Corporate report

Equal pay audit 2023: MOD civilian personnel

Published 3 May 2024

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.

For a whole force view, please see the UK Armed Forces Equal Pay Audit index page together with this MOD Main civilian report.

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 in broader banded grades only. Broader banded grades include non-industrial grades B1 to E2 and industrial Skillzones 1 to 4. These grades have been translated to their civil service equivalence except for Skillzone grades to keep the industrial/non-industrial distinction. See background notes section 5 at the bottom of this report for more details of personnel included/excluded and broader banded to civil service grade equivalences.

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 October 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 (0.6% or less) between male and female average annual salary for all grades. ANCOVA adjustment caveats must be fully considered to understand adjusted salary differences (see section 5.4).

1.2: Females make up 75% of the total part-time workforce within broader banded grades. Male part-time FTE stays relatively consistent through grade, alternatively, we see female FTE increasing as they move up in grades, meaning at higher grades part-time females are likely to work more hours.

2.1: Across all grades, ethnic minorities have a slightly higher average salary, however, the proportion of ethnic minority personnel at all grades is less than 10%, meaning average salaries are sensitive to population movements within ethnic minorities.

It is also important to note that the proportion of ethnic minority personnel working in London (42%) is much higher than the equivalent proportion for white personnel working in London (10%). This proportional difference partly explains ethnic minority’s average salary being higher as London pay rates are higher. In the 2023 pay award London and national basic salary differences were abolished and it is therefore expected to have less of an effect on salary in the near future.

2.2: Average salary differences go in favour of part-time ethnic minority personnel per grade except at EO level. However, due to the small numbers of part-time 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.

3.1: From Executive Officer level to Senior Executive Officer level, more females were promoted than males, but the difference decreases as personnel move up in grade until Grades 6 and 7 where more male promotions are observed. Industrial grades see more males promoted than females.

3.2: Of all those promoted, there was a higher proportion of females promoted than males. When testing for potential bias due to someone’s sex on promotion, this is only statistically significant at the Administrative Officer, Higher Executive Officer, and Senior 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	758	0.98	3.3	£69,793	[z]
Male	453	0.99	3.9	£70,053	£69,953
Female	305	0.98	2.4	£69,407	£69,555
Male Female difference	+148	+0.01	+1.5	+0.9%	+0.6%
Grade 7	2,103	0.99	3.1	£58,861	[z]
Male	1,184	0.99	3.5	£58,895	£58,833
Female	919	0.98	2.6	£58,819	£58,898
Male Female difference	+265	+0.01	+0.9	+0.1%	-0.1%
Senior Executive Officer	5,060	0.98	4.1	£43,931	[z]
Male	2,796	0.98	4.9	£44,053	£43,974
Female	2,264	0.97	3.2	£43,782	£43,879
Male Female difference	+532	+0.01	+1.7	+0.6%	+0.2%
Higher Executive Officer	6,619	0.98	4.4	£35,958	[z]
Male	3,400	0.99	5.0	£36,059	£36,014
Female	3,219	0.97	3.8	£35,851	£35,899
Male Female difference	+181	+0.02	+1.2	+0.6%	+0.3%
Executive Officer	5,980	0.97	6.2	£28,840	[z]
Male	2,955	0.98	7.1	£28,929	£28,866
Female	3,025	0.97	5.3	£28,753	£28,815
Male Female difference	-70	+0.02	+1.9	+0.6%	+0.2%
Administrative Officer	5,978	0.94	9.7	£24,041	[z]
Male	1,751	0.98	9.3	£24,040	£24,040
Female	4,227	0.93	9.8	£24,041	£24,041
Male Female difference	-2,476	+0.05	-0.6	0%	0.0%
Administrative Assistant	2,509	0.95	11.9	£23,671	[z]
Male	1,763	0.97	12.8	£23,672	£23,672
Female	746	0.92	9.8	£23,670	£23,670
Male Female difference	+1,017	+0.05	+3.0	0%	0.0%
Skillzone 4	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
Male	202	0.98	8.0	£27,309	£27,308
Female	[c]	[c]	[c]	[c]	[c]
Male Female difference	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
Skillzone 3	975	0.98	9.8	£23,624	[z]
Male	901	0.98	9.9	£23,637	£23,632
Female	74	0.99	7.9	£23,467	£23,533
Male Female difference	+827	0	+2.0	+0.7%	+0.4%
Skillzone 2	1,169	0.98	9.0	£21,611	[z]
Male	869	0.98	9.7	£21,610	£21,610
Female	300	0.96	6.9	£21,614	£21,614
Male Female difference	+569	+0.03	+2.8	0%	0.0%
Skillzone 1	403	0.96	13.8	£21,486	[z]
Male	297	0.97	14.0	£21,495	£21,496
Female	106	0.93	13.6	£21,460	£21,458
Male Female difference	+191	+0.04	+0.4	+0.2%	+0.2%

