Revenue and Customs Digital Technology Services gender pay gap report 2019
Published 24 January 2020
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Overview
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. Private and voluntary sector organisations are covered by the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017 (‘the Regulations’) which came into force on 6 February 2017. The Regulations require relevant organisations to publish their gender pay gap information annually. This includes:
- the mean and median gender pay gaps
- the mean and median gender bonus pay gaps
- the proportion of men and women who received bonuses
- the proportions of men and women in each pay quartile
Gender pay gap versus equal pay gap
The gender pay gap is different to the equal pay gap.
The gender pay gap shows the difference in the average pay between all relevant men and women in the workforce, regardless of grade or role. A high gender pay gap can indicate there may be issues to deal with, and the individual calculations may help to identify what those issues are.
An equal pay gap will show any pay difference between men and women who carry out the same or similar jobs or work of equal value.
Revenue and Customs Digital Technology Services (RCDTS) strives to achieve fair reward of all our people irrespective of gender, through our values of:
- being professional
- acting with integrity
- showing respect
- being innovative
We are committed to the principle of Equal Pay for all employees. We use an objective job evaluation system to determine the relative grade of jobs within our grading structure. We use objectively defined spot ranges to recruit specialist digital and technology skills competitively in the market.
This report sets out our headline:
- gender ratio
- hourly rates
- bonus pay
RCDTS gender pay gap report 2019
This report provides the gender pay gap data in RCDTS on 5 April 2019.
For salaries we used a snapshot date of 5 April 2019.
For bonuses we captured data for the 12 month period from 6 April 2018 to 5 April 2019.
We have included data for contractors who fall within scope of the Regulations and for whom we had the relevant information (133 contractors).
The Gender Pay Gap data supplied is correct for all people in post with RCDTS and in scope of the Regulations on 5 April 2019. The results are below at Annex A.
Since 2018, RCDTS has increased its permanent workforce (i.e. non-contractors) by 27 to 752. Our gender ratio for such staff at the snapshot date was:
| 2019 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|
| Female | 140 (19%) | 139 (19%) |
| Male | 612 (81%) | 586 (81%) |
| Total | 752 (100%) | 725 (100%) |
Out of the 752 permanent employees in post in April 2019, 462 had reserved rights to alternative pay arrangements protected by Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE) regulations.
Hourly pay
RCDTS have used widely-recognised methodology to grade roles. All posts sit within one of seven grades, A to G, which have an associated pay range consisting of a minimum and maximum basic pay rate. Grades A-C are combined. Salaries are paid according to terms protected under TUPE for people who transferred into RCDTS by this mechanism and who remain on those terms and paid according to role within the grading structure for new recruits and employees who have voluntarily changed roles internally. Spot rates for specific roles within the grading structure are used for recruitment and are applied irrespective of gender. Annual pay awards are paid irrespective of gender.
RCDTS have offices in London, Telford, Newcastle, Worthing, Southend and Shipley.
For pay purposes we are governed by public sector pay policy, for which HM Treasury has overall responsibility. This defines the overall parameters for public sector pay uplifts each year in the pay guidance, to ensure that public sector pay awards are consistent with the government’s overall objectives.
Our annual pay award currently comprises of a consolidated award paid to all our people. In addition, bonus payments are made to people in RCDTS to recognise outstanding performance. We award bonuses according to defined criteria and our bonus pay system is applied irrespective of gender. ##Gender pay gap data
One permanent employee was excluded from Hourly Rate calculations as they were not considered a ‘full pay relevant employee’, as per the gender pay gap reporting guidance, for the specified period.
Hourly pay 2019
2019 mean gender pay gap: 22.6%
The mean hourly rate for women is £19.99
The mean hourly rate for men is £25.80
2019 median gender pay gap: 8.4%
The median hourly rate for women is £17.82
The median hourly rate for men is £19.45
Hourly pay 2018
2018 mean gender pay gap was 24%
The mean hourly rate for women was £19.50
The mean hourly rate for men was £25.66
2018 median gender pay gap was 14%
The median hourly rate for women was £16.88
The median hourly rate for men was £19.62
The distribution of our workforce drives our mean and median figures. Whilst we are striving to improve our diversity, RCDTS’ workforce (of which 61% entered under TUPE) comprised of only 19% women in April 2019.
Our mean and median gender pay gap remains high this year due to the inclusion of contractor pay for the second time since introducing this in 2018. However, the gender pay gap has decreased slightly since last year. This is due to a larger increase in the mean hourly rate for women compared to men, and a decrease in the median hourly rate for men compared to an increase for women.
