Transparency data

Home Office's gender pay gap report 2019

Published 23 January 2020

Background

In 2017, the Government introduced world-leading legislation that made it statutory for organisations with 250 or more employees to report annually on their gender pay gap. Government departments are covered by the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017 which came into force on 31 March 2017. These regulations underpin the Public Sector Equality Duty and require relevant organisations to publish their gender pay gap by 30 March annually. This includes the mean and median gender pay gaps; the mean and median gender bonus gaps; the proportion of men and women who received bonuses; and the proportions of male and female employees in each pay quartile.

The gender pay gap shows the difference in the average pay between all men and women in a workforce. If an organisation has a particularly high gender pay gap, this can indicate there may be a number of issues to deal with, and the individual calculations may help to identify what those issues are.

The gender pay gap is different to equal pay. Equal pay deals with the pay differences between men and women who carry out the same jobs, similar jobs or work of equal value. It is unlawful to pay people unequally because they are a man or a woman.

Building a diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects the people we serve is one of the Civil Service’s top workforce priorities. The collective aim is to make the Civil Service the UK’s most inclusive employer by 2020. The Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy outlines how we plan to achieve this. The Civil Service should create opportunities for all in a truly meritocratic way and reward all civil servants fairly, regardless of gender, ethnicity or any other personal characteristic.

The Home Office promotes the fair treatment and reward of all staff irrespective of gender. Our Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, Inclusive by Instinct, supports the Civil Service ambition to become the most inclusive employer in the UK by 2020. We continue on our journey to become a place where everyone feels valued, able to bring their whole selves to work and, importantly, reflect the communities we serve.

This report fulfils the department’s reporting requirements, analyses the figures in more detail and sets out our progress to date and what we are doing to close the gender pay gap in the organisation.

Key figures

Proportion of female and male employees

Male	Female
47%	53%

Hourly pay gap

Mean	Median
8.8%	14.6%

Percentage of males and females in each pay quartile

Quartile	Male	Female
Upper quartile	56.9	43.1
Third quartile	53.1	46.9
Second quartile	39.1	60.9
Lower quartile	40.8	59.2

Bonus pay gap

Mean	Median
6.9%	6.1%

Proportion of males and females receiving a bonus

Male	Female
77%	77%

Analysis

Organisational context

At 31 March 2019, Home Office employed a total of 31,411 relevant employees of which 31,160 were full time equivalent staff below Senior Civil Servant (SCS), and 251 SCS staff.

The Home Office has the ability, within the frameworks set by HM Treasury and Cabinet Office, to determine its pay and grading structures for grades below the SCS (AO to Grade 6).

The SCS pay and grading structures are determined by the Cabinet Office. Home Office can make salary and bonus awards within centrally determined parameters.

The Home Office annually reviews pay for staff in grades below SCS, focusing on what steps might be taken to reduce identified disparities, as part of its pay policy.

Arm’s Length Bodies of the Home Office, and National Crime Agency (NCA), will report separately. The gender pay gap analysis provided here is based on the methodology set out in the Equality Act (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017.

Across all grades and business areas, our workforce constitutes 16,500 females and 14,911 males, 53% and 47% percent respectively (figure 1):

-	Male	Female
2016/17	48	52
2017/18	48	52
2018/19	47	53

Figure 1.

The overall Home Office female and male representation by grade is reported in chart 1 and table 1:

Grade	Male	Female
AA	576	667
AO	2777	4105
EO	6333	6700
HEO	2242	2262
SEO	1476	1426
Grade 7	1025	916
Grade 6	343	312
SCS	139	112

Chart 1.

Grade (increasing seniority)	% of male who work in this grade	% of female who work in this grade	% female against an overall population of 53% female
AA	4%	4%	54%
AO	19%	25%	60%
EO	42%	41%	51%
HEO	15%	14%	50%
SEO	10%	9%	49%
Grade 7	7%	6%	47%
Grade 6	2%	2%	48%
SCS	1%	1%	45%

Table 1

Hourly pay

The mean gender pay gap (the difference between men’s and women’s average hourly pay) is 8.8 percent (9.6 percent in 2017-18 report) and the median gender pay gap is 14.6 percent (14.5 percent in 2017-18 report), also shown in figure 2.

Gender pay gap (figure 2)

	Mean	Median
2 years ago	10.1%	15.1%
Last year	9.6%	14.5%
This year	8.8%	14.6%

In comparison to last year’s published figures, there has been a small reduction in the average gap (0.7%) and a slight increase in the median gap (0.1%).

Home Office median gender pay gap compares favourably with the UK 2019 gender pay gap of 17.3 percent (Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), published on 29th October 2019).

The pay gap reduction can be primarily attributed to a general increased representation of females at most grades, most notably at SCS level (27% up compared to previous year). The detail is set out below in chart 2 which shows the percentage change in volume of hires by grade and gender between last year and this year.