The proportion of females is broadly similar at all grades within non-industrial, however 71% of personnel at AO grade are female. Across all industrial grades, males have a large majority.

When observing average basic salary differences between sexes, we observe a less than 1% difference with all grades.

As personnel progress to higher grades, they are less likely to stay in grade for a longer period of time. In all grades except from AO, we observe that males have a higher average LOS in grade, indicating that females are leaving their grade sooner or being promoted at a faster rate.

When average basic salary is adjusted for LOS in substantive grade, there is no substantial difference (0.6% or less) between male and female average annual salary for all grades. ANCOVA adjustment caveats must be fully considered to understand adjusted salary differences (see section 5.4).

In all non-industrial grades, females have a lower FTE on average than males, indicating that more females work part-time. Table 1.2 will explore this in more detail.

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	49	0.73	4.4	£70,309	[z]
Male	18	0.64	7.2	£71,416	£70,996
Female	31	0.79	2.8	£69,666	£69,909
Male Female difference	-13	-0.16	+4.3	+2.5%	+1.6%
Grade 7	105	0.74	4.7	£59,095	[z]
Male	30	0.66	7.5	£59,396	£59,050
Female	75	0.77	3.6	£58,975	£59,113
Male Female difference	-45	-0.11	+3.9	+0.7%	-0.1%
Senior Executive Officer	369	0.69	7.1	£44,166	[z]
Male	114	0.61	11.8	£45,098	£44,594
Female	255	0.73	5.0	£43,750	£43,975
Male Female difference	-141	-0.12	+6.8	+3.1%	+1.4%
Higher Executive Officer	493	0.7	7.2	£36,138	[z]
Male	107	0.65	11.0	£36,711	£36,434
Female	386	0.72	6.2	£35,979	£36,056
Male Female difference	-279	-0.07	+4.8	+2%	+1.1%
Executive Officer	487	0.69	9.6	£29,018	[z]
Male	122	0.63	14.0	£29,369	£29,121
Female	365	0.71	8.1	£28,901	£28,984
Male Female difference	-243	-0.08	+5.9	+1.6%	+0.5%
Administrative Officer	1,010	0.66	11.3	£24,040	[z]
Male	105	0.65	11.2	£24,040	£24,040
Female	905	0.66	11.3	£24,040	£24,040
Male Female difference	-800	-0.01	-0.1	0%	0.0%
Administrative Assistant	301	0.62	13.4	£23,670	[z]
Male	129	0.57	16.5	£23,670	£23,670
Female	172	0.66	11.0	£23,670	£23,670
Male Female difference	-43	-0.09	+5.5	0%	0.0%
Skillzone 4	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
Male	11	0.65	10.3	£27,393	[z]
Female	0	0	0	0	0
Male Female difference	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
Skillzone 3	50	0.65	14.3	£23,927	[z]
Male	45	0.63	15.0	£23,995	£23,960
Female	5	0.8	7.6	£23,310	£23,624
Male Female difference	+40	-0.17	+7.4	+2.9%	+1.4%
Skillzone 2	97	0.72	11.7	£21,610	[z]
Male	44	0.68	13.5	£21,610	£21,610
Female	53	0.76	10.2	£21,610	£21,610
Male Female difference	-9	-0.08	+3.4	0%	0.0%
Skillzone 1	41	0.61	12.4	£21,460	[z]
Male	23	0.61	13.4	£21,460	£21,460
Female	18	0.61	11.0	£21,460	£21,460
Male Female difference	+5	0	+2.4	0%	0.0%

