Introduction

Pay gap reporting helps demonstrate transparency around how employers reward their workforce, foster a fair and more inclusive workplace, and identifying and addressing disparities. For North West Ambulance Service, this is not just about compliance; it is also about utilising talent to enhance public service, strengthen our workforce, and improve patient care.

This report presents an overview of our gender, ethnicity, and disability pay gaps as of 31 March 2025 (snapshot date), based on data from the Electronic Staff Record (ESR). On this date, there were 7,810 NWAS members of staff in post.

The reporting period covers 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, with hourly pay calculated in accordance with government guidelines as per Schedule 2 of the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017.

Our reporting follows the government’s guidance as published by the Women and Equalities Unit, measuring the average hourly pay difference between:

• Men and women (Gender Pay Gap)
• White and Black and minority ethnic (BME) staff (Ethnicity Pay Gap)
• Non-disabled and Disabled staff (Disability Pay Gap)

The purpose of examining pay gaps is to explore the differences between the hourly wage of different staff groups. The figures are affected by how many female, BME or disabled staff  are at a given grade/band and their position on the pay scale. Pay gap data shows the difference in the average and median pay between the comparable staff groups.

In the case of the gender pay gap, it is worth noting that this is different from equal pay. Equal pay looks at the difference in pay of men and women doing the same or similar job, or a job of equal value.

Monitoring of workforce equalities data from a race (WRES), disability (WDES) and pay gap perspective is central to ensuring that we are delivering on our  equality, diversity and inclusion priorities:

1. We will embed fair and inclusive recruitment and progression processes to improve the diversity of the workforce at all levels.
2. We will educate and empower our workforce and leaders to promote a positive psychologically safe culture, to support a reduction in the experience of bullying, harassment, discrimination and an improvement in retention.

Note: Pay gap data for gender, ethnicity and disability relies on self-declaration. Due to limitations in ESR, not all colleagues are able to or choose to self-declare or identify their protected characteristics, including ethnicity, gender identity etc. As such, the data used for pay gap reporting may not fully reflect the diversity of the workforce, but efforts to improve data capture are ongoing.

Gender Pay Gap Data

Table A: 2025 Gender Split by Quartile

Female representation in the NWAS workforce has consistently increased over a number of years, and as of 31 March 2025, 56.19% of staff in NWAS were female (53.13% in 2024).

Table A indicates an increase in female representation this year across the lower, lower-middle, and upper pay quartiles. However, there has been a slight decline in the upper-middle quartile compared to the previous year, as shown in Table B. The most significant growth occurred in the lower pay quartile, where female representation has risen to 59.89% – an increase of 2.26% from the previous year. Additionally, there continue to be more women than men in the two lower quartiles, and a majority of staff (albeit by a smaller margin) in the upper middle quartile are female.

Table B: Historic gender split by quartile for comparison

Table C: 2025 Hourly Pay Gap

Table C shows that the mean (average) hourly pay gap currently stands at -7.63%, a slight increase from -7.27% in 2024 (Table D). Although still a notable gap, this represents the second-lowest mean figure since reporting began in 2020.

In contrast, the median hourly pay gap has continued to widen, reaching 12.68% this year – the highest level recorded since reporting commenced.

Further analysis is required to fully understand the factors driving this disparity. However, one likely contributor is the distribution of employees across pay quartiles. A larger proportion of female staff (2,289) are concentrated in the lower and lower-middle pay quartiles, positioning the median female salary within the lower-middle quartile. Conversely, fewer than 50% of male staff (1,470) fall into these lower quartiles.

The gender distribution in the upper-middle quartile is nearly equal (940 females and 939 males), while the upper quartile reflects a higher number of male employees (1,021) compared to female employees (858). As a result, the median male salary lies within the upper-middle quartile.

Another potential factor influencing the pay gap is length of service. On average, male employees have longer tenure, increasing their likelihood of being positioned at the higher end of their pay bands.

Table D: Historic hourly pay gap for comparison

Ethnicity Pay Gap Data

This is the first time that Ethnicity Pay Gap data has been published by NWAS, and the second year that the data has been reviewed.

As of 31 March 2025, 6.7% of our workforce identified as BME, 92.3% as White, and 1% chose not to declare their ethnicity. According to the 2021 Census, 85.6% of the population in the North West of England identified as White, with 14.4% representing diverse ethnic backgrounds.

Table E: 2025 Ethnicity split by quartile

Table E shows the representation of BME and White staff in each pay quartiles. 141 BME staff are accounted in the lowest quartile with the upper quartile including 99 BME staff. By comparison, there are approximately 1750 White staff in each pay quartile. Additionally, nearly 40 individuals who have not declared their ethnicity are represented in the upper quartile. Notably, the proportion of BME staff has increased in three of the four pay quartiles in 2025, compared to the 2024 figures shown in Table F.