Percentage change in volume of hires, by grade and gender, between 17-18 and 18-19

-	% Difference Males	% Difference Females
AA/AO	7%	5%
EO	12%	14%
HEO/SEO	12%	12%
Grade 7/6	13%	14%
SCS	2%	27%

Chart 2.

Compared to last year, the gender pay gap at SCS level has reduced at both median and mean by 3%. The new mean and median figures of 3.3% and 4.6% compare favourably to last year’s mean and median gender pay gap of 6.5% and 7.6% respectively. See table 2.

SCS Gender Pay Gap	2019	2018	Reduction from 2018
Mean	3.3%	6.5%	-3.1%
Median	4.6%	7.6%	-3.0%

Table 2.

Whilst the Home Office employs a relatively even mix of men and women, there are different concentrations in different parts of the business. The Home Office is a diverse organisation, employing people across the grades in a variety of operational, policy and corporate service roles, and across a range of professions including digital and technology, scientists, statisticians, communications and finance. We offer flexibility in ways of working, with the majority of roles being made available on both a full or part time basis, across the UK and, with advances in technology, we are increasing the number of roles that are available to people who need to work at least some of their time from home.

The composition of the workforce varies in the different parts of our diverse organisation and this influences the pay gap. Our large-scale operations in the following business areas account for a significant part of the gap:

• Border Force (BF) and Immigration Enforcement (IE), which together employ 16% more males than females, both operate around the clock, 365 days a year. In these areas, more males than females undertake shift duties, which attract additional remuneration, and of those undertaking shifts, more males undertake those shifts that attract greatest compensation.
• HM Passport Office (HMPO) offers more flexible employment opportunities and is 64% resourced by females. The flexible roles offered by HMPO are different in terms of skills and responsibility and are typically graded at a lower level and attract fewer shift allowances.

The female and male distribution by grade and by business area of the Home Office’s full-pay equivalent relevant employee population can be found in chart 3.

Gender distribution by grade and business area, 31 March 2018

Chart 3.

Hourly pay quartiles

The hourly pay quartiles data shows the proportion of men and women that are in each pay quartile, when we arrange staff in order of hourly pay rate.

The lower and second quartile have higher proportions of female staff than male staff, due largely to the number of female staff working in HMPO.

The third and upper quartiles have higher proportions of male staff, and this difference in distribution of staff across the pay quartiles also impacts the gender pay gap (table 3).

Percentage of males and females in each pay quartile (table 3)

This year, 2018 to 2019

Quartile	Male	Female
Upper quartile	56.9	43.1
Third quartile	53.1	46.9
Second quartile	39.1	60.9
Lower quartile	40.8	59.2

Last year, 2017 to 2018

Quartile	Male	Female
Upper quartile	57	43
Third quartile	53.4	46.6
Second quartile	40.6	59.4
Lower quartile	39	61

2 years ago, 2016 to 2017

Quartile	Male	Female
Upper quartile	58.1	41.9
Third quartile	53.3	46.7
Second quartile	40	60
Lower quartile	39.4	60.6

Bonus Pay

For AA-Grade 6 Home Office offers in-year reward and recognition, as well as end of year performance awards. In line with Cabinet Office policy, the Home Office also has an in-year and end of year scheme for SCS.

The year-end award reflects performance over a year, while the in-year scheme rewards outstanding achievement in particularly demanding tasks or situations. The parameters defining bonus values are set irrespective of gender in both schemes.

The mean gender bonus gap (difference between men and women) is 6.9 percent (12.2 percent in 2018 report) and the median gender bonus gap is 6.1 percent (7.7 percent in 2018 report). Overall 77 percent of women (57 percent in 2018 report) and 77 percent of men (55 percent in 2018 report) received a bonus payment. See, figure 3 and 4.

Bonus pay gap (figure 3)

This year, 2018 to 2019

Median bonus gap	6.1%
Mean bonus gap	6.9%

Last year, 2017 to 2018

Median bonus gap	7.7%
Mean bonus gap	12.2%

2 years ago, 2016 to 2017

Median bonus gap	13%
Mean bonus gap	16.6%

Proportion of employees receiving a bonus (figure 4)

This year, 2018 to 2019

Male	77%
Female	77%

Last year, 2017 to 2018

Male	55%
Female	57%

2 years ago, 2016 to 2017

Male	28%
Female	26%

Despite the same proportion of males and females receiving a bonus there is still a gap in both the mean and in the median values in favour of men. The bonus gap is principally attributed to the gender mix by seniority. Those in higher grades get proportionately larger bonuses than those in lower grades. There are still fewer females in the upper quartile of earnings, even though the distribution of females by grade has improved over the last year.

As in 2017-18, the bonuses women received were, on average, lower. This is, in part, because year-end bonuses are pro-rated for part-time working and over 80% of part-time staff at Home Office are female.