Females make up 75% of the total part-time workforce within broader banded grades. This is important to consider when comparing values in this table.

Male part-time FTE stays relatively consistent through grade, alternatively, we see female FTE increasing as they move up in grades, meaning at higher grades part-time females are likely to work more hours.

Part-time males have a larger average LOS in grade across almost all grades indicating that even in the part-time workforce, males are more likely to spend more time in grade.

At all grades, the average basic salary difference favours part-time males where the largest gap is at SEO level (3.1%). However, once average basic salary is adjusted for LOS in grade using ANCOVA, part-time average basic salary differences are below 2%.

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	648	0.98	3.4	£69,719
White	605	0.98	3.6	£69,681
Ethnic Minorities	43	1	1.9	£70,253
White Ethnic Minorities difference	562	-0.02	1.7	-0.8%
Grade 7	1,757	0.99	3.2	£58,836
White	1,620	0.99	3.2	£58,797
Ethnic Minorities	137	0.99	2.5	£59,305
White Ethnic Minorities difference	1,483	-0.01	0.8	-0.9%
Senior Executive Officer	4,304	0.98	4.3	£43,915
White	3,925	0.98	4.4	£43,879
Ethnic Minorities	379	0.99	3.0	£44,284
White Ethnic Minorities difference	3,546	-0.01	1.4	-0.9%
Higher Executive Officer	5,607	0.98	4.6	£35,956
White	5,206	0.98	4.7	£35,941
Ethnic Minorities	401	0.99	3.2	£36,151
White Ethnic Minorities difference	4,805	-0.01	1.5	-0.6%
Executive Officer	5,045	0.97	6.6	£28,855
White	4,746	0.97	6.7	£28,841
Ethnic Minorities	299	0.99	4.7	£29,081
White Ethnic Minorities difference	4,447	-0.01	1.9	-0.8%
Administrative Officer	4,989	0.94	10.6	£24,041
White	4,687	0.94	10.6	£24,041
Ethnic Minorities	302	0.96	9.0	£24,040
White Ethnic Minorities difference	4,385	-0.02	1.6	0.0%
Administrative Assistant	2,186	0.95	12.7	£23,672
White	2,051	0.95	12.7	£23,672
Ethnic Minorities	135	0.98	12.9	£23,670
White Ethnic Minorities difference	1,916	-0.03	-0.3	0.0%
Skillzone 4	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
White	176	0.98	8.1	£27,313
Ethnic Minorities	[c]	[c]	[c]	[c]
White Ethnic Minorities difference	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
Skillzone 3	832	0.98	10.3	£23,648
White	810	0.98	10.3	£23,647
Ethnic Minorities	22	1	10.2	£23,676
White Ethnic Minorities difference	788	-0.02	0.1	-0.1%
Skillzone 2	935	0.98	9.9	£21,610
White	893	0.98	10.0	£21,610
Ethnic Minorities	42	1	8.8	£21,610
White Ethnic Minorities difference	851	-0.02	1.2	0.0%
Skillzone 1	331	0.97	14.6	£21,460
White	323	0.97	14.8	£21,460
Ethnic Minorities	8	0.93	9.0	£21,460
White Ethnic Minorities difference	315	0.03	5.8	0.0%

Across all grades, ethnic minorities have a slightly higher average salary. The proportion of ethnic minority personnel at all grades is less than 10%. In industrial grades, the proportion of ethnic minority personnel is less than 5%. This is important to consider as a small numbers of high earning ethnic minorities may inflate the average salary for this group.

