Gender pay gap reporting for 2020

Gender pay gap report submitted September 2021

Hourly wages gap

• Average hourly pay gap is 10.89% (8.79% in 2020, 8.85% in 2019 and 7.9% in 2018).
• Median hourly pay gap is 9.26% (7.2% in 2020, 5.42% in 2019 and 6.9% in 2018).

Quartile representation

Explanation of our figures

The information above is the snapshot data up to 31 March 2021. This data meets national requirements for gender pay gap reporting by a public sector organisation. As previously stated, for this year and moving forward, employees who have informed the trust that they do not self-identify as male or female are omitted from the calculations.

The information shows an hourly (average) mean pay gap of 10.89% between male and female employees. The hourly median rate of pay reveals 9.26% difference in pay. This part of the data shows an increase in the median gap, and an increase of the gap in pay at the mean. It should be noted that the use of at pace recruitment to support impact of Covid-19 has meant the trust has been adversely impacted on it’s work towards gender pay equity.

It should also be noted that the actual hourly rate increased for both male and female staff over this 12-month period:

• up 96p for men to £17.77 (in 2020 increased 72p to £16.81 & in 2019 increased 68p to £16.09)
• up 50p for women to £15.83 (in 2020 increased 67p to £15.33 & in 2019 increased 46p to £14.66).

The data on the hourly rate shows an increased pay gap, and representation in three of the four pay quartiles increasing for female (slight drop in the lowest quartile), continue to increase. Overall female representation within NWAS stands at 50.41% compared with 48.1% in 2020 & 46.8% in 2019 & 45.6% in 2018.

As cited in previous years, the action plan focuses on recruitment, career progression and flexible working to enable progression of women within the organisation into the higher pay quartiles. It was expected that these themes would require long-term pieces of work and therefore why these themes remain relevant.

NWAS remains satisfied that the terms and conditions of service offered to staff, alongside the continuously reviewed job evaluation system in place, fulfils the purpose of attractive and non-discriminatory conditions. It also fits with a satisfactory interpretation of equal pay for work of equal value.

Quartile information

The raw data shows an overall increase in the percentage of female staff, which is 48.1% (previously 46.8% in 2019). The raw data shows an overall increase in the percentage of female staff, which is 50.41% (previously 48.1% in 2020 & 46.8% in 2019). There was an increase in the percentage of women across ALL four pay quartiles as a result when compared to the previous year. This means that for the first-time women outnumber men within the workforce. The pay quartile information shows that female representation has also increased from 34.18% in 2019 to 37.23% in 2021 in the upper quartile of pay. This indicates a sustained level of improvement in addressing representation and progression in NWAS.

Activity during 2020-2021

As cited in previous years, the action plan focuses on three main areas of work recruitment, career progression and flexible working to enable progression of women within the organisation into the higher pay quartiles / reducing the barriers to female career progression. It was expected that these themes would require long-term pieces of work and therefore why these themes remain relevant.

Progress is reported to the Director of People and to the Board of Directors through their Committee structure routinely. Examples of the progress shown in the data this year activity are detailed below:

• The Trust has set three equality and diversity priorities with supporting action plans. The first two of these are focused on workforce. Priority 1 focuses on improving the fairness of recruitment, improving overall representation in the workforce & Opportunities to recruit to roles in the highest paid quartile
• Targets have been set both around representation but also on improving disparity ratios which measures representation at different levels of the organisation. It will also be critical that there remains a focus on the impact of management restructures over the course of the next 12 months to ensure fair application of organisational changes processes. These actions should improve the representation, gender pay and appointment from shortlisting data.
• The result of the Empowering Women positive action programme / Women in Leadership programme run in 2019/20. progress has been seen already in the form of positive qualitative feedback from candidates about confidence in progression within NWAS. Measurable progress has been seen through candidates securing promotions since starting on the course.
• The embedding of the assessment centre process brought in to support selection of leadership positions. The centres are designed to reduce any potential bias in the selection process. The centres themselves remain under review to take account of feedback from candidates and invigilators involved in the process.
• Recruitment review – An assessment using the Be Think Do competencies has been developed and brought into effect for all management and leadership roles. This approach is being reviewed, taking into account feedback from participants and the outcomes.
• Large piece of work is continuing across the Trust with flexible/agile working a key part of discussions. It is thought that having flexible working a key tenet of the work and discussions with staff will encourage progression within NWAS for all groups. This is part of a continued move towards an inclusive culture of supporting the needs of individuals within teams relating to career progression and the real or perceived barriers staff may have affecting their progression.

We want to provide an environment where you feel able to engage in discussions about menopause and ask for support and adjustments at work without fear or embarrassment. Therefore we are very pleased to announce that we now have a menopause policy and procedure. To help support staff, we have appointed Menopause Champions across the entire trust. The champions have been fully trained. Menopause workshop sessions for managers are also now available to support this important area.

Plans for the future

There remain regular operational meetings to review the action plan in support of gender equality. Oversight of the gender equality action plan is undertaken by the Director of People. The three main themes will still form the overall outline of the activities taking place.

Gender pay gap reporting for 2020

Gender pay gap report submitted August 2021

Women’s hourly rate

Pay Quartiles