Agenda item

Consideration was givento the report which detailed how the new Gender Pay Reporting Legislation required employers with 250 or more employees to publish statutory calculations annually before the end of March showing how large the pay gap was between their male and female employees. 

It was pointed out, however, that gender pay gap reporting was a different requirement to carrying out an equal pay audit and showed the difference in the average pay between all men and women in a workforce.

These results were to be published on the Council’s website making them publicly available  to customers, employees and potential future recruits. 

The Council were in support of the option to provide a narrative with its calculations which explained the reasons for the results and details of actions being taken to reduce or eliminate the gender pay gap and this was set out in detail at Appendix 1.

The results were positive for Rotherham and identified where the median gender pay gap for the Council was 12.5% and the mean pay gap 11.5% which showed that men were paid more than women, however, the figures compared favourably with the average UK gap 20.9% and EU average 16.7% and was an improving picture since 2013 when the median gap had been 21.8% and the mean 18.2%.

Regionally only Doncaster had published its information which described their median pay gap as being 21.1% and their mean at 15.7%.

Analysis of other protected data showed a negative 12.4% median pay gap and negative 7.6% mean pay gap for BME employees, indicating this sector were paid more than non-BME employees.  Also for disabled employees the median pay gap was a negative 9.7% and for the mean pay gap a negative 1.2%, which again indicated that disabled employees were paid more than non-disabled employees.

Discussion ensued on the how the Council was working to close the Gender Pay Gap.  The lower quartile was primarily made up of a large number of female employees traditionally working in lower paid cleaning and catering roles.  Work would take place on how to encourage and make these roles also attractive to men.

It was the reverse in the upper quartile where women tended to be under-represented in roles where they were more dependent upon professional qualifications management experience.  Rotherham was currently showing a higher representation in this quartile and a well gender balanced and diverse Strategic Leadership Team.

As this was the first monitoring and reporting process it was important to tackle inequalities and it was suggested that a further report on benchmarking data be submitted in six months’ time and this report’s details included as an agenda item on the RMBC/Trades Unions Joint Consultative Committee for discussion.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the publication of the narrative at Appendix 1 be approved in accordance with the Gender Pay Reporting Legislation.

(2)  That a further report on benchmarking data be submitted in six months’ time for consideration.

(3)  That this report be submitted as an agenda item for the RMBC/Trades Unions Joint Consultative Committee for discussion.