Transparency data

VOA’s gender pay gap report 2017

Published 18 December 2017

1. Introduction

As Chief People Officer I believe in equality and the need for pay transparency. I welcome the introduction of full disclosure of gender pay gap information across all organisations of 250+ employees as part of the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017.

As a public sector employer we already undertake regular Equal Pay Audits looking at pay across all protected characteristics and related action planning.

However the reporting requirements for Gender Pay Gap (GPG) are different from Equal Pay Audits in that GPG reporting:

• only focuses on gender gaps, rather than all protected characteristics
• includes both VOA Senior Civil Servants (whose pay arrangements apply across the Civil Service) and contractors who are identified as part of the IR35 tax population
• is calculated in a different way to Equal Pay Audits

The findings outlined in this report however identify similar issues to our previous Equal Pay analyses, namely that the overall pay gap is due to the greater proportion of men than women at senior levels. (The average pay gaps (both mean and median) when analysed by grade are significantly smaller than the overall figure, with the majority of our grades below Senior Civil Servant having a gap in favour of women.)

Whilst our figures are lower than the national average gender pay gap which is 18.1%, we must not be complacent and ensure that we recognise where there is more we can be doing. It must be remembered though that headline figures tell only a small part of the story and that we must consider the full demographics of our department to ensure that we are tackling the real issues and not any preconceived ideas of where there may be pay gaps

We’re already looking at representation generally. This is also an area that the central Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion team have prioritised. While that national agenda is mostly concentrating on BAME and Disabled colleagues, gender will also feature given, as demonstrated in these figures, there is a gradual decline in the numbers of women from EO to Grade 6/7.

The data demonstrates the positive trend within the VOA to further close our overall pay gap - as far as it is possible to establish, given the different data sets and methods of reporting.

This would indicate positive outcomes from our initiatives to:

• reduce pay gaps within grade scales by increasing progression and shortening pay scales where funds allow
• address overtaking through consistent application of our pay on recruitment and advancement policies
• operate a fair bonus system through active monitoring/reporting and line manager guidance on such matters as unconscious bias

As well as annually reporting on the GPG, we are scheduled to undertake our next full Equal Pay Audit in autumn 2018. We will be considering the data highlighted in this report with our trade unions as key partners in tackling discrimination and championing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. This will form a meaningful preparatory step for both the next GPG and the 2018 Equal Pay Audit. 

2. Overview

Earlier this year, the Government introduced world-leading legislation that made it statutory for organisations with 250 or more employees to report annually on their gender pay gap. Government departments are covered by the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017 which came into force on 31 March 2017. These regulations underpin the Public Sector Equality Duty and require the relevant organisations to publish their gender pay gap data by 30 March 2018 and then annually, including mean and median gender pay gaps; the mean and median gender bonus gaps, the proportion of men and women who received bonuses; and the proportions of male and female employees in each pay quartile.

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

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

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

3. VOA Gender Pay Gap report 2017

This report gives the gender pay gap data in the VOA as at 31 March 2017.

For salaries we used a snapshot date of 31 March 2017. The relevant pay period was our March payroll.

For bonuses we used the period 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017: the 12 months before the snapshot date.

The Gender Pay Gap data supplied is correct for all staff in post with the VOA on 31 March 2017. The results are below at Annex A.

In the VOA there were 3,744 staff in post. Our gender balance was:

• women: 1,826 (48.8%)
• men: 1,918 (51.2%)

The VOA follows the standard public sector approach to pay and grading. All posts sit within one of nine levels (grades), and grades AO to SCS have an associated pay range consisting of a minimum and maximum rate. The AA grade consists of a single spot rate. Salaries are paid according to grade and annual pay awards within the grade are paid irrespective of gender. There are also just over 300 employees who have opted to remain on the previous VOA Pay Band system.

Our headquarters are in London however we have offices right across the UK. All grades with the exception of Director and Director General within the Senior Civil Service (SCS) have both a London and National pay range. At 31 March 2017, we also had two further local pay zones, Zones 1 and 2. This report covers the main pay ranges. Those in Zones 1 and 2 have been recorded within the National pay range to ensure anonymity due to the relatively small numbers involved.

For pay purposes we are governed by public sector pay policy, which HM Treasury has overall responsibility for. This defines the overall parameters for civil service pay uplifts each year in the pay guidance, to ensure that civil service pay awards are consistent with the government’s overall objectives.

Our annual pay award currently comprises of a consolidated award paid to all staff (subject to performance).

• for all staff bonus payments are made to staff in the VOA in the form of in-year cash bonuses to recognise commendable performance.
• for SCS staff there is also a non-consolidated award linked to exceptional performance against objectives.

The values of both consolidated and non-consolidated pay awards are negotiated with our recognised trade unions, and is subject to HM Treasury and Ministerial agreement. We do not negotiate individual awards, and our pay system takes no account of gender or any other protected characteristic. 

