Corporate report

Equal pay audit 2022: MOD civilian personnel

Published 5 September 2023

This was published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government

Introduction

The Equal Pay Audit (EPA) examines the equality of pay of all MOD Main civilian personnel by analysing the differences in average basic salary based on sex and ethnicity. This is in done to meet the department’s obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty to provide information on its workforce identified by the Equality Act 2010.

Analysis on length of service in substantive grade, working patterns, promotions and time to promotion have been conducted to provide possible explanations for differences in pay.

All data in this report covers MOD Main personnel only. See background notes section 5 at the bottom of this report to see more details of personnel included/excluded.

Due to the delay in the implementation of the 2022 MOD Main pay award, data in this report is taken as at 01 January 2023.

Table 1.1 and 2.1 include both full-time and part-time personnel, while table 1.2 and 2.2 focus on part-time personnel only.

All tables in this publication can be viewed in Excel ODS format in the index page for this year’s report.

For data sources, symbols, table rounding, MOD to civil service grade conversions, and other rules please see background notes section 5.

Definitions of terms used in this publication are highlighted throughout the publication where relevant.

Average Basic Salary figures are derived from the basic monthly salary rate paid as at 01 January 2023, annualised to assume a whole year at the same salary rate. To assure comparability, for all personnel regardless of their full-time/part-time status, it represents what they would earn in a full year at the same salary rate with an FTE of 1.

Adjusted Average Basic Salary figures have been calculated using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) methodology, which adjusts average basic salaries for the differential effects of Length of Service in substantive grade in males and females.

Length of Service (LOS) in substantive grade is how much time, calculated from whole years, personnel have been in their actual grade for, regardless of temporary promotions or other pay arrangements.

Main Points

1.1: When average basic salary is adjusted for LOS in substantive grade, there is no substantial difference (0.5% or less) between male and female average annual salary for all grades apart from Skillzone 3 (0.8%). ANCOVA adjustment caveats must be fully considered to understand adjusted salary differences.

1.2: In all non-Skillzone grades, there are more female part-time workers than males indicating different part-time working trends per sex. However, due to part-time males having a higher Average LOS in substantive grade than part-time females, salary differences still favour males on average. Once this is adjusted for with ANCOVA, all grade apart from Skillzone 3 have below 1.5% gender salary gap.

2.1: Ethnic Minority personnel earn more on average than White personnel. It is important to note however, that the proportion of Ethnic Minority personnel working in London (41.6%) is much higher than the equivalent proportion for White personnel working in London (10.1%). This proportional difference partly explains Ethnic Minority’s average salary being higher due to higher London pay rates.

2.2: Like 2.1, while part-time Ethnic Minority personnel out-earn part-time White personnel in most grades, considering ethnic proportion differences is also important here as location pay policy can skew average basic salary comparisons between groups.

3.1: For all grades apart from Grade 7 and Skillzone grades, more females were promoted than males, where it is also interesting to note that females take less time to promote on average apart from at Executive Officer level.

3.2: A higher proportion of females were promoted overall given the female proportion at the lower grade. However, this is only statistically significant at the Administrative Officer and Higher Executive Officer level.

Full Time Equivalence (FTE) is a figure that allows part-time workers’ hours to be put into the same units as full-time workers. Headcount is a measure of the size of the workforce based on number of personnel employed.

1. Average Salary by Sex and Grade

Table 1.1 - Civilian Personnel: Average Basic Salary by Sex and Grade

Grade by sex	Headcount	Average FTE	Average LOS in substantive grade (years)	Average basic salary	Average basic salary ANCOVA adjusted for LOS in substantive grade
Grade 6	682	0.98	3.3	£67,074	[z]
Male	413	0.99	3.9	£67,283	£67,199
Female	269	0.98	2.3	£66,753	£66,882
Male Female difference	+144	+0.01	+1.6	+0.8%	+0.5%
Grade 7	1,925	0.99	3.2	£56,453	[z]
Male	1,106	0.99	3.7	£56,482	£56,411
Female	819	0.98	2.6	£56,415	£56,511
Male Female difference	+287	+0.01	+1.0	+0.1%	-0.2%
Senior Executive Officer	4,719	0.98	4.4	£42,155	[z]
Male	2,666	0.98	5.3	£42,300	£42,207
Female	2,053	0.97	3.3	£41,968	£42,089
Male Female difference	+613	+0.01	+1.9	+0.8%	+0.3%
Higher Executive Officer	5,881	0.98	5.0	£34,522	[z]
Male	3,026	0.99	5.7	£34,632	£34,575
Female	2,855	0.97	4.3	£34,404	£34,465
Male Female difference	+171	+0.02	+1.5	+0.7%	+0.3%
Executive Officer	5,715	0.98	6.7	£27,685	[z]
Male	2,807	0.98	7.8	£27,777	£27,701
Female	2,908	0.97	5.6	£27,597	£27,670
Male Female difference	-101	+0.02	+2.2	+0.7%	+0.1%
Administrative Officer	5,983	0.95	10.2	£22,325	[z]
Male	1,721	0.98	9.9	£22,367	£22,369
Female	4,262	0.93	10.3	£22,308	£22,307
Male Female difference	-2,541	+0.05	-0.3	+0.3%	+0.3%
Administrative Assistant	2,693	0.96	11.5	£21,380	[z]
Male	1,895	0.97	12.3	£21,380	£21,380
Female	798	0.93	9.7	£21,379	£21,379
Male Female difference	+1,097	+0.04	+2.5	0.0%	0.0%
Skillzone 4	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
Male	200	0.98	8.2	£26,053	[z]
Female	[c]	[c]	[c]	[c]	[z]
Male Female difference	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
Skillzone 3	1,021	0.99	10.0	£22,150	[z]
Male	946	0.99	10.1	£22,172	£22,163
Female	75	0.98	7.9	£21,874	£21,988
Male Female difference	+871	+0.01	+2.2	+1.4%	+0.8%
Skillzone 2	1,205	0.98	9.1	£19,839	[z]
Male	919	0.99	9.6	£19,859	£19,860
Female	286	0.96	7.5	£19,773	£19,769
Male Female difference	+633	+0.03	+2.2	0.4%	+0.5%
Skillzone 1	435	0.96	13.1	£18,835	[z]
Male	323	0.97	13.1	£18,831	£18,831
Female	112	0.92	13.1	£18,846	£18,846
Male Female difference	+211	+0.05	0.0	-0.1%	-0.1%

