Introduction
This report sets out the 2022/23 annual North West Ambulance Service workforce data in relation to the gender pay gap, which the Trust is required to publish as per Schedule 2 of the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017.
The gender pay gap is the difference between the average pay of men and women in an organisation. It is a measure of the comparative hourly wage of men and women in an organisation at a single point in time and is affected by how many women there are at each grade and their relative position on the pay scale. If a workforce has a particularly high GPG, this can be due to a variety of factors and deeper analysis is required to determine what the cause may be in different organisations.
Any employer with 250 or more employees on a specific date each year must report their gender pay gap data.
Monitoring of the workforce equalities data from a race (WRES), disability (WDES) and gender perspective is central to ensuring that we are delivering against the equality, diversity and inclusion priorities agreed by the Trust Board in January 2021:
- We will ensure our current employees and future talent have fair opportunities and access to jobs and career progression resulting in improved representation of diverse groups at all levels of the organisation, including Board.
- We will educate and develop our leaders and staff to improve understanding of racism, discrimination, and cultural competence to deliver a step change in the experience of our staff and patients.
- We will improve our use of patient data and patient experience to drive improvements in access and health inequalities, for patients from diverse communities.
Gender Pay Gap Data 2023
Gender Split by Quartile
| Quartile | Female | Male |
|---|---|---|
| Lower Quartile | 58.78% | 41.22% |
| Lower Middle Quartile | 60.63% | 39.37% |
| Upper Middle Quartile | 50.11% | 49.89% |
| Upper Quartile | 39.05% | 60.95% |
Historic Gender Split by Quartile
| Quartile | 2018 Female | 2018 Male | 2019 Female | 2019 Male | 2020 Female | 2020 Male | 2021 Female | 2021 Male | 2022 Female | 2022 Male |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Quartile | 51.8% | 48.2% | 54.85% | 45.15% | 55.26% | 44.74% | 60.95% | 39.05% | 55.1% | 44.9% |
| Lower Middle Quartile | 50.4% | 49.6% | 51.15% | 48.85% | 53.65% | 46.35% | 56.04% | 43.96% | 58.5% | 41.5% |
| Upper Middle Quartile | 46.8% | 53.2% | 47.13% | 52.87% | 46.81% | 53.19% | 47.43% | 52.57% | 49.4% | 50.6% |
| Upper Quartile | 33.5% | 66.5% | 34.18% | 65.82% | 36.74% | 63.26% | 37.23% | 62.77% | 37.8% | 62.2% |
The workforce numbers from a gender perspective show a continuing increase in the overall number of female staff in the Trust – 52.14% in 2023, compared to 51.60% in 2022.
The pay quartile information shows that female representation has increased in all quartiles, including the Upper Quartile from 37.78% to 39.05% in 2022/23 (but this Quartile still shows the biggest gap). In contrast however, male representation across all quartiles has fallen slightly compared to previous years. Additionally, for the first time there is a greater % of females in the Upper Middle Quartile compared to males (50.11% v 49.89%).
2023 Hourly pay gap
| Gender | Avg. Hourly Rate | Median Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Male | 19.815 | 18.2474 |
| Female | 17.6806 | 16.3235 |
| Difference | 2.1344 | 1.924 |
| Pay gap % | 10.77% | 10.54% |
Historic Hourly Pay Gap
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average hourly pay gap | 8.79% | 10.89% | 9.8% |
| Median hourly pay gap | 8.2% | 9.26% | 8.66% |
The data shows an hourly mean (average) pay gap of 10.77% between male and female employees. The hourly median rate of pay reveals 10.54% difference in pay. These figures indicate that hourly gap has widened in 2022/23, following a narrowing in the previous year. The reasons for this require further investigation.
Bonus Pay
| 2023 | |
|---|---|
| % of male staff who received bonus pay | 2.21% |
| % of female staff who received bonus pay | 7.45% |
| Mean gender pay gap using bonus pay | -209.69% |
| Median gender pay gap using bonus pay | 0.11% |
For the purposes of reporting on bonus payments as part of the GPG, 111 Retention Payments have been considered.
The average bonus pay for men is £20.63, while the average bonus pay for women is £63.90. The number of female employees receiving bonuses is higher, as is the number of female staff members in the Trust – therefore, the mean bonus amount is higher for women. Consequently, the disparity between females and males is greater, as indicated by the negative number (-209.69%).
The median bonus value for men is £1040 and for women it is £963.34. As a result, at the midpoint, the female bonus pay is marginally lower than the male bonus pay.
Trust-wide actions
The trust applies the national NHS terms, conditions of service, and uses the national job evaluation system to determine job bandings. These systems have been equality impact assessed and are jointly reviewed by trade unions and managers in partnership at a national level. We believe these systems provide a non-discriminatory set of conditions which meet the requirements of equal pay for work of equal value. We remain committed to working to close the gender pay gap through improvements in representation in the upper quartiles of pay.
The GPG data with data from the Workforce Race Equality Standard, Workforce Disability Equality Standard (set out in separate reports) reflects the ongoing work to support all our staff groups and address inequalities in the workplace. It is reassuring to see that there have been some improvements including recognising that for the first time women have reached over 50% in the upper middle quartile and across a number of key areas. However, we recognise that there remains a significant amount of work to do increase the representation of female staff in more senior and leadership positions.
To support the progression of women within the organisation into the higher pay quartiles, we will continue to focus on improving the inclusiveness of our recruitment processes, facilitate fair, equal career progression opportunities, and enhance flexible working arrangements.