It is also important to note, that the proportion of ethnic minority personnel working in London (42%) is much higher than the proportion of white personnel working in London (10%). As London personnel have a higher basic salary due to locational pay policies, a larger proportion of ethnic minorities in London will increase their total average basic salary compared to white personnel.

In the 2023 pay award, London and national pay scale differences were abolished (see table 4.1), meaning the higher proportion of ethnic minorities in London will have less of an effect on ethnic pay differences in the near future.

For all grades except for AA, white personnel have a larger LOS in grade than ethnic minority personnel, but ANCOVA adjusted salaries have not been performed here as salary differences in ethnic groups are affected more by population proportions and location pay policy rather than LOS in substantive grade. This may change in future due to the abolishment of London and national pay scale differences.

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	45	0.72	4.7	£70,354
Ethnic Minorities	0	0	0	0
White Ethnic Minorities difference	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
Grade 7	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
White	89	0.74	4.7	£59,002
Ethnic Minorities	[c]	[c]	[c]	[c]
White Ethnic Minorities difference	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
Senior Executive Officer	326	0.69	7.3	£44,147
White	313	0.69	7.3	£44,139
Ethnic Minorities	13	0.68	6.1	£44,336
White Ethnic Minorities difference	300	0.01	1.2	-0.4%
Higher Executive Officer	437	0.7	7.3	£36,137
White	414	0.7	7.4	£36,127
Ethnic Minorities	23	0.75	5.0	£36,316
White Ethnic Minorities difference	391	-0.05	2.5	-0.5%
Executive Officer	420	0.69	10.2	£29,042
White	406	0.69	10.4	£29,049
Ethnic Minorities	14	0.75	5.4	£28,838
White Ethnic Minorities difference	392	-0.06	4.9	0.7%
Administrative Officer	865	0.66	12.2	£24,040
White	831	0.67	12.3	£24,040
Ethnic Minorities	34	0.61	9.6	£24,040
White Ethnic Minorities difference	797	0.06	2.6	0.0%
Administrative Assistant	264	0.62	14.4	£23,670
White	256	0.62	14.5	£23,670
Ethnic Minorities	8	0.62	10.1	£23,670
White Ethnic Minorities difference	248	0	4.4	0.0%
Skillzone 4	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
White	11	0.65	10.3	£27,393
Ethnic Minorities	0	0	0	0
White Ethnic Minorities difference	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
Skillzone 3	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
White	43	0.65	15.0	£23,973
Ethnic Minorities	0	0	0	0
White Ethnic Minorities difference	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
Skillzone 2	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
White	64	0.71	13.3	£21,610
Ethnic Minorities	0	0	0	0
White Ethnic Minorities difference	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
Skillzone 1	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]
White	28	0.62	14.0	£21,460
Ethnic Minorities	[c]	[c]	[c]	[c]
White Ethnic Minorities difference	[z]	[z]	[z]	[z]