Table 1.1 shows the headcount, average (arithmetic mean) FTE, the average LOS in substantive grade, and average basic salary split by sex and grade for each grade. Adjusted Gender salary differences for LOS in substantive grade are presented but must be interpreted alongside ANCOVA caveats in the background notes section 5.4.

Adjusting for LOS in substantive grade resulted in average female salaries being broadly equivalent to average male salaries (for each grade the difference was no more than +/- 0.8%). To illustrate this point, before the adjustment for LOS in substantive grade, there was a 0.1% difference, favouring males in Grade 7. After the adjustment, the difference was 0.2% in favour of females.

Adjusting average basic salary for LOS in substantive grade is important here because for all grades apart from Administrative Officers and Skillzone 1, male’s LOS in substantive grade is equal to or over 1 year larger than that for females.

It is important to note however, that the reliability of adjustments to basic salary worsens if LOS in substantive grade is weakly correlated with basic salary per grade. ANCOVA assumptions not being followed could also reduce the reliability of the adjustment.

See background notes section 5.4 for more information on ANCOVA adjustments.

Full-time civil servants are those working 37 hours a week (36 hours or over in London), excluding meal breaks. Part-time civil servants are those working fewer than 37 hours a week (36/37 hours in London), excluding meal breaks.

Table 1.2 - Civilian Part-Time Personnel: Average Basic Salary by Sex and Grade

Grade by sex	Headcount	Average FTE	Average LOS in substantive grade (years)	Average basic salary	Average basic salary ANCOVA adjusted for LOS in substantive grade
Grade 6	39	0.73	4.5	£67,320	[z]
Male	13	0.60	9.3	£68,498	£67,507
Female	26	0.80	2.0	£66,732	£67,227
Male Female difference	-13	-0.20	+7.3	+2.6%	+0.4%
Grade 7	91	0.72	5.0	£56,873	[z]
Male	26	0.63	8.1	£57,749	£57,458
Female	65	0.75	3.7	£56,522	£56,639
Male Female difference	-39	-0.13	+4.4	+2.2%	+1.4%
Senior Executive Officer	332	0.69	7.4	£42,369	[z]
Male	109	0.62	12.4	£43,240	£42,692
Female	223	0.73	4.9	£41,943	£42,211
Male Female difference	-114	-0.11	+7.5	+3.1%	+1.1%
Higher Executive Officer	426	0.71	7.9	£34,724	[z]
Male	100	0.65	12.3	£35,354	£35,036
Female	326	0.72	6.6	£34,531	£34,629
Male Female difference	-226	-0.07	+5.7	+2.4%	+1.2%
Executive Officer	453	0.69	10.1	£27,787	[z]
Male	120	0.64	13.9	£28,025	£27,801
Female	333	0.71	8.7	£27,701	£27,782
Male Female difference	-213	-0.07	+5.2	+1.2%	+0.1%
Administrative Officer	965	0.66	11.9	£22,252	[z]
Male	101	0.65	11.1	£22,252	£22,252
Female	864	0.66	12.0	£22,252	£22,252
Male Female difference	-763	-0.02	-0.8	0.0%	0.0%
Administrative Assistant	296	0.61	14.2	£21,378	[z]
Male	129	0.56	16.9	£21,380	£21,379
Female	167	0.65	12.2	£21,376	£21,377
Male Female difference	-38	-0.09	+4.6	0.0%	0.0%
Skillzone 4	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
Male	12	0.67	9.8	£26,115	[z]
Female	0	0.00	0.0	0.0%	[z]
Male Female difference	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
Skillzone 3	42	0.66	12.6	£22,497	[z]
Male	36	0.65	13.7	£22,650	£22,594
Female	6	0.75	6.2	£21,584	£21,919
Male Female difference	+30	-0.11	+7.5	+4.9%	+3.1%
Skillzone 2	92	0.73	12.0	£19,770	[z]
Male	41	0.68	14.0	£19,770	£19,770
Female	51	0.77	10.4	£19,770	£19,770
Male Female difference	-10	-0.09	+3.7	0.0%	0.0%
Skillzone 1	47	0.62	11.8	£18,839	[z]
Male	26	0.64	12.6	£18,830	£18,829
Female	21	0.60	10.9	£18,851	£18,852
Male Female difference	+5	+0.04	+1.8	-0.1%	-0.1%

Table 1.2 shows the same outputs as in Table 1.1, but for part-time personnel only.

For all grades apart from Skillzones, females make up most of the part-time workforce which is important to consider when comparing averages. Average FTE for part-time personnel tends to increase for females as their grade increases, but for males, average FTE is mostly constant as grade increases.

