Reducing inequalities in pay
The traditional NHS disparity in pay between women and men is falling across our hospitals and offices - and is now lower than ever before.
Over the last nine years our gender pay gap has dropped from 13.3% to just 3.3%. This is now one of the lowest recorded in the NHS and means that on average for every £1 earned by a man, a woman receives 97p.
Like most trusts our workforce is predominately female, so the figures show that our 69% of female staff only do marginally more of the less well-paid jobs than men.
We believe the relatively small disparity reflects the move to bring our cleaners, domestics, porters, catering and security staff in-house following the end of the contract with Serco.
However, one unforeseen consequence of that workforce shift is that the ethnicity pay gap has worsened to 20.6%. This means that for every £1 earned by an average White staff member, a BAME member receives 79p.
This disparity revealed in our annual Gender Pay Gap Report mirrors the findings of our annual Workforce Race Equality Standard data showing we need to do more to reduce inequalities in career progression.
For example, four in ten of the highest earners in the trust are White, yet White staff in general account for just three in ten employees. There are also significant disparities between ethnic minority groups.
Our 1,400 Bangladeshi colleagues have the lowest average pay (about £18 an hour) whereas our 1,962 Indian colleagues are among the relatively high-paid categories (at over £26 an hour).
For comparison, over 4,000 White British colleagues receive on average £29 an hour, and over 2,500 Black African colleagues get an average £22.52. Top of the list are 247 Chinese colleagues earning an average of over £31 an hour.
The proportion of Black colleagues in the top pay quartile increased slightly to 16% last year, although they are the most under-represented group among higher earners, considering that 22% of the overall workforce is Black.
The NHS is undertaking a national review of ethnicity pay gaps and we will implement its eventual findings to work towards achieving pay equity for all staff.
For the first time we have data showing a 5.5% disability pay gap, indicating that for every £1 earned by a non-disabled person, an average disabled person earns 95p.
Ajit Abraham, group executive director for inclusion and equity, said:
“I am proud of the improvements we have made under our WeBelong approach, and we will continue our efforts to close the pay gaps and create a fairer more inclusion workplace for all.”
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