Average salary differences go in favour of part-time ethnic minority personnel per grade except at EO level. Due to the small numbers 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 Service (LOS) 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	122	£65,196	3.8
Male	63	£65,418	4.6
Female	59	£64,958	2.9
Male Female difference	4	+0.7%	+1.7
Grade 7	386	£54,702	4.0
Male	203	£54,587	4.6
Female	183	£54,829	3.4
Male Female difference	20	-0.4%	+1.2
Senior Executive Officer	906	£41,196	3.0
Male	415	£41,276	3.0
Female	491	£41,128	3.0
Male Female difference	-76	+0.4%	0.0
Higher Executive Officer	970	£33,562	3.1
Male	404	£33,625	3.2
Female	566	£33,516	2.9
Male Female difference	-162	+0.3%	+0.3
Executive Officer	709	£26,985	4.3
Male	221	£26,954	4.2
Female	488	£26,999	4.3
Male Female difference	-267	-0.2%	0.0
Administrative Officer	160	£22,333	4.1
Male	60	£22,410	4.9
Female	100	£22,287	3.6
Male Female difference	-40	+0.5%	+1.3
Skillzone 4	[z]	[z]	[z]
Male	10	£25,450	9.0
Female	[c]	[c]	[c]
Male Female difference	[z]	[z]	[z]
Skillzone 3	29	£21,601	5.0
Male	23	£21,504	5.1
Female	6	£21,975	4.5
Male Female difference	17	-2.1%	+0.6
Skillzone 2	[z]	[z]	[z]
Male	23	£20,025	2.4
Female	[c]	[c]	[c]
Male Female difference	[z]	[z]	[z]
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 October 2022 to 30 September 2023. 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.

From EO level to SEO level, more females were promoted than males, but the difference decreases as personnel move up in grade until Grades 6 and 7 where more male promotions are observed. Industrial grades see more males promoted than females.

At all grades, the average LOS to promotion is longer for males than female, meaning females are more likely to be promoted quicker than males.

The average basic salary on promotion difference for males and females in each grade remains below 1%, except SZ3 (2.1% in favour of females). Overall, there is no clear indication of average basic salary on promotion differences between males and females.

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	3,320	30,095			11.0%
Male	1,422	15,595			9.1%
Female	1,898	14,500			13.1%
Female Proportion	57.2%	48.2%	+9.0%	[s]	-4.0%
Grade 6	122	1,989			6.1%
Male	63	1,130			5.6%
Female	59	859			6.9%
Female Proportion	48.4%	43.2%	+5.2%	[ns]	-1.3%
Grade 7	386	4,894			7.9%
Male	203	2,732			7.4%
Female	183	2,162			8.5%
Female Proportion	47.4%	44.2%	+3.2%	[ns]	-1.0%
Senior Executive Officer	906	6,145			14.7%
Male	415	3,154			13.2%
Female	491	2,990			16.4%
Female Proportion	54.2%	48.7%	+5.5%	[s]	-3.3%
Higher Executive Officer	970	5,836			16.6%
Male	404	2,863			14.1%
Female	566	2,973			19.0%
Female Proportion	58.4%	50.9%	+7.4%	[s]	-4.9%
Executive Officer	709	5,969			11.9%
Male	221	1,722			12.8%
Female	488	4,247			11.5%
Female Proportion	68.8%	71.2%	-2.3%	[ns]	+1.3%
Administrative Officer	160	2,639			6.1%
Male	60	1,847			3.2%
Female	100	791			12.6%
Female Proportion	62.5%	30.0%	+32.5%	[s]	-9.4%
Skillzone 4	[z]	1,014			[z]
Male	10	939			1.1%
Female	[c]	75			[c]
Female Proportion	9.1%	7.4%	+1.7%	[ns]	-0.3%
Skillzone 3	29	1,183			2.5%
Male	23	892			2.6%
Female	6	291			2.1%
Female Proportion	20.7%	24.6%	-3.9%	[ns]	+0.5%
Skillzone 2	[z]	427			[z]
Male	23	315			7.3%
Female	[c]	111			[c]
Female Proportion	14.8%	26.1%	-11.2%	[ns]	+3.7%

Table 3.2 shows the number of permanent promotions into grade by sex highlighting the proportion of those who are female. Average headcount at lower grade 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.

At the total population level more females were promoted, where 57.2% of all promoted personnel were female. However, 48.2% of the total population regardless of promotion were female. Therefore, proportionally, 9% more females were promoted relative to their total population, indicating possible bias due to someone’s sex on promotion.

To test whether there is bias due to someone’s sex on promotion a two-proportions significance test (z-test) has been undertaken.

