Gender pay gap annual report – 2023/24
Date: October 2024
Background and introduction
In March 2018 the Government Equalities Office asked all organisations employing 250 or more staff to report and publish the following metrices:
- Mean Gender Pay Gap
- Median Gender Pay Gap
- Mean Bonus Gender Pay Gap
- Median Bonus Gender Pay Gap
- Proportion of Males and Females receiving a bonus payment
- Proportion of Males and Females in each quartile.
The way the Gender Pay Gap data is reported is standard, organisations must produce their respective figures in tables as set out in Appendices (Table 3 to 6) that capture the Tavistock and Portman’s data. For all NHS employers, the NHS Electronic Staff Record (ESR) system has been updated so that they can produce the reports for this annual exercise using default filters.
For the purposes of Gender Pay Gap reporting, all Trusts have been instructed to split out all payments received by the workforce over the financial year into two defined categories: (a) Ordinary Pay, and (b) Bonus Pay
It should be noted that Gender Pay Gap data includes both staff on Agenda for Change and staff on non-Agenda for Change terms and conditions. Also, Clinical Excellence Awards (CEA) for medical staff are included in both ordinary and bonus pay calculations.
The definition of Gender Pay Gap is prescribed: it is the difference between the average earnings of men and women, expressed relative to men’s earnings. It must be noted here that whilst the Trust understands that gender is not binary, this report conforms to the legal requirements that use the binary sex options (Male/Female) as captured in the NHS ESR system.
- Like trends in other NHS hospitals, Figure 1 indicates that the female workforce at the Tavistock and Portman makes up most of our staffing at 74.1% – a dip of 2.3% from the previous year. The male cohort is 25.9% – an increase of 1.7% over the last 5 years.
- The data presented in Figure 2 below breaks down the workforce into four quartiles: Quartile 1 (Q1) is the lowest pay grade and Quartile 4 (Q4) is the highest pay grade. These quartiles help with the conceptualisation of the Gender Pay Gap at the Tavistock and Portman.
- Since the last reporting year, there has been a slight increase of 0.8% in the number of females in the lowest Quartile of pay, Quartile 1 (Q1). Inversely, the number of male staff in this cohort reduced by 0.8%.
- In the last year, there has been a decrease of 0.97% in the number of females in Quartile 3 (Q3), the second highest Quartile of pay, and a decrease of 5.7% in Quartile 4 (Q4) – the highest quartile of pay.
- The number of males in the highest Quartile of pay, Quartile 4 (Q4), increased by 5.7% (from 27.11% last year to 32.89% in this reporting year). This is the highest percentage of male staff in this quartile in the last 5 years and means that male staff are now overrepresented by 7%. Inversely, females are now underrepresented by 7%. See Figure 2 below for more detail.
In July 2024, the Trust launched a Menopause Policy and signed up for the Menopause Friendly Membership as part of the journey to being an accredited Menopause Friendly employer. This means a commitment to supporting menopause and to raising awareness. The Trust is currently working towards improving HR systems to be able to record menopause sickness. Also, there is focus on incorporating menopause in wellbeing training for staff and managers to facilitate understanding of the impact of menopause and how staff should be supported.
Female 2021/22 | 74.40% | 74.51% | 77.51% | 71.36% |
---|---|---|---|---|
Male 2021/22 | 25.60% | 25.49% | 22.49% | 28.64% |
Female 2022/23 | 74.65% | 73.49% | 76.74% | 72.81% |
Male 2022/23 | 25.35% | 26.51% | 23.26% | 27.19% |
Female 2023/24 | 75.45% | 78.07% | 75.77% | 67.11% |
Male 2023/24 | 24.55% | 21.93% | 24.23% | 32.89% |
- Quartile 1
- Quartile 2
- Quartile 3
- Quartile 4
Figure 2: Percentage of Employees in Each Quartile
The results presented in Table 1 below highlight that the pay gap in the average hourly rate reported this year increased by 3.48% (from 7.50% to 10.98%). Deeper analysis demonstrates that one of the major reasons for the pay gap is that the number of men in the most senior bands within the Trust has increased while the number of men in the lowest pay bands has decreased. As highlighted in Figure 1, females represent 72.1% of our workforce yet only represent 67.1% of the workforce in the Upper Quartile – a decrease of 5.7% from the previous year. Males represent 25.9%% of our workforce but are overrepresented in the upper quartile (32.9%) – see Figure 2 above for numbers in each Quartile. This means that females are now underrepresented by 7% in the most senior bands and males overrepresented by 7%.