FTE variations below 1 and sex population differences show that for the part-time workforce, females are more likely to take part-time work, but their contracted part-time hours are higher on average than their male counterparts. Additionally, as female part-time personnel move up the grade structure, their part-time hours worked increase. This is not the case with male part-time personnel, indicating different part-time working trends per sex.

The LOS in substantive grade sex difference is highest for Senior Executive Officer personnel (7.5 years in favour of males). When adjusting average basic salary for this at Senior Executive Officer we see the average salary sex difference decreases significantly by 2%. A similar situation can be observed for most other grades, but again, it is important to note the reliability of ANCOVA adjustments.

ANCOVA adjustments are dependent on how correlated average salary is with LOS in substantive grade and how well ANCOVA assumption are being followed. For all grades, the average basic salary gap has narrowed or stayed roughly equal after adjusting for LOS in substantive grade.

2. Average Salary by Ethnicity and Grade

Ethnic Minorities is now the widely used terminology, as a collective descriptor for non-white citizens, across Whitehall, other public sector bodies and the third sector, as well as among civil service race staff networks and their cross-Whitehall umbrella body, the Civil Service Race Forum. See also Ethnic Origin.

Ethnic Origin is the ethnic grouping to which a person has indicated that they belong. The classifications used were revised for the 2011 Census of Population when a classification of nationality was also collected. Ethnic background, disability, religion, and sexual orientation are self-declared. Therefore, representation rates are calculated from known declarations and exclude unknown and undeclared personnel.

Table 2.1 - Civilian Personnel: Average Basic Salary by Ethnicity and Grade

Grade by ethnicity	Headcount	Average FTE	Average LOS in substantive grade (years)	Average basic salary
Grade 6	595	0.98	3.4	£66,973
White	560	0.98	3.5	£66,944
Ethnic Minorities	35	1.00	1.8	£67,434
White Ethnic Minorities difference	+525	-0.02	+1.7	-0.7%
Grade 7	1,629	0.99	3.3	£56,432
White	1,509	0.99	3.4	£56,392
Ethnic Minorities	120	1.00	2.4	£56,937
White Ethnic Minorities difference	+1,389	-0.01	+1.0	-1.0%
Senior Executive Officer	4,091	0.98	4.5	£42,131
White	3,735	0.98	4.7	£42,093
Ethnic Minorities	356	0.99	3.1	£42,530
White Ethnic Minorities difference	+3,379	-0.01	+1.6	-1.0%
Higher Executive Officer	5,124	0.98	5.0	£34,507
White	4,762	0.98	5.1	£34,493
Ethnic Minorities	362	0.99	3.4	£34,692
White Ethnic Minorities difference	+4,400	-0.01	+1.7	-0.6%
Executive Officer	4,967	0.98	6.9	£27,685
White	4,681	0.97	7.0	£27,674
Ethnic Minorities	286	0.99	5.2	£27,868
White Ethnic Minorities difference	+4,395	-0.01	+1.9	-0.7%
Administrative Officer	5,253	0.94	10.5	£22,323
White	4,928	0.94	10.6	£22,296
Ethnic Minorities	325	0.95	8.8	£22,730
White Ethnic Minorities difference	+4,603	-0.01	+1.8	-1.9%
Administrative Assistant	2,382	0.96	12.1	£21,380
White	2,241	0.95	12.1	£21,380
Ethnic Minorities	141	0.98	12.4	£21,380
White Ethnic Minorities difference	+2,100	-0.03	-0.3	0.0%
Skillzone 4	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
White	177	0.98	8.2	£26,050
Ethnic Minorities	[c]	[c]	[c]	[c]
White Ethnic Minorities difference	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
Skillzone 3	877	0.99	10.3	£22,177
White	859	0.99	10.3	£22,175
Ethnic Minorities	18	1.00	11.7	£22,296
White Ethnic Minorities difference	+841	-0.01	-1.4	-0.5%
Skillzone 2	994	0.98	9.8	£19,833
White	947	0.98	9.9	£19,829
Ethnic Minorities	47	1.00	7.7	£19,911
White Ethnic Minorities difference	+900	-0.02	+2.2	-0.4%
Skillzone 1	358	0.97	13.8	£18,834
White	349	0.97	13.9	£18,834
Ethnic Minorities	9	0.89	7.6	£18,830
White Ethnic Minorities difference	+340	+0.08	+6.4	0.0%

Table 2.1 examines the headcount, average (arithmetic mean) FTE, the average LOS in substantive grade, and average basic salary split by ethnicity and grade for each all grades. ANCOVA adjusted salaries have not been analysed here as salary differences in ethnic groups are affected more by location pay policy rather than LOS in substantive grade.

As mentioned in the ‘Main Points’ at the start, for all grades, Ethnic Minority personnel earn more on average than White personnel. It is important to note however, that the proportion of Ethnic Minority personnel working in London (41.6%) is much higher than the equivalent proportion for White personnel working in London (10.1%).

Since the cost of living in London is higher than that for the rest of the UK, MOD increase pay ranges for all London personnel per grade (see section 4 for London vs National pay ranges per grade). This policy combined with the low numbers of Ethnic Minority personnel, causes Ethnic Minority personnel’s average salary to rise above their White counterpart’s average salary.

For all grades apart from Administrative Assistant and Skillzone 3 White personnel have a higher average LOS in substantive grade than Ethnic Minorities at the same grade.