The two-proportions z-test is a statistical significance test which examines whether the difference between the promoted female proportion is significantly different to the female proportion in the lower grade.

Whether these differences are statistically significant can be identified by an [s] in the ‘Statistical significance’ column where the test is conducted at a 95% confidence level (see more details in section 5.4).

Therefore, at the whole population level, there is enough evidence to conclude that there may be bias due to someone’s sex on promotion at a 95% confidence interval. However, at grade level, there is only enough evidence for bias due to someone’s sex on promotion at SEO, HEO and AO level.

Note that for industrial grades, the proportion of females promoted is very low so the statistical tests do not have much meaning.

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 2023/24 Civil Service pay remit, confirming:

• Maximum of scales were increased by between 0.51% and 7.79% depending on their grade, with lower grades receiving in general a greater scale increase than higher grades.

• Everyone below the maximum received a consolidated uplift in their pay of 4.5% unless this took them above the new maximum. If this was the case the individual was placed on the new maximum. An additional 0.5% was targeted towards the lowest paid grades resulting in some staff receiving awards in excess of 4.5%.

• Minimum of scales were increased by between 1.25% and 8.02% depending on their grade. Individuals who fell below the new minimum after the application of the 4.5% outlined above were 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	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2018-2023 difference change
Grade 6
London	Maximum Salary	£73,858	£74,597	£75,343	£75,343	£76,100	£76,490
London	Minimum Salary	£63,582	£65,044	£65,500	£65,500	£66,490	£67,820
London	Difference	£10,276	£ 9,553	£ 9,843	£ 9,843	£ 9,610	£ 8,670	-15.6%
National	Maximum Salary	£71,018	£71,728	£72,445	£72,445	£73,170	£76,490
National	Minimum Salary	£61,122	£62,528	£63,500	£63,500	£64,620	£67,820
National	Difference	£ 9,896	£ 9,200	£ 8,945	£ 8,945	£ 8,550	£ 8,670	-12.4%
Grade 7
London	Maximum Salary	£60,914	£61,523	£62,138	£62,138	£62,760	£63,390
London	Minimum Salary	£53,999	£55,241	£55,550	£55,550	£56,530	£57,670
London	Difference	£ 6,915	£ 6,282	£ 6,588	£ 6,588	£ 6,230	£ 5,720	-17.3%
National	Maximum Salary	£58,571	£59,157	£59,749	£59,749	£60,350	£63,390
National	Minimum Salary	£51,913	£53,107	£53,500	£53,500	£54,440	£57,670
National	Difference	£ 6,658	£ 6,050	£ 6,249	£ 6,249	£ 5,910	£ 5,720	-14.1%
Senior Executive Officer
London	Maximum Salary	£45,294	£45,747	£46,204	£46,204	£46,790	£47,260
London	Minimum Salary	£40,166	£41,090	£41,500	£41,500	£42,540	£43,080
London	Difference	£ 5,128	£ 4,657	£ 4,704	£ 4,704	£ 4,250	£ 4,180	-18.5%
National	Maximum Salary	£43,552	£43,988	£44,428	£44,428	£44,990	£47,260
National	Minimum Salary	£38,623	£39,511	£40,000	£40,000	£41,000	£43,080
National	Difference	£ 4,929	£ 4,477	£ 4,428	£ 4,428	£ 3,990	£ 4,180	-15.2%
Higher Executive Officer
London	Maximum Salary	£37,174	£37,546	£37,921	£37,921	£38,400	£38,790
London	Minimum Salary	£32,970	£33,728	£34,000	£34,000	£34,850	£35,290
London	Difference	£ 4,204	£ 3,818	£ 3,921	£ 3,921	£ 3,550	£ 3,500	-16.7%
