Transparency data

VOA’s gender pay gap report 2018

Published 19 December 2018

1. Introduction

I believe that pay transparency is important to all of us in helping to promote equality and diversity. As an agency, this transparency helps us to understand where our actions are making a difference, identify emerging issues and – importantly - to recognise some of the great things we offer as an employer that support equality, diversity and inclusion.

This is the second year we have published our gender pay results. They focus on our progress in reducing our gender pay gap – the difference in salary between all the men and women in our workforce. The data shows we are making progress in closing our overall pay gap - a gap that remains lower than the national average. It also shows the need to regularly monitor and report on how our bonus scheme is operating – something we’ve already taken action on.

The underlying reasons for our overall gender pay gap remain the same as last year – a greater proportion of men than women at senior levels. However, the pay gaps, both mean and median, are significantly smaller than the overall figure when analysed by grade, with the majority of grades below senior civil servant having a gap in favour of women.

Flexible working arrangements, a variety of talent and development programmes at all grades – as well as wider action to close our overall pay gap - are all part of our response to this particular issue.

Our next full Equal Pay Audit will be published in 2019. It is a complementary, but broader piece of work, and looks at pay across all protected characteristics. We will be reviewing the data highlighted in this report with our trade unions as part of that audit. They remain key partners in tackling discrimination and championing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

Jonathan Russell

Chief People Officer, Valuation Office Agency

2. 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. Government departments are covered by the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017 which came into force on 31 March 2017. These regulations underpin the Public Sector Equality Duty and require relevant organisations to publish their gender pay gap by 30 March annually. This includes the mean and median gender pay gaps; the mean and median gender bonus gaps; the proportion of men and women who received bonuses; and the proportions of male and female employees in each pay quartile.

The gender pay gap shows the difference in the average pay between all men and women in a workforce. If 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.

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

The VOA supports the fair treatment and reward of all staff irrespective of gender.

3. VOA Gender Pay Gap report 2018

This report gives the gender pay gap data in the VOA as at 31 March 2018.

Our Gender Pay Gap for 2018 is:

• Mean gender pay gap is 13.7% (a reduction from 14.8% in 2017)
• Median gender pay gap is 15.1% (a reduction from 16.3% in 2017)
• Mean bonus gap is now 4.8% (having previously been -2.9% in 2017)
• Median bonus gap is 0.0% (unchanged since 2017)

For salaries we used a snapshot date of 31 March 2018. The relevant pay period was our March payroll.

For bonuses we used the period 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018: 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 2018. The results are below at Annex A.

In the VOA there were 3,533 staff in post. Our gender balance was:

• Women: 1,759 (49.8%) a slight increase from last year
• Men: 1,774 (50.02%) a slight decrease from last year

The VOA follows the standard public sector approach to pay and grading. All posts sit within one of nine levels (grades), and each level has 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. At the date of this report there are just over 200 employees who have opted to remain on the previous VOA Pay Band system.

Our headquarters are in London, and 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 2018, we also have one further local pay zone, the Intermediate Zone. This report covers the main pay ranges. Those in the Intermediate Zone have been recorded within the National pay range to ensure anonymity, due to the relatively low numbers of employees 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 a consolidated award paid to all staff, subject to performance.

• For staff in delegated grades, bonus payments are made in the form of in-year cash bonuses to recognise commendable performance

• For members of the SCS there is also a non-consolidated award linked to exceptional performance against objectives

The value 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” (as defined by the Gender Pay Gap reporting provisions) for all of March 2018. This is because they were either not being paid or were on reduced, statutory or nil pay at any point during March.

5. Base Pay

The mean hourly rate for women is £14.03

The mean hourly rate for men is £16.26

Mean gender pay gap is 13.7% (a reduction from 14.8% in 2017)

The median hourly rate for women is £12.52

The median hourly rate for men is £14.75

Median gender pay gap is 15.1% (a reduction from 16.3% in 2017)

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. The gender mix of our Executive Committee on 31 March 2018 was 5 men and 3 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 are committed to offering roles on flexible working patterns, including a range of options such as part-time working, alternative working hours, and enhanced shared parental leave.

6. 6. Bonus (Non-consolidated) payments

Our mean bonus gap is now 4.8% (having previously been -2.9%) with men receiving more in (non-consolidated) payments.

The 2017/18 performance year represents the second year of our fully in-year cash bonus scheme.

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-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. 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.

• Bonus (non-consolidated) payments

We have reduced the number of levels of awards and are introducing a bi-annual assurance panel to analyse the distribution of non-consolidated payments in year and take remedial action where problems are identified.

• Equal Pay Audit

We are undertaking the next regular equal pay audit in the autumn of 2018 to assess all areas of possible improvement. This will be published in 2019 once we have had time to consider the results.

• Diversity Group

Our Gender Diversity Group supports colleagues and drives action across the Agency. They have been instrumental in creating guidance which supports women and they link into wider civil service work which seeks to understand the challenges women may face in order to provide appropriate support.

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 (as defined by the Gender Pay Gap reporting provisions) were included, however contractors were not, as the vast majority were not in scope according to the regulations, or there was insufficient data. We aim to include this data for future calculations.