4. Gender Pay Gap data

There are 16 entries which were excluded from Hourly Rate calculations as they were not a “full pay relevant employee” for all of March 2017. This is because they were either not being paid or were on reduced, statutory or nil pay at any point during March.

For quarterly pay range information 932 staff were in each quartile.

5. Base Pay

The mean hourly rate for women is £13.66

The mean hourly rate for men is £16.05

Mean gender pay gap is 14.8%

The median hourly rate for women is £12.16

The median hourly rate for men is £14.54

Median gender pay gap is 16.3%

The distribution of our workforce drives our mean and median figures: whilst we have a very diverse workforce we do still have a large number of our female workforce in the lower pay grades. It should be noted however that the gender mix of our senior executives on 31 March 2017 was 3 men and 4 women. We analysed our GPG results in more depth and found the differences reduce, sometimes quite markedly, when considered by our National and London pay areas (at Annex B) and for each grade (at Annex C). Our recruitment and promotion policies are based on fair and open competition.

We’re committed to offering roles on flexible working patterns, including a range of options such as part-time working, alternative working hours, home working and enhanced shared parental leave.

6. Bonus (Non-consolidated) payments

Our mean bonus gap shows women receiving more (non-consolidated) payments at -2.9%. A negative figure denotes instances where the mean or median hourly salary/bonus for women is higher than for men. The ideal position is 0.00%.

This may be due in part to our move away from a bonus system based on end of year performance payments to a fully in-year cash bonus system.

We are committed to the principle of equal pay for all employees. We have pay and conditions of employment that do not discriminate unlawfully and are free from bias by ensuring that equal pay is in place for like work, work rated as equivalent and work of equal value. We use a job evaluation system to assess the relative value of jobs across the organisation, and this provides evidence in support of the allocation of each job within our grading structure.

7. Actions

VOA supports the fair treatment and reward of all staff irrespective of gender. We have pay and conditions of employment that do not discriminate unlawfully and are free from bias by ensuring that equal pay is in place for like work, work rated as equivalent and work of equal value. We use a job evaluation system to assess the relative value of jobs across the organisation, and this provides evidence in support of the allocation of jobs within our grading structure.

• Talent and development programmes We recognise that our staff don’t all want the same things from their careers, however, we aim to provide everyone with opportunities to be the best they can be and to progress, whether to more senior roles, or other roles in the Agency or the civil service. To support this, we will continue to encourage staff to benefit from the variety of programmes we have across the department such as Future Leaders Scheme, Leap, Embrace, Ascend and Fast Stream.

• Flexible working As part of our Transformation programme, we will continue to support staff who wish to work more flexibly, across all grades. Most roles are available as job-share, reduced hours, or flexible working patterns.

• Equal Pay Audit Undertaking the next regular equal pay audit in 2018 to assess all areas of possible improvement

8. Calculations

Our calculations followed the legislative requirements , and we confirm the data reported is accurate. All staff who were deemed to be full paid relevant employees were included, however contractors were not, as the vast majority were not in scope according to the regulations, or there was insufficient data, however, we aim to include this data for future calculations.

9. Annex A

Workforce demographics

Women are over-represented in more junior grades, where pay is lower, and under-represented in more senior grades.

VOA data

Grade (increasing seniority)	Number of men (% of men who work in this grade)	Number of women (% of women who work in this grade)	% Female
AA/AO	354 (18.5%)	658 (36%)	65.0%
EO	420(21.9%)	511 (28%)	54.9%
HEO/SEO	821 (42.8%)	510 (27.9%)	38.3%
Band T	5 (0.3%)	2 (0.1%)	28.6%
Grade 7/6	307 (16%)	135 (7.4%)	30.5%
SCS	11 (0.6%)	10 (0.5%)	47.6%
Total	1918	1826	48.8%

 

Note: Band T figures relate to those in Faststream positions.

When the grade make up is compared to the Civil Service overall it can be seen that VOA have a comparable workforce. Civil Service data

Grade (increasing seniority)	Number of men (% of men who work in this grade)	Number of women (% of women who work in this grade)	% female
AA/AO	62,688 (34%)	86,861 (40%)	58%
EO	48,308 (26%)	62,463 (29%)	56%
HEO/SEO	51,003 (27%)	47,846 (22%)	48%
Grade 6/7	22,566 (12%)	18,801 (9%)	45%
SCS (centrally managed only)	2,466 (1%)	1,771 (1%)	42%
Total (including those with unknown grade)	193,100	226,380	54%

10. Annex B

2017 VOA overall Gender Pay Gap results

	%
Mean gender pay gap - Ordinary pay	14.8%
Median gender pay gap - Ordinary pay	16.3%
Mean gender pay gap - Bonus pay in the 12 months ending 31 March	-2.9%
Median gender pay gap - Bonus pay in the 12 months ending 31 March	0.0%
Proportion of male employees paid a bonus in the 12 months ending 31 March	87.9%
Proportion of female employees paid a bonus in the 12 months ending 31 March	87.5%