Table 1: Gender Pay Gap
Gender | Average Hourly Rate 2019-20 | Average Hourly Rate 2020-21 | Average Hourly Rate 2021-22 | Average Hourly Rate 2022-23 | Average Hourly Rate 2023-24 |
Male | 25.47 | 26.09 | 26.56 | 26.92 | 30.33 |
Female | 23.44 | 23.52 | 23.76 | 24.90 | 27.00 |
Difference | 2.03 | 2.57 | 2.8 | 2.02 | 3.33 |
Pay Gap % | 7.95% | 9.83% | 10.52% | 7.50% | 10.98% |
The bonus data relates only to Clinical Excellence Awards (CEA) paid to all eligible substantive Consultant Medical Staff who have been in post for at least a year. However, it is important to note the context and challenges associated with the bonus pay system:
- First, the word ‘bonus’ is perceived as inappropriate by Medical Staff within the NHS context. CEAs are not a one-off annual performance payment as would be the case in the private sector. Instead, it relates to a nationally agreed contractual payment which forms part of the salary package for Consultant Medical Staff.
- Second, this system is prescribed by the British Medical Association (BMA) and NHS Employers – the Trust implements a nationally agreed system.
- Third, many of the CEAs that are still being paid out are historic and will be maintained until the recipient’s retirement.
That noted, the data presented in Table 2 below suggests that the average bonus pay gap at the Tavistock and Portman has been completely eradicated (from 18.33% in 2019-20 to -54.99% in 2023-24) and this has been maintained for three consecutive years. This is due to the continued application of an equal split approach that was introduced during the COVID pandemic. Most of our eligible substantive Consultant Medical Staff identify as female hence the -54.99% Average Bonus Pay Gap.
Table 2: Average Bonus Pay
Gender | Average Bonus Pay 2019-20 | Average Bonus Pay 2020-21 | Average Bonus Pay 2021-22 | Average Bonus Pay 2022-23 | Average Bonus Pay 2023-24 |
Male | 10,547.23 | 8,769.02 | 10,664.66 | 11,752.30 | 7,316.10 |
Female | 8,613.70 | 8,696.17 | 10,907.56 | 11.984.86 | 11,339.45 |
Difference | 1,933.53 | 72.82 | -242.90 | -232.56 | -4,023.35 |
Pay Gap % | 18.33 | 0.83 | -2.28 | -1.98 | -54.99 |
Actions for the Trust to take
The actions proposed to address the Gender Pay Gap in the last reporting year have been reviewed and it has been agreed that they are still relevant but there is need to intensify efforts as there has been regression. The following actions are proposed:
- Support the development of female staff through mentoring, leadership development, talent management and targeted positive action. There is need to focus on ensuring that female staff who are overrepresented in lower bands have the confidence, skills and are supported to apply for our more senior posts at band 8A and above, including executive posts.
- The Trust should continue exploring every opportunity, within the confines of national guidance for Local CEA (bonus payments), to ensure that gains that have been achieved over the last 4 years in addressing the Gender Pay Gap that historically arose from consultant bonus payments are sustained.
- Share our Gender Pay Gap position (10.98% as reported) with all our staff, including the actions we will take to improve our position.
Appendices
Table 3: Average and Median Hourly Rates
Gender | Average Hourly Rate | Median Hourly Rate |
Male | 30.33 | 27.48 |
Female | 27.00 | 26.33 |
Difference | 3.33 | 0.00 |
Pay Gap % | 10.98 | 4.19 |
Table 4: Number of employees in each quartile (Q1 low pay to Q4 high pay)
Quartile | Female | Male | Female % | Male % |
Quartile 1 | 169.00 | 55.00 | 75.45 | 24.55 |
Quartile 2 | 178.00 | 50.00 | 78.07 | 21.98 |
Quartile 3 | 172.00 | 55.00 | 75.77 | 24.23 |
Quartile 4 | 153.00 | 75.00 | 67.11 | 32.89 |
Table 5: Bonus Payments
Gender | Avg. Bonus Pay | Median Bonus Pay |
Male | 7,316.10 | 8,742.88 |
Female | 11,339.45 | 9,006.65 |
Difference | -4,023.35 | -907.23 |
Pay Gap % | -54.49 | -3.04 |
Table 6: Payment of Bonuses by Gender
Gender | Employees Paid Bonus | Total Relevant Employees | % |
Female | 8.00 | 965.00 | 0.82 |
Male | 5.00 | 320.00 | 1.56 |