Table 2.2 - Civilian Part-Time Personnel: Average Basic Salary by Ethnicity and Grade

Grade by ethnicity	Headcount	Average FTE	Average LOS in substantive grade (years)	Average basic salary
Grade 6	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
White	36	0.72	4.8	£67,407
Ethnic Minorities	0	0.00	0.0	0.0%
White Ethnic Minorities difference	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
Grade 7	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
White	78	0.72	4.9	£56,804
Ethnic Minorities	[c]	[c]	[c]	[c]
White Ethnic Minorities difference	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
Senior Executive Officer	301	0.69	7.4	£42,356
White	288	0.69	7.5	£42,348
Ethnic Minorities	13	0.69	5.3	£42,521
White Ethnic Minorities difference	+275	0.00	+2.2	-0.4%
Higher Executive Officer	392	0.71	7.9	£34,712
White	373	0.71	8.1	£34,710
Ethnic Minorities	19	0.72	4.6	£34,743
White Ethnic Minorities difference	+354	-0.01	+3.5	-0.1%
Executive Officer	400	0.70	10.6	£27,807
White	387	0.69	10.7	£27,815
Ethnic Minorities	13	0.74	7.5	£27,557
White Ethnic Minorities difference	+374	-0.05	+3.2	+0.9%
Administrative Officer	872	0.66	12.2	£22,253
White	835	0.67	12.4	£22,246
Ethnic Minorities	37	0.59	8.4	£22,407
White Ethnic Minorities difference	+798	+0.08	+4.0	-0.7%
Administrative Assistant	272	0.61	14.7	£21,378
White	265	0.61	14.8	£21,378
Ethnic Minorities	7	0.62	10.9	£21,380
White Ethnic Minorities difference	+258	0.00	+4.0	0.0%
Skillzone 4	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
White	11	0.65	10.5	£26,148
Ethnic Minorities	0	0.00	0.0	0.0%
White Ethnic Minorities difference	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
Skillzone 3	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
White	38	0.66	13.2	£22,593
Ethnic Minorities	0	0.00	0.0	0.0%
White Ethnic Minorities difference	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
Skillzone 2	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
White	64	0.72	13.4	£19,770
Ethnic Minorities	0	0.00	0.0	0.0%
White Ethnic Minorities difference	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
Skillzone 1	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
White	31	0.64	13.4	£18,844
Ethnic Minorities	[c]	[c]	[c]	[c]
White Ethnic Minorities difference	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]

Table 2.2 shows the same outputs as in Table 2.1, but for part-time personnel only. A number of categories within this table do not have sufficient numbers and have been omitted with a [c] for confidentiality reasons (see section ‘Symbols’ in the background notes section 5.1 for more detail).

The numbers of part-time Ethnic Minority personnel at Grades 6, 7 and Skillzones is too small to reliably conduct any statistical analysis, but we can see for all other grades, that FTE is broadly similar for White and Ethnic Minority personnel.

Average salary differences go in favour of Ethnic Minorities per grade apart from Executive Officers. Due to the small number of Ethnic Minority personnel in each grade, it would be prudent to interpret further analysis with caution, considering many possible reasons for any differences that may be observed.

3. Promotion by Sex and Grade

Promotions include those personnel who were permanently promoted or advanced within in the report’s reference period (including a small number of personnel who were both recruited and promoted within the period).

Length of Time to Promotion is the time (in years) it takes to be promoted to a grade above your current substantive grade.

Table 3.1 - Promoted Civilian Personnel: Average Basic Salary by Sex and Grade and Length of Time to Promotion

Grade by sex	Number of promotions into grade	Average basic salary on promotion	Average LOS to promotion (years)
Grade 6	105	£63,928	2.6
Male	51	£63,874	2.8
Female	54	£63,980	2.4
Male Female difference	-3	-0.2%	+0.4
Grade 7	346	£53,841	2.7
Male	181	£53,850	3.1
Female	165	£53,831	2.1
Male Female difference	+16	0.0%	+1.0
Senior Executive Officer	884	£40,380	2.5
Male	428	£40,355	2.5
Female	456	£40,403	2.5
Male Female difference	-28	-0.1%	0.0
Higher Executive Officer	866	£33,129	2.6
Male	371	£33,101	3.0
Female	495	£33,151	2.4
Male Female difference	-124	-0.1%	+0.6
Executive Officer	572	£26,501	3.6
Male	180	£26,521	3.1
Female	392	£26,492	3.9
Male Female difference	-212	+0.1%	-0.8
Administrative Officer	158	£21,360	3.1
Male	47	£21,393	3.6
Female	111	£21,346	2.9
Male Female difference	-64	+0.2%	+0.7
Skillzone 4	[z]	[z]	[z]
Male	[c]	[c]	[c]
Female	[c]	[c]	[c]
Male Female difference	[z]	[z]	[z]
Skillzone 3	[z]	[z]	[z]
Male	17	£20,576	5.5
Female	[c]	[c]	[c]
Male Female difference	[z]	[z]	[z]
Skillzone 2	[z]	[z]	[z]
Male	13	£19,082	3.8
Female	[c]	[c]	[c]
Male Female difference	[z]	[z]	[z]

Table 3.1 shows the number of males and females in each grade who were promoted/advanced from their substantive grade in the period: 01 January 2022 to 31 December 2022. Temporary promotions were not included here, except where those temporary promotions were made permanent. Extra exclusions were made for the promotion analysis and can be seen in the background notes section 5.1.