Last year, owing to technical issues, it was only possible to include voucher rewards covering a period of 8 months. In this year’s calculations, it has been possible to include vouchers covering the full reporting year (1st April 2019 – 31st March 2019).

Actions

The Home Office is committed to closing the gender pay gap, and we have a gender pay gap action plan dedicated to making our ambition a reality. Our Diversity and Inclusion Strategy – ‘Inclusive by Instinct’ sets out our aims for widening representation for underrepresented groups, including women and building an inclusive workplace to attract, engage, develop and retain talented, diverse staff. Specifically, we have set ourselves stretching, but achievable targets to address the under-representation of women in the Senior Civil Service (SCS), a representation rate of 47% which is equivalent to the female economically active population of the UK. Our SCS targets are for 2025, but with a checkpoint in 2020 to assess our progress. Female SCS representation in the Home Office is at 45.8% (Source: People Facts, March 2019).

• Since 2016, we have run our own, award-winning development programme called the Access Programme to support the development of underrepresented groups, including women.
• We participate in Crossing Thresholds, a 12-month mentoring programme aimed exclusively for women in the Civil Service at all levels below the SCS.
• The Positive Action Pathway is a cross-government development programme available to staff in underrepresented groups and all levels below the SCS who have the potential and aspiration to progress in the Civil Service.
• The Future Leaders Scheme is a cross-government talent programme aimed at high potential senior managers, including from underrepresented groups to help them accelerate their development to the SCS and to create a strong, diverse talent pipeline across the Civil Service. Also, for SCS we have the Senior Leaders Scheme to accelerate the development of high potential SCS.
• We continue to support our Return to Work Programme, which provided a bridge back to work for experienced professionals who have taken an extended career break for typically two years or more. We also promote Shared Parental Leave policies.
• We developed a BAME Women’s Leadership Summit to support our high performing women in reaching their potential in the department and a Senior Leaders Programme that also targets women (and men) “Returners” to help them reestablish their careers and increase diversity.
• We are piloting a ‘Career Watch’ Sponsorship Programme, initially for BAME senior managers but with a view to rolling it out more widely, where a senior leader will use their influence to support the development and progression of high performing staff in our underrepresented groups.

Next steps

The Home Office continues to monitor trends in earnings by gender and to act as permitted within the parameters set by the Treasury’s pay guidance, to further reduce any variances.

Overall, the Home Office has achieved a great deal on gender equality, being recognised by external benchmarking, for example, in The Times Top 50 Employers for Women, which considers both internal processes and external activity that promotes gender equality, diversity and inclusion and creates opportunities for women in a wider context. The Home Office will continue to work to ensure we have the right culture where women can thrive and have their voices heard on parity with men and by creating a more diverse gender promotion pipeline at all levels to support us in appropriately balancing our gender representation at senior grades, including the SCS.

Our action plan for “Inclusive by Instinct” recognises that addressing the gender pay gap is a holistic enterprise, which will flourish when supported appropriately at all levels – the actions around gender a co-owned by our gender staff support network, GEN (Gender Equality Network):

• We have an Executive Committee level Gender Champion who is supported by a gender board which meets regularly to identify and address gender representation and inclusion issues at the Home Office.
• GEN is an established and active gender staff support network. Together with the department the network has developed a shared Gender Action Plan focusing on: balanced representation, the gender pay gap, talent, and wellbeing.
• We will embed learning from the University of Cambridge ‘Collaborating with Men’ study - a ground-breaking approach focussing on the positive engagement between men and women to challenge, enable and drive forward cultural changes to assist employers in providing an environment inclusive for all.
• We provide flexible working to support staff who wish to work more flexibly, for example, posts being available on job-share and options for reduced hours, term-time working or compressed hours and the encouragement on the uptake of shared parental leave.
• We are continually implementing recruitment practices to create a diverse workforce, using non-discriminatory job descriptions and anonymised recruitment to eliminate potential bias in the recruitment process. We highlight vacancies on Vercida, the recruitment website for people looking for inclusive employers.
• We continue to shorten salary bands. As staff are recruited and promoted, they will enter the next grade at or near the grade minimum, and therefore at a disadvantage to established staff in those grades who will be at a more advanced salary. Reducing the range width of grade salary bands counters the potential for this to impact either gender.
• We will further develop entrance and exit interviews to understand what more can be done to attract and retain talent and in particular, women.

Declaration

We confirm that the data reported by Home Office is accurate and has been calculated according to the requirements and methodology set out in the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017.

All staff who were deemed to be full paid relevant employees were included.

Due to limited data available, contractor payments were unavailable for inclusion in this dataset but we will further explore its availability for inclusion in the next gender pay gap report.

Chief People Officer: Jill Hatcher

Home Office Permanent Secretary: Philip Rutnam