10.1 Proportion of male and female employees in each quartile

Quartile	Female %	Male %
First (lower) quartile	59.8%	40.2%
Second quartile	57.2%	42.8%
Third quartile	45.0%	55.0%
Fourth (upper) quartile	33.2%	66.8%

	Staff in post
Female	1,826
Male	1,918
Total	3,744

Note: * where pay gap figures are shown, a positive figure denotes the % amount that women’s mean or median hourly salary is lower than men * a negative figure denotes instances where the mean or median hourly salary for women is higher than for men

The ideal position is therefore 0.00%

11. Annex C

2017 VOA Gender Pay Gap results by location

		London	National
1. Mean gender pay gap		15.7%	14.5%
2. Median gender pay gap		14.6%	17.7%
3. Mean gender pay gap - Bonus pay in the last 12 months ending                  31 March		23.4%	11.9%
4. Median gender pay gap - Bonus pay in the last 12 months ending                31 March		0%	0%
5. The proportion of male and female employees paid a bonus in the 12 months ending 31 march	Male	82.8%	89.3%
	Female	86.9%	87.7%

 

6. Proportion of male and female employees in each quartile

Quantile	Female	Male	Female	Male
First (Lower) quartile	64.6%	35.4%	61.7%	38.3%
Second quartile	52.6%	47.4%	55.1%	44.9%
Third quartile	41.0%	59.0%	46.7%	53.3%
Fourth (Upper) quartile	35.7%	64.3%	32.0%	68.0%

 

Total Staff	London	National
Female	381	1,445
Male	407	1,511
Total	788	2,956

 

Note:

• where pay gap figures are shown, a positive figure denotes the % amount that women’s mean or median hourly salary is lower than men.
• a negative figure denotes instances where the mean or median hourly salary for women is higher than for men.
• the ideal position is therefore 0.00%

12. Annex D

2017 VOA Gender Pay Gap results by grade

				% - AA		% - AO		% - O		% - HO		% - BT		% - SO		% - G7		% - G6		% - SCS
1. Mean gender pay gap - Ordinary pay				-4.5%		-5.6%		-4.0%		0.3%		-6.3%		2.1%		-0.4%		-0.8%		3.6%
2. Median gender pay gap - Ordinary pay				-13.5%		-10.4%		-4.0%		-0.5%		-5.8%		-0.4%		0.0%		-4.7%		9.9%
3. Mean gender pay gap - Bonus pay in the 12 months ending 31 March				-2.6%		0.9%		-17.2%		-10.7%		-41.2%		-3.0%		-8.5%		3.5%		13.6%
4. Median gender pay gap - Bonus pay in the 12 months ending 31 March				0.0%		0.0%		-33.3%		0.0%		-50.0%		0.0%		0.0%		0.0%		13.6%
5. The proportion of male and female employees paid a bonus in the 12 months ending 31 March:			Male	81.8%		89.6%		90.2%		91.0%		80.0%		90.8%		85.4%		64.7%		18.2%
			Female	78.8%		89.1%		87.7%		93.1%		100.0%		88.4%		84.5%		84.0%		20.0%
6. Proportion of male and female employees in each quartile.
Quartile				Female %	Male %	Female %	Male %	Female %	Male %	Female %	Male %	Female %	Male %	Female %	Male %	Female %	Male %	Female %	Male %	Female %	Male %
First (lower) quartile				44.0%	56.0%	58.5%	41.5%	44.8%	55.2%	46.4%	53.6%	0.0%	100.0%	39.1%	60.9%	31.0%	69.0%	22.7%	77.3%	60.0%	40.0%
Second quartile				44.7%	55.3%	61.6%	38.4%	51.9%	48.1%	34.0%	66.0%	33.3%	66.7%	28.5%	71.5%	33.3%	66.7%	21.7%	78.3%	40.0%	60.0%
Third quartile				65.3%	34.7%	79.2%	20.8%	56.7%	43.3%	44.4%	55.6%	0.0%	100.0%	30.7%	69.3%	28.7%	71.3%	47.8%	52.2%	80.0%	20.0%
Fourth (upper) quartile				71.1%	28.9%	76.1%	23.9%	65.8%	34.2%	43.8%	56.2%	50.0%	50.0%	41.9%	58.1%	33.0%	67.0%	17.4%	82.6%	16.7%	83.3%

 

Total Staff		AA		AO		O		HO		BT		SO		G7		G6		SCS
Female		170		488		511		259		2		251		110		25		10
Male		132		222		420		355		5		466		239		68		11
Total		302		710		931		614		7		717		349		93		21