If contractors are excluded, the gender pay gap has also decreased in RCDTS.
| 2019 RCDTS excl. contractors | 2018 RCDTS excl. contractors | |
|---|---|---|
| Mean gender pay gap | 6.2% | 9.3% |
| Median gender pay gap | 0.9% | 9.5% |
The primary reason for the decrease in the gender pay gap (excluding contractors) is a larger increase in hourly pay for women when compared to men. For example, the hourly pay for women in the lower pay quartile in RCDTS increased by 15% from 2018 to 2019, compared to a 9% increase for men. Similarly, in the upper pay quartile, women’s hourly pay increased by 29% compared to 20% for men. Due to the gender ratio in RCDTS, any change to the hourly pay for women can have a significant effect on the gender pay gap.
Additionally, while the proportion of women working in RCDTS has changed very little, the distribution of women in each pay quartile has changed slightly. In 2018, women made up 23% of employees in the lower quartile, compared to 20.2% in 2019. In the third quartile, the proportion of women has increased by 2%, and by 1.1% in the fourth (upper quartile). Although the changes seem small, as salaries tend to be significantly higher in upper two quartiles, this has contributed to decreasing the gender pay gap in RCDTS.
Bonus pay
The low proportion of women in RCDTS also means that changes to the mean and median bonus payments for women can have a considerable impact on the overall bonus pay gap.
The mean and median bonus figures for women are slightly higher than those for men, resulting in negative bonus pay gaps of -5.1% (mean) and -19.1% (median). Due to the small number of women in the organisation, particularly in senior grades, the mean and median figures are sensitive to higher value awards.
RCDTS follows a widely recognised approach to pay and reward, and an agreed fund is reserved for the payment of non-consolidated, non-pensionable awards linked to performance. There are 4 reward schemes:
- Simply Thanks Vouchers £20 – appreciation of good work and positive behaviours
- Recognition/contribution bonus scheme – exceptional short-term performance
- Goals Achieved Award – recognises sustained performance leading to achievement and delivery of goals
- High Performance Award – recognises exceptional effort and achievement
Actions
RCDTS supports the fair treatment and reward of all people irrespective of gender. Our pay policy and conditions of employment are consistent with this principle.
Diversity and inclusion
As part of a continuing programme of work on diversity and inclusion, RCDTS has implemented initiatives to increase the focus on diversity and inclusion within our recruitment practices. This includes using technology to monitor adverts for biases and standardisation of the recruitment process to ensure fairness and equality. We plan to expand this work in 2020 to review and improve the onboarding process for new starters within the organisation.
Flexible working
We will continue to support people who wish to work more flexibly, across all grades, by advertising roles as job-share, reduced hours, or flexible working patterns where possible.
Equal pay review
We carry out an annual equality review as part of our yearly pay award and review bonus payments twice a year to ensure fairness and assess areas of possible improvement.
Written statement
Our calculations followed the legislative requirements, and we confirm the gender pay gap information reported is accurate.
Natasha Harris, RCDTS Director, 23 January 2020
Annex A
2019 overall gender pay gap results
| Details | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Mean gender pay gap - ordinary pay | 22.6% |
| Median gender pay gap - ordinary pay | 8.4% |
| Mean gender pay gap - bonus pay in the 12 months ending 31 March | -5.1% |
| Median gender pay gap - bonus pay in the 12 months ending 31 March | -19.1% |
| The proportion of male employees paid a bonus in the 12 months ending 31 March | 78.5% |
| The proportion of female employees paid a bonus in the 12 months ending 31 March | 86.8% |
Proportion of male and female employees in each quartile
| Quartile | Female % | Male % |
|---|---|---|
| First (lower) quartile | 19.9% | 80.1% |
| Second quartile | 20.4% | 79.6% |
| Third quartile | 18.1% | 81.9% |
| Fourth (upper) quartile | 9.9% | 90.1% |
Total staff
| Gender | Number |
|---|---|
| Female | 151 |
| Male | 734 |
| Total | 885 |
2018 overall gender pay gap results
| Details | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Mean gender pay gap - ordinary pay | 24.0% |
| Median gender pay gap - ordinary pay | 14.0% |
| Mean gender pay gap - bonus pay in the 12 months ending 31 March | 8.1% |
| Median gender pay gap - bonus pay in the 12 months ending 31 March | 0.0% |
| The proportion of male employees paid a bonus in the 12 months ending 31 March | 28.1% |
| The proportion of female employees paid a bonus in the 12 months ending 31 March | 20.5% |
Proportion of male and female employees in each quartile
| Quartile | Female % | Male % |
|---|---|---|
| First (lower) quartile | 23.0% | 77.0% |
| Second quartile | 20.7% | 79.3% |
| Third quartile | 15.5% | 84.5% |
| Fourth (upper) quartile | 11.7% | 88.3% |
Total staff
| Gender | Number |
|---|---|
| Female | 151 |
| Male | 701 |
| Total | 852 |