The grades referenced in this table are personnel’s post-promotion grade, accompanied by their post-promotion salary, i.e. where a Grade 7 was promoted to a Grade 6, they are listed here as Grade 6 with their new Grade 6 salary. Administrative Assistants and Skillzone 1s have been omitted from this table as it is not technically possible to promote into this grade from another broader banded grade. This table also considers the average LOS to promotion calculated in whole years, to observe and compare by sex, the length of time it took to be promoted.

In all grades other than Grade 7 and Skillzones, more females were promoted than males. Females also promoted quicker for all grades apart from Executive Officer as shown by the average LOS to promotion being lower for females than males.

It is important to note that these figures do not represent the average length of time spent within a grade that it takes to achieve promotion, as there are inevitably many other individuals remaining in the previous grade who will achieve promotion in the future. These figures are simply representative of the average length of time spent in the previous grade prior to promotion by those who were promoted within the stated period.

The average basic salary on promotion of males and females in each grade remains comparable for all grades, with a difference of less than +/- 0.2%. Generally, upon promotion, promotes will be placed on the minimum pay scale of their new grade so London/National pay scale differences could be contributing to much of the salary difference.

Table 3.2 - Promoted Civilian Personnel: Promotion Rates by Sex and Grade

Grade by sex	Number of promotions into grade	Average headcount at lower grade	Female promotion rate compared to lower grade promotion rate	Statistical significance	Promotion rate into grade
All grades	2,973	30,087			9.9%
Male	1,292	15,828			8.2%
Female	1,681	14,259			11.8%
Female Proportion	56.5%	47.4%	+9.1%	[s]	-3.6%
Grade 6	105	1,822			5.8%
Male	51	1,052			4.8%
Female	54	770			7.0%
Female Proportion	51.4%	42.3%	+9.2%	[ns]	-2.2%
Grade 7	346	4,563			7.6%
Male	181	2,631			6.9%
Female	165	1,932			8.5%
Female Proportion	47.7%	42.4%	+5.3%	[ns]	-1.7%
Senior Executive Officer	884	5,871			15.1%
Male	428	3,050			14.0%
Female	456	2,822			16.2%
Female Proportion	51.6%	48.1%	+3.5%	[ns]	-2.1%
Higher Executive Officer	866	5,858			14.8%
Male	371	2,931			12.7%
Female	495	2,927			16.9%
Female Proportion	57.2%	50.0%	+7.2%	[s]	-4.3%
Executive Officer	572	6,346			9.0%
Male	180	1,880			9.6%
Female	392	4,466			8.8%
Female Proportion	68.5%	70.4%	-1.8%	[ns]	+0.8%
Administrative Officer	158	2,830			5.6%
Male	47	1,978			2.4%
Female	111	851			13.0%
Female Proportion	70.3%	30.1%	+40.2%	[s]	-10.7%
Skillzone 4	[z]	1,087			[z]
Male	[c]	1,010			[z]
Female	[c]	78			[z]
Female Proportion	[z]	7.1%	[z]	[z]	[z]
Skillzone 3	[z]	1,253			[z]
Male	17	962			1.8%
Female	[c]	291			[z]
Female Proportion	[z]	23.2%	[z]	[z]	[z]
Skillzone 2	[z]	457			[z]
Male	13	334			3.9%
Female	[c]	122			[z]
Female Proportion	[z]	26.8%	[z]	[z]	[z]

Table 3.2 shows the number of permanent promotions into grade by sex highlighting the proportion of those who were female and then running a two-proportions z-test to test for sex bias in promotions. Promotion rates by sex and their differences can also be observed.

Average headcount is calculated as a 13-month weighted average and represents the pool of people at one grade beneath the promotion grade (lower grade). It is assumed for simplicity that there are no promotions from two grades below or more.

The two-proportions z-test is a statistical significance test which examines, per grade, whether the difference between the promoted female proportion is significantly different to the female proportion in the lower grade. Where the difference is above 0, the promoted female proportion is higher than the lower grade female proportion.

Whether these differences are statistically significant can be identified by an [s] in the ‘Statistical significance’ column. The significance test is conducted at a 95% confidence level.

A marker for statistical significance ([s]) implies possible sex bias in promotions since the null hypothesis is ‘no sex bias on promotion’, so promotions at these grades may be worth examining. For more information on how a two-proportions z-test is applied to the analysis, see background notes section 5.1.

Overall, for all grades, we see statistically significant evidence for sex bias on promotion. This is further evidenced by the promotion rate favouring females for Higher Executive Officer and Administrative Officer. However, for all other non-Skillzone grades sex bias on promotion is not statistically significant. Due to low numbers of promotions at Skillzone grades statistical significance tests were not conducted to protect confidentiality.

4. Ministry of Defence Broader Banded Pay Ranges

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) considers it a necessary and fair measure to address the pay gap between people being paid considerably less than colleagues performing a similar role at the same grade.

The MOD civilian pay award followed the guidance of the 2022/23 Civil Service pay remit, confirming:

• Maximum of scales will be increased by between 1% to 3.80% depending on their grade, with lower grades receiving in general a greater scale increase than higher grades.

• Everyone below the current maximum will receive a consolidated uplift in their pay of 3% unless this takes them above the new maximum. If this is the case the individual will be placed on the new maximum.

• Minimum of scales will be increased by between 1.51% to 4.95% depending on their grade, with lower grades receiving in general a greater scale increase than higher grades. Individuals who fall below the new minimum after the application of the 3% outlined above will be moved onto the new minimum.

These pay scale changes over the past 5 years can be summarised in the table below, or the attached Excel ODS tables in the index page of this year’s report.