9. Annex A

9.1 Workforce demographics 2018

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

VOA data

Grades	No. of males who work in this grade	No. of females who work in   this grade	% Female
AA/AO	321	621	65.9%
EO	401	490	55%
HEO/SEO	733	502	41%
Band T	5	0	0%
Grade 7/6	301	137	31.3%
SCS	13	9	40.9%
Total	1774	1759	49.8%

Note: Band T figures relate to those in Fast Stream positions.

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	63,465 (32%)	84,814 (37%)	57%
EO	47,806 (24%)	62,295 (27%)	57%
HEO/SEO	53,705 (27%)	52,442 (23%)	49%
Grade 6/7	24,500 (12%)	21,110 (9%)	46%
SCS (centrally managed only)	2,598 (2%)	1,973 (1%)	43%
Total (Inc. those with unknown grade)	198,420	231,655	54%

10. Annex B

10.1 2018 VOA overall Gender Pay Gap results

				%
1. Mean gender pay gap - Ordinary pay				13.7%
2. Median gender pay gap - Ordinary pay				15.1%
3. Mean gender pay gap - Bonus pay in the 12 months ending 31 March				4.8%
4. Median gender pay gap - Bonus pay in the 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	88.8%
			Female	88.6%
6. Proportion of male and female employees in each quartile.

Quartile	Female %	Male %
First (lower) quartile	60.9%	39.1%
Second quartile	58.4%	41.6%
Third quartile	44.3%	55.7%
Fourth (upper) quartile	35.6%	64.4%

		Total Staff
Female		1,759
Male		1,774
Total		3,533

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

11.1 2018 VOA Gender Pay Gap results by location

				% - London		% - National
1. Mean gender pay gap - Ordinary pay				14.7%		13.3%
2. Median gender pay gap - Ordinary pay				17.2%		16.4%
3. Mean gender pay gap - Bonus pay in the 12 months ending 31 March				10.0%		3.7%
4. Median gender pay gap - Bonus pay in the 12 months ending 31 March				0.0%		0.0%
5. The proportion of male and female employees paid a bonus in the 12 months ending 31 March:			Male	83.9%		90.0%
			Female	86.7%		89.0%
6. Proportion of male and female employees in each quartile.

Quartile				Female %	Male %	Female %	Male %
First (lower) quartile				66.7%	33.3%	62.9%	37.1%
Second quartile				52.9%	47.1%	56.5%	43.5%
Third quartile				41.9%	58.1%	45.6%	54.4%
Fourth (upper) quartile				36.0%	64.0%	34.7%	65.3%

Total Staff		London		National
Female		339		1,420
Male		348		1,426
Total		687		2,846

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

12.1 2018 VOA Gender Pay Gap results by grade

APPENDIX D				% - AA		% - AO		% - O		% - HO		% - BT		% - SO		% - G7		% - G6		% - SCS
1. Mean gender pay gap - Ordinary pay				-5.2%		-5.6%		-3.6%		0.7%		-		-1.8%		-0.2%		1.7%		0.8%
2. Median gender pay gap - Ordinary pay				-13.5%		-10.9%		-7.1%		-0.5%		-		-0.5%		0.0%		0.0%		-0.4%
3. Mean gender pay gap - Bonus pay in the 12 months ending 31 March				-2.9%		4.1%		-1.6%		-9.9%		-		2.7%		-10.0%		-52.9%		83.5%
4. Median gender pay gap - Bonus pay in the 12 months ending 31 March				0.0%		25.0%		0.0%		0.0%		-		0.0%		-50.0%		-66.7%		83.1%
5. The proportion of male and female employees paid a bonus in the 12 months ending 31 March:			Male	88.2%		89.1%		92.5%		87.8%		100.0%		89.2%		87.5%		84.1%		30.8%
			Female	86.8%		89.8%		91.2%		89.6%		-		87.3%		83.6%		74.1%		22.2%
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				43.1%	56.9%	54.7%	45.3%	45.5%	54.5%	49.0%	51.0%	0.0%	100.0%	41.5%	58.5%	34.1%	65.9%	36.0%	64.0%	20.0%	80.0%
Second quartile				47.0%	53.0%	62.9%	37.1%	52.0%	48.0%	35.7%	64.3%	0.0%	100.0%	29.7%	70.3%	31.4%	68.6%	21.7%	78.3%	50.0%	50.0%
Third quartile				69.2%	30.8%	82.4%	17.6%	63.7%	36.3%	43.8%	56.3%	0.0%	100.0%	32.9%	67.1%	29.4%	70.6%	33.3%	66.7%	60.0%	40.0%
Fourth (upper) quartile				72.7%	27.3%	75.9%	24.1%	58.7%	41.3%	44.8%	55.2%	0.0%	100.0%	49.1%	50.9%	33.7%	66.3%	20.8%	79.2%	33.3%	66.7%

Total Staff		AA		AO		O		HO		BT		SO		G7		G6		SCS
Female		152		469		490		250		0		252		110		27		9
Male		110		211		401		327		5		406		232		69		13
Total		262		680		891		577		5		658		342		96		22