using a recognised job evaluation system to make sure individuals receive equal pay for equal work. In 2013 a new system of allowances and expenses was implemented to ensure consistency across the workforce.

5.2    

The council’s gender pay gap shows that on average (by both measures) female employees are paid more than male employees and this is the opposite of the national gender pay gap. This is because we have more females in higher graded posts.

5.3    

The gender profile of the workforce has remained unchanged with the majority of employees being female. In the council’s latest Workforce Equalities Report women out-perform males in recruitment and selection processes across all pay grades and contract types. Females were more successful in securing promotions and the proportion of employees receiving acting up payments as at March 2020 was 57% female.

5.4    

There are a number of factors that have contributed to the council’s ability to recruit and retain female employees and enable them to develop careers within the organisation.

These include:

• the council has had a long established suite of progressive policies such as:
  • flexible working
  • career breaks
  • maternity and parental leave
  • discretionary and carers leave
  • childcare vouchers
• training provided to staff and managers on diversity and equalities, including training provided to recruiting managers to ensure fair recruitment and selection processes

5.5      

The council appreciates that a negative gender pay gap bucks the national trend however any pay gap represents inequality. The council is committed to improving the diversity of its workforce to reflect its community and gender forms part of our wider diversity agenda.

5.6      

As part of the Public Sector Equality Duty, the council carries out regular equalities monitoring in respect of the following aspects of employment:

• workforce composition
• recruitment and retention
• employment casework
• access to learning and development opportunities
• employee satisfaction both in relation to current employees via the Annual Staff Survey and those who leave our employment

5.7    

Historically the insight provided by this data has also been used to develop actions to address any difference in outcomes identified for different staff groups through the council’s ‘Fair and Inclusive Action Plan’ with areas of focus for action agreed annually to address these issues. This programme of work aims to:

• embed equality and diversity in everything that the council does, becoming a leader in fair and inclusive practice and trusted by city communities
• develop and support a representative and skilled workforce that is accountable for its behaviour towards each other and when providing services across the city
• ensure the council understands and can enable local communities by providing inclusive and accessible services
• ensure the council’s accountability as a community leader by fostering good relations through meaningful engagement and communication with the city’s diverse communities

5.8    

Following feedback from our 2017 Staff Survey the council developed five commitments known as ‘Our People Promise’, one of which is:

“We promise that we will be a fair and inclusive place to work by working towards having a workforce that is reflective of the community we serve, and where everyone experiences dignity and respect in the workplace.”

The work programme to deliver this promise links closely to the wider equality and diversity action plan.

Continued activity for years 2020 to 2022 includes:

• review where there is an imbalance in the gender profile of staff in particular job roles and agree actions to reduce the gender pay gap
• review potential barriers to recruitment and promotion to improve workforce diversity across the workforce as a whole
• engagement with community groups and schools working alongside the council’s Apprenticeship Programme Manager to raise the profile of the council as a potential employer, particularly for those communities who are currently underrepresented in our workforce

Hourly Pay Definition for the purposes of calculating the mean and median hourly rates

Pay will include:

• basic pay
• paid leave, including annual leave, sick leave, maternity, paternity, adoption or parental leave (except where an employee is paid less than usual because of being on any such leave)
• area and other allowances
• shift premium pay
• pay for piecework
• bonus pay

It will not include:

• overtime pay
• expenses

Full-pay Relevant Employee Definition

“Full-pay relevant employee” means a relevant employee who is not, during the relevant pay period, being paid at a reduced rate or nil as a result of the employee being on leave. Employees who receive no pay at all during the relevant pay period, whether or not this is as a result of being on leave are excluded from the gender pay gap calculations. “Leave” includes—

(a) annual leave

(b) maternity, paternity, adoption, parental or shared parental leave

(c) sick leave and

(d) special leave

Pay Quartiles

This calculation requires an employer to show the proportions of male and female “full-pay relevant employees”  in 4 quartile pay bands. This is done by dividing the workforce (so far as possible) into 4 equal sections to determine the lower, lower middle, upper middle and upper quartile pay bands. Where employees receiving the same hourly rate of pay fall within more than one quartile pay band, a relative proportion of male and female employees receiving that rate of pay was assigned to each of those pay quartiles.