Grade	Salary Range	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2017-2022 difference change
Grade 6
London	Maximum Salary	£73,272	£73,858	£74,597	£75,343	£75,343	£76,100
London	Minimum Salary	£62,458	£63,582	£65,044	£65,500	£65,500	£66,490
London	Difference	+£10,814	+£10,276	+£ 9,553	+£ 9,843	+£ 9,843	+£ 9,610	-11.1%
National	Maximum Salary	£70,454	£71,018	£71,728	£72,445	£72,445	£73,170
National	Minimum Salary	£60,041	£61,122	£62,528	£63,500	£63,500	£64,620
National	Difference	+£10,413	+£ 9,896	+£ 9,200	+£ 8,945	+£ 8,945	+£ 8,550	-17.9%
Grade 7
London	Maximum Salary	£60,431	£60,914	£61,523	£62,138	£62,138	£62,760
London	Minimum Salary	£53,044	£53,999	£55,241	£55,550	£55,550	£56,530
London	Difference	+£ 7,387	+£ 6,915	+£ 6,282	+£ 6,588	+£ 6,588	+£ 6,230	-15.7%
National	Maximum Salary	£58,106	£58,571	£59,157	£59,749	£59,749	£60,350
National	Minimum Salary	£50,995	£51,913	£53,107	£53,500	£53,500	£54,440
National	Difference	+£ 7,111	+£ 6,658	+£ 6,050	+£ 6,249	+£ 6,249	+£ 5,910	-16.9%
Senior Executive Officer
London	Maximum Salary	£44,935	£45,294	£45,747	£46,204	£46,204	£46,790
London	Minimum Salary	£39,456	£40,166	£41,090	£41,500	£41,500	£42,540
London	Difference	+£ 5,479	+£ 5,128	+£ 4,657	+£ 4,704	+£ 4,704	+£ 4,250	-22.4%
National	Maximum Salary	£43,206	£43,552	£43,988	£44,428	£44,428	£44,990
National	Minimum Salary	£37,940	£38,623	£39,511	£40,000	£40,000	£41,000
National	Difference	+£ 5,266	+£ 4,929	+£ 4,477	+£ 4,428	+£ 4,428	+£ 3,990	-24.2%
Higher Executive Officer
London	Maximum Salary	£36,879	£37,174	£37,546	£37,921	£37,921	£38,400
London	Minimum Salary	£32,387	£32,970	£33,728	£34,000	£34,000	£34,850
London	Difference	+£ 4,492	+£ 4,204	+£ 3,818	+£ 3,921	+£ 3,921	+£ 3,550	-21.0%
National	Maximum Salary	£35,461	£35,745	£36,102	£36,463	£36,463	£36,920
National	Minimum Salary	£31,136	£31,696	£32,425	£33,000	£33,000	£33,830
National	Difference	+£ 4,325	+£ 4,049	+£ 3,677	+£ 3,463	+£ 3,463	+£ 3,090	-28.6%
Executive Officer
London	Maximum Salary	£29,530	£29,766	£30,064	£30,365	£30,365	£30,750
London	Minimum Salary	£25,945	£26,412	£27,019	£27,200	£27,200	£27,950
London	Difference	+£ 3,585	+£ 3,354	+£ 3,045	+£ 3,165	+£ 3,165	+£ 2,800	-21.9%
National	Maximum Salary	£28,394	£28,621	£28,907	£29,196	£29,196	£29,570
National	Minimum Salary	£24,934	£25,383	£25,967	£26,350	£26,350	£27,080
National	Difference	+£ 3,460	+£ 3,238	+£ 2,940	+£ 2,846	+£ 2,846	+£ 2,490	-28.0%
Administrative Officer
London	Maximum Salary	£22,457	£22,637	£22,863	£23,092	£23,342	£23,560
London	Minimum Salary	£20,932	£21,309	£21,799	£22,388	£22,638	£23,560
London	Difference	+£ 1,525	+£ 1,328	+£ 1,064	+£ 704	+£ 704	£ 0	[z]
National	Maximum Salary	£20,987	£21,155	£21,367	£21,581	£21,831	£22,220
National	Minimum Salary	£19,559	£19,911	£20,369	£20,919	£21,169	£22,220
National	Difference	+£ 1,428	+£ 1,244	+£ 998	+£ 662	+£ 662	£ 0	[z]
Administrative Assistant
London	Maximum Salary	£19,098	£19,251	£19,444	£19,647	£19,897	£21,380
London	Minimum Salary	£17,800	£18,700	£19,130	£19,647	£19,897	£21,380
London	Difference	+£ 1,298	+£ 551	+£ 314	£ 0	£ 0	£ 0	[z]
National	Maximum Salary	£17,849	£17,992	£18,414	£19,559	£19,809	£21,380
National	Minimum Salary	£16,636	£17,476	£18,414	£19,559	£19,809	£21,380
National	Difference	+£ 1,213	+£ 516	£ 0	£ 0	£ 0	£ 0	[z]
Skillzone 4
London & National	Maximum Salary	£25,305	£25,507	£25,762	£26,020	£26,020	£26,810
London & National	Minimum Salary	£23,556	£23,980	£24,532	£25,000	£25,000	£25,500
London & National	Difference	+£ 1,749	+£ 1,527	+£ 1,230	+£ 1,020	+£ 1,020	+£ 1,310	-25.1%
Skillzone 3
London & National	Maximum Salary	£22,484	£22,664	£22,891	£23,120	£23,370	£23,840
London & National	Minimum Salary	£19,186	£19,531	£19,980	£20,500	£20,750	£21,580
London & National	Difference	+£ 3,298	+£ 3,133	+£ 2,911	+£ 2,620	+£ 2,620	+£ 2,260	-31.5%
Skillzone 2
London & National	Maximum Salary	£18,281	£18,427	£18,611	£18,797	£19,047	£19,770
London & National	Minimum Salary	£17,537	£17,853	£18,264	£18,757	£19,007	£19,770
London & National	Difference	+£ 744	+£ 574	+£ 347	+£ 40	+£ 40	£ 0	[z]
Skillzone 1
London & National	Maximum Salary	£16,730	£16,864	£17,033	£17,231	£17,481	£18,830
London & National	Minimum Salary	£16,047	£16,336	£16,712	£17,231	£17,481	£18,830
London & National	Difference	+£ 683	+£ 528	+£ 321	£ 0	£ 0	£ 0	[z]