National	Maximum Salary	£35,745	£36,102	£36,463	£36,463	£36,920	£38,790
National	Minimum Salary	£31,696	£32,425	£33,000	£33,000	£33,830	£35,290
National	Difference	£ 4,049	£ 3,677	£ 3,463	£ 3,463	£ 3,090	£ 3,500	-13.6%
Executive Officer
London	Maximum Salary	£29,766	£30,064	£30,365	£30,365	£30,750	£31,060
London	Minimum Salary	£26,412	£27,019	£27,200	£27,200	£27,950	£28,300
London	Difference	£ 3,354	£ 3,045	£ 3,165	£ 3,165	£ 2,800	£ 2,760	-17.7%
National	Maximum Salary	£28,621	£28,907	£29,196	£29,196	£29,570	£31,060
National	Minimum Salary	£25,383	£25,967	£26,350	£26,350	£27,080	£28,300
National	Difference	£ 3,238	£ 2,940	£ 2,846	£ 2,846	£ 2,490	£ 2,760	-14.8%
Administrative Officer
London	Maximum Salary	£22,637	£22,863	£23,092	£23,342	£23,560	£24,040
London	Minimum Salary	£21,309	£21,799	£22,388	£22,638	£23,560	£24,040
London	Difference	£ 1,328	£ 1,064	£ 704	£ 704	£ 0	£ 0	[z]
National	Maximum Salary	£21,155	£21,367	£21,581	£21,831	£22,220	£24,040
National	Minimum Salary	£19,911	£20,369	£20,919	£21,169	£22,220	£24,040
National	Difference	£ 1,244	£ 998	£ 662	£ 662	£ 0	£ 0	[z]
Administrative Assistant
London	Maximum Salary	£19,251	£19,444	£19,647	£19,897	£21,380	£23,670
London	Minimum Salary	£18,700	£19,130	£19,647	£19,897	£21,380	£23,670
London	Difference	£ 551	£ 314	£ 0	£ 0	£ 0	£ 0	[z]
National	Maximum Salary	£17,992	£18,414	£19,559	£19,809	£21,380	£23,670
National	Minimum Salary	£17,476	£18,414	£19,559	£19,809	£21,380	£23,670
National	Difference	£ 516	£ 0	£ 0	£ 0	£ 0	£ 0	[z]
Skillzone 4
London & National	Maximum Salary	£25,507	£25,762	£26,020	£26,020	£26,810	£28,020
London & National	Minimum Salary	£23,980	£24,532	£25,000	£25,000	£25,500	£27,160
London & National	Difference	£ 1,527	£ 1,230	£ 1,020	£ 1,020	£ 1,310	£ 860	-43.7%
Skillzone 3
London & National	Maximum Salary	£22,664	£22,891	£23,120	£23,370	£23,840	£24,920
London & National	Minimum Salary	£19,531	£19,980	£20,500	£20,750	£21,580	£23,310
London & National	Difference	£ 3,133	£ 2,911	£ 2,620	£ 2,620	£ 2,260	£ 1,610	-48.6%
Skillzone 2
London & National	Maximum Salary	£18,427	£18,611	£18,797	£19,047	£19,770	£21,610
London & National	Minimum Salary	£17,853	£18,264	£18,757	£19,007	£19,770	£21,610
London & National	Difference	£ 574	£ 347	£ 40	£ 40	£ 0	£ 0	[z]
Skillzone 1
London & National	Maximum Salary	£16,864	£17,033	£17,231	£17,481	£18,830	£21,460
London & National	Minimum Salary	£16,336	£16,712	£17,231	£17,481	£18,830	£21,460
London & National	Difference	£ 528	£ 321	£ 0	£ 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	✔
Broader Banded 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 October 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 October 2022 to 30 September 2023
• 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 MyP&E 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 October 2023 are variables in the MyP&E 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, sex, 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 sex or a factor that is sex 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 sex within a specific grade would be if the average LOS in substantive grade for each sex were equal for both sexes.

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 was not met for many grades. 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 October 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