Agenda item

(To receive a report by Debbie Barnes (Executive Director with responsibility for People Management) which provides information on the Gender Pay Gap, as at 31 March 2017)

Consideration was given to a report from the Executive Director with responsibility for People Management which provided information on the Gender Pay Gap as at 31 March 2017.

Fiona Thompson (Service Manager – People) introduced the report and explained that employers with 250 more employees were required to publish statutory gender pay gap information on an annual basis.  The methodology used was intended to mirror, as closely as possible, that used by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) to enable meaningful comparison of data.

Members were referred to page 20 of the agenda pack which reported that a total of 4465 employees were in scope for this exercise, 36% of whom were male and 64% female.  It was confirmed that the local authority continued to strive to ensure that opportunities for progression were provided equally for both genders.  Particular reference was made to flexible working and the ability to purchase annual leave although the ONS survey was clear that employment breaks, for maternity leave for example, could impact on the ability to progress.

The Sub-Committee was advised that there were no specific issues at Lincolnshire County Council in respect of gender pay and that the outcomes of the gender pay gap report were reflective of gender pay gap differences generally in society.

During discussion, the following points were noted:-

·       Members requested that statistics on members of staff eligible to be awarded additional performance payments under the Senior Leadership Pay Scheme, including the number of those who had been successful, be included in future reports;

·       It was suggested that permission for flexible working and additional leave requests for staff in key roles may, at times, have an impact on business need.  It was acknowledged that this was subject to managers discretion but it was felt that a reminder to managers that this was discretionary and not an entitlement would be beneficial;

·       Although the quartile pay bands were reported as a typical picture when compared to national figures, further analysis was requested, for example the gender of job applications received for each level of position to check if this correlated to the outcome of the recruitment;

·       The figures did not include schools as data was not held by the County Council for larger schools which had become Academies.  The legislation stated that this exercise must be taken for employers with over 250 employees.  The Local Authority schools were not included as employers for the purpose of this legislation;

·       Although the report had been clearly written and compared 'like for like', it was possible that the information could be misconstrued and detailed analysis and recommendations were asked to be included in the next report;

·       A suggestion was made that the figures in the Lower Quartile may be distorted due to the number of part-time roles at that level.  It was thought that the full-time equivalent (FTE) figures had been used for this exercise but this would be confirmed and the Sub-Committee advised following the meeting; and

·       The Sub-Committee was keen to provide opportunities for female staff to progress to the higher graded roles and were encouraged with the work being undertaken to support this and requested an up-to-date position at the meeting in 2019.

RESOLVED

          That the report and contents be noted.