5. Further Information and Background Notes

5.1 Background Notes

Symbols

Symbol	Definition
[z]	figure/calculation not applicable as data is not of a sufficient size/calculation is not relevant
[c]	figure is less than 5 and omitted due to confidentiality risks
[s]	statistically significant at the 5% level
[ns]	not statistically significant at the 5% level

Rounding

All percentages are calculated from headcount totals (part time equivalent to one person), from unrounded figures and are shown to 1 decimal place.

Salaries have been averaged and rounded to the nearest pound sterling for presentation purposes.

Where rounding has been used, totals and sub-totals have been rounded separately and may not equal the sums of their rounded parts.

Data Exclusions

Data revisions are handled in accordance with the MOD’s Official Statistics Revisions and Corrections Policy.

The analyses conducted within this report requires exclusions. The population in this report is summarised in the table below:

Ministry of Defence Civilian Group	Included
MOD Main TLBs
UK Strategic Command	✔
Navy Command	✔
Army Command	✔
Air Command	✔
Defence Infrastructure Organisation	✔
Head Office and Corporate Services	✔
Defence Nuclear Organisation	✔
Trading Fund and Executive agencies
Defence, Equipment & Support Bespoke Trading Entity (DE&S)	✘
UK Hydrographic Office	✘
Defence Electronics Components Agency	✘
Defence Science & Technology Laboratory	✘
Other MOD Civilian Areas
Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel	✘
Locally Engaged Civilians	✘
Grades
Broader Banded Non-Industrial Grades	✔
Industrial Grades	✔
Analogue Grades	✘
Ministry of Defence Police	✘
Ministry of Defence Fire Service	✘
Ministry of Defence NHS	✘
Ministry of Defence Teachers	✘
Civilian Medical Practitioners	✘
Civilian Dental Practitioners	✘
Senior Civil Servants (those paid above Band B1)	✘
Other Groups
Personnel on Zero Pay 1	✘
Personnel with missing or no salary data	✘
Personnel with missing or no diversity data	✘

¹ Personnel on Zero Pay not being paid by the MOD as at 01 January 2023, are excluded from the salary analysis, but are included within the lower grade population in the promotion analysis; due to the fact that someone can be promoted from Zero Pay into a paid position.

Further exclusions in addition to those listed above are made for the promotions analysis:

• Personnel not permanently promoted between 01 January 2022 to 31 December 2022
• Personnel promoted into or between Senior Civil Service grades
• Other personnel whose pay falls outside the pay band scales, such as Apprentices and some Retained grades; although those on broader banded pay scales, such as Fast Streamers are included
• Personnel who move from a Trading Fund / Executive agency post into a MOD Main post

Grade Structures

Since 1 April 1996 all departments and agencies have had delegated responsibility for the pay and grading of their employees, except for those in the Senior Civil Service (SCS). As of April 2022, Analysis Civilian began reporting grades as per the civil service-wide structure.

The civil service-wide grades here are shown against levels broadly equivalent (in terms of pay and job weight) to the former MOD grades.

Civil Service grades	MOD grades
SCS – Senior Civil Service	SCS – Senior Civil Service
Other Management Grades	Other Management Grades
Grade 6	B1 & equivalents
Grade 7	B2 & equivalents
SEO - Senior Executive Officer	C1 & equivalents
HEO - Higher Executive Officer	C2 & equivalents
EO - Executive Officer	D, Skillzone 4 & equivalents
AO - Administrative Officer	E1, Skillzone 3 & equivalents
AA - Administrative Assistant	E2, Skillzone 2, Skillzone 1 & equivalents

5.2 Source Data

Diversity and personnel data for civilians within MOD Main in this report are derived from the MOD’s HR system called MyHR. Prior to February 2022, data was collected from the MOD’s Human Resources Management System (HRMS) before it was replaced with MyHR.

Data has been sourced to Analysis Civilian on a monthly basis since April 2004.

To derive Top Level Budgetary Area splits, Analysis Civilian use budgetary UINs and attribute people according to the budgetary area that pays them, using the Standing Data System hierarchy from Financial Management Information Systems.

Promotion and pay data in this report is sourced from Defence Business System’s (DBS) and Civilian Harmonised Integrated Payroll System’s (CHIPS) data base respectively, and is provided to Analysis Civilian on an annual basis after the pay award has been fully implemented (usually as at 01 October).

Variables in the DBS dataset includes those receiving a promotion in the relevant period, the date of that promotion, the grade they were promoted from and the new grade they have been promoted into as well as the length of service in grade prior to promotion. Annualised basic salary and pay grade as at 01 January 2023 are variables in the CHIPS database.