Table F: Historic Ethnicity split by quartile for comparison

The hourly mean pay gap between BME and White staff stands at -4.38% (£0.86), while the median pay gap is -6.28% (£1.14). Despite increased BME representation in the upper pay quartiles, both the average and median pay gaps have widened by approximately 1.7% compared to the previous year, as shown in Table H.

Table G: 2025 Hourly Pay Gap

Table H: Historic hourly pay gaps for comparison

With only two years of data available, it is challenging to draw definitive conclusions about the widening of pay gaps. However, one likely contributing factor is the distribution of staff across pay quartiles. White staff are represented in significantly higher numbers across all quartiles throughout the organisation. In contrast, BME staff are disproportionately concentrated in the lower pay quartile, with 141 individuals compared to just 99 in the upper quartile—representing over 40% more staff in the lowest pay band.

Another influencing factor may be length of service. On average, White staff may have longer tenure than their BME colleagues, increasing the likelihood of being positioned at the top of their respective pay bands.

Disability Pay Gap Data

This is the first time that Disability Pay Gap data has been published by NWAS, and the second year that the data has been reviewed.

As of 31 March 2025, 9.3% identified as disabled, and 85% declared as non-disabled. The remainder (5.7%) chose not to declare their disability status.  

Table I: 2025 Disability split by quartile

The representation of disabled staff is relatively evenly distributed across the four pay quartiles, with 184 in the lower quartile, 177 in the lower middle quartile, 171 in the upper middle quartile, and 166 in the upper quartile, which accounts for the smallest group. In contrast, there are over 1,700 non-disabled staff in the LQ, nearly 1,600 in the UQ, and more than 1,500 in both the LMQ and UMQ. The highest number of staff who have not declared their disability status is found in the UMQ, followed by the UQ.

There has been a significant increase in the representation of disabled staff across all pay quartiles in 2025, compared to the 2024 figures, as shown in Table J.

Table J: Historic Disability split by quartile for comparison

This year, the average hourly pay rate for non-disabled staff was £0.13 more per hour than for disabled colleagues. While this gap warrants attention, it is notably the smallest when compared to the pay gaps observed across ethnicity and gender. Conversely, the median hourly pay rate for disabled staff was £0.25 more than non-disabled staff.

Table K: 2025 Hourly Pay Gap

Comparatively, in 2024, the average hourly rate for disabled staff was actually £0.15 higher than non-disabled staff, although the median rate was £0.18 lower. The 2025 figures, therefore, reflect a slight deterioration in average pay equity for disabled staff compared to the previous year.

Table L: Historic hourly pay gaps for comparison

As with the Ethnicity Pay Gap, it is challenging to definitively identify the factors influencing the Disability Pay Gap. Although the gap between workforce groups is considerably narrower, it remains important to understand the underlying causes. Addressing this disparity in a positive and collaborative manner – through engagement with a range of stakeholders, including the Disability Network, will be key to driving meaningful progress.

Bonus Pay – Gender / Ethnicity / Disability

In  2025, based on the following criteria, no bonus payments were made this year. Bonus pay includes any rewards related to:

Trust-wide actions

At NWAS, we apply the national NHS terms, conditions of service, and use the national job evaluation system to determine job bandings. These systems have been equality impact assessed and are jointly reviewed by trade unions and managers in partnership at a national level. We believe these systems provide a non-discriminatory set of conditions which meet the requirements of equal pay for work of equal value. We remain committed to working to closing pay gaps through improvements in representation in the upper quartiles of pay.

Our approach to narrowing pay gaps will address systemic barriers and factors common to all, while also targeting inequalities faced by specific groups based on their protected characteristics such as gender, ethnicity and disability.

We are committed to building a better place to work which is why we have already taken several important steps to address our pay gaps:

• Launched a new  Leadership for Diversity and Inclusion (LfD&I) training programme, equipping managers with knowledge and awareness to address bias and promote inclusion.

• Strengthened our inclusive recruitment practices, and invested in our Positive Action and Widening Access Teams.

• Reviewed and updated our Career Break Guidance, Maternity Procedure, New Parent Support Leave Procedure and Strategic Mental Health Plan policies.

• Encouraged staff to declare the equality monitoring information to help better understand the diversity of our workforce.

Over the next year, we will continue to work towards nurturing a positive culture for all, by:

• Further strengthening recruitment practices, including standardising criteria, reducing bias, and diversifying interview panels to improve representation in senior roles.

• Developing strategies for equitable access to training, development, and leadership opportunities, especially for underrepresented groups.

• Encouraging diverse participation on the Developing Leaders programme.

• Providing targeted mentorship to support underrepresented groups to progress into senior roles.

• Ensuring a fair and inclusive workplace where all colleagues can succeed requires a clear focus on pay gaps and the barriers that contribute to them.

Download