5.3 Data Validation

Data validation is conducted as part of the acceptance of the monthly extract prior to it being made available to the production team through the civilian SQL data base. More detailed validation is then undertaken on the breakdowns of individual fields (including ethnicity, gender, TLB, grade), and comparisons between the current and previous month’s figures. Unusual variations are identified and investigated to identify explanations/reasons for the changes. In instances where our investigations detect data issues, Analysis Civilian act with DBS to correct the data.

5.4 Data Compilation

Statistical Significance Testing is used in section 3.2, testing for the relative differences in female proportions within promotion groups for each grade, comparing them to the female proportion of the lower grade from which they were promoted. The test is called a two-proportions z-test and only needs to be conducted on the female proportion, as we are considering the proportion as females divided by the sum of males and females in each case.

This is different to the significance test methodology used prior to 2012 which compared the promotion rates of male to females. It has been determined that this method is not the most appropriate and can be distorted by the fact that male and female rates are not independent of each other, whereas the proportion of females in the promotion group is independent of the proportion of females within the lower grade group. This can be assumed to be true where the factors that influence promotion are equally distributed for men and women. Therefore, a statistical test result of significant ([s]) suggests that either gender or a factor that is gender biased is having an influence on promotion.

Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) is a statistical methodology to obtain average salary figures adjusted for Length of Service (LOS) in substantive grade. ANCOVA is a standard statistical methodology used to adjust the means between groups after accounting for and removing the effects of other correlated variables (covariates). These adjusted means allow observation of any differences between groups in the variable of interest on an equal and more comparable basis.

The adjusted average salary figures presented in section 1 were derived from this approach to enable average salary to be compared between males and females in each grade without being confounded by the effects of the differing length of service in grade of males and females in each group. The resulting adjusted average salaries represent what the average salary for each gender within a specific grade would be if the average LOS in substantive grade for each gender were equal for both genders.

However, to ensure accurate ANCOVA adjustments, the following statistical assumptions should be accounted for:

• Observations in the data must be independent.
• The dependent variable (in this case average salary) should be roughly be normally distributed within each subpopulation.
• The relationship between the covariate (in this case LOS in substantive grade) and the dependent variable must be linear.
• Homogeneity: the variance of the dependent variable must be equal over all subpopulations.

This year’s data showed a weak linear relationship for most grades. Additionally, the homogeneity assumption for all grades apart from Grade 7, was not met. Analysis Civilian continue to monitor these assumption’s effect on ANCOVA adjustments to ensure robust and accurate statistical processes are being followed. ### 5.5 Data Quality and Management

This report follows the MOD’s Official Statistics quality management process which consists of 3 elements:

• Regularly monitoring and assessing quality risk via an annual assessment.

• Providing a mechanism for reporting and reviewing revisions/corrections to Official Statistics.

• Ensuring Background Quality Reports (BQRs) are publishing alongside reports and are updated regularly.

As this is not an Official Statistic, the BQR element of the list above has been integrated here in the Background Notes section.

Length of service in substantive grade was calculated by counting the number of months each staff member has been in their current substantive grade as at 01 January 2023, going back to 1 January 2000 which is the earliest date month-by-month data is available. Due to data quality issues with LOS in substantive grade, this is the best method available.

The limitations of the calculation are that it ignores any temporary promotions which may not align some staff member’s current grade with their current pay rate, underestimating salary comparisons. Additionally, staff that have been on the same grade since 1 January 2000 maybe have underestimated LOS in substantive grade since as counting begins from the 1 January 2000 and not earlier.

5.6 Data Revisions

Data revisions are handled in accordance with the MOD’s Official Statistics Revisions and Corrections Policy

5.7 Timelines, Coherence and Comparability

Analysis Civilian aim to finalise the Equal Pay Audit at the start of next year’s financial year i.e. April.

Data in this report is compiled on the date when the pay award for that year is fully implemented (usually as at 1 October). Due to this, this report’s finalisation date is heavily dependent on when the pay award is fully implemented which may not necessarily be as at 1 October of the respective year. Therefore, a risk may arise on following the timeline of this report if a late pay award is implemented, as was the case in 2019’s Equal Pay Audit where data for personnel as at 1 April 2020 was used.

5.8 Accessibility and Clarity

This document follows MOD’s and GOV.UK’s accessibility guidelines which can be found here: MOD’s accessible documents policy and here: GOV.UK’s accessibility statement.

The main body of the report is produced in HTML Markdown format and the tables in this report are replicated in accessible Excel ODS format (attached in the index page of this year’s report) in case users would like to do further analysis with the figures provided.

5.9 Confidentiality and Security

Confidentiality

All published outputs are counts of individuals in particular groupings. Disclosure control is applied to statistical or numeric information to safeguard the confidentiality of individuals. ‘Disclosure control’ refers to the efforts made to reduce the risk of disclosure, such as applying statistical methods to protect ‘Personally Identifiable Information’ (PII) in aggregate data tables. These safeguards can take many forms (for example, data suppression, rounding, recoding etc.).

Security

All staff involved in the production process have signed the Data Protection Act; all MOD, Civil Service and data protection regulations are adhered to. These data are stored, accessed, and analysed using the MOD’s restricted network and IT systems, and the access to raw data is password protected.

Defence Statistics Policies.

Contact Us:

Responsible statistician: Analysis Civilian Head of Branch
Further information/mailing list: Analysis-Civilian-Enquiries@mod.gov.uk