Transparency data

DBS Gender Pay Gap Report 2023

Published 26 March 2024

1. Context

1.1. The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has placed equality, diversity, and inclusion as a priority in its 5-year strategy 2020/25 to ensure that its products and services are as accessible and inclusive as possible for both the public and employers. Developing a more diverse workforce, which reflects the public we serve, including having the appropriate gender balance at all levels of the organisation, plays a key role in delivering this priority.

1.2. This 2022/23 report shows that, although we are disappointed that we are not making the progress we had hoped, we have a sound understanding of the drivers for the increase in the mean gender pay gap at DBS, and a robust action plan in place to address these.

1.3. The increased mean gender pay gap to 8.09% from the prior year’s 6.77% predominantly stems from our organisational design (internal structural changes) during 2020-2021, whereby DBS introduced new capabilities and expertise and strengthened existing areas. This recruitment, targeting hard-to-reach audiences, required offering competitive salaries within grade bands, supported by thoroughly evidenced business cases.

1.4. This initiative was crucial for securing the necessary capabilities to achieve our strategy, but it had a significant impact on the gender pay gap. There is a further shift this year to 8.09% related directly to the changing workforce profile at Grade 6 and Senior Civil Service level due to the departure of several female colleagues. In some cases, the roles were subsequently reconfigured or removed from the structure, so the vacancies left by those colleagues were not recruited.

1.5. A notable advancement is the reduction of our median pay gap to just 0.03% (1p), which demonstrates the impact of the carefully considered implementation of our pay and reward strategies. Our approach took into account detailed equality impact assessments, as part of our commitment to pay equity at DBS.

1.6. We are committed to reducing the Gender Pay Gap, and our approach to action planning looks holistically at the changes which will achieve this. Our approach goes beyond focusing solely on pay, ensuring that our working conditions and approach to female-specific issues are considered and addressed. A summary of our action plan is enclosed in section 9.

 2. Background

2.1. Gender pay gap is a comparison of the average pay for all male and female employees, across all jobs. The comparison within the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is shown throughout this report.

2.2.If an organisation has a particularly high gender pay gap, this can indicate that there may be issues to address, and the individual calculations may help to identify what those issues are.

2.3.The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017 stipulate that all businesses, public sector organisations, and third sector organisations with over 250 employees must publicly report on the average pay differences between their male and female employees.

2.4. The regulations require employers to publish:

• their mean gender pay gap in hourly pay
• their median gender pay gap in hourly pay
• their mean bonus gender pay gap
• their median bonus gender pay gap
• the proportion of male and female employees receiving a bonus payment
• the proportion of male and female employees in each pay quartile

2.5. As a public sector body, we are required to publish this pay gap information within 12 months, taking the ‘snapshot date’ of 31 March annually.

2.6. Our calculations follow the legislative requirements as set out in the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017.

2.7. This information will be published on the DBS website for a minimum of 3 years and will be published by 31 March 2024.

2.8. This report fulfils DBS’ reporting requirements, analyses the figures in more detail, and updates the action plan produced last year, which sets out what we are doing to close the gender pay gap in our organisation.

2.9. The purpose of gender pay gap reporting is to achieve greater gender equality in terms of pay across the UK and increase pay transparency. This differs from equal pay which deals with differences between male and female employees who carry out equal work.

2.10. DBS recognises that gender identity is not limited to the categories of male and female, and although gender pay gap regulations require DBS to report on all staff as male or female, DBS appreciates that some colleagues may not identify within this gender binary. DBS welcomes and values colleagues of all gender identities.

2.11. To be included as a full-pay relevant employee (this includes part-time employees), the employee must be paid their full usual pay during the pay period in which the snapshot date falls. If the employee is paid less than their usual rate because of being on leave for that period, they should not be counted as a full-pay relevant employee. For example, if an employee is paid Statutory Sick Pay or Statutory Maternity Pay, that is less than their usual pay, they will not be counted as a full-pay relevant employee.

3. Workforce profile

3.1. 1. As of 31st March 2023, DBS employed a total of 1294 employees (by headcount). 803 (62%) of the workforce identified as female and 491 (38%) of the workforce identified as male. This is almost the same profile as at 31st March 2022 when the equivalent figures were 1139 employees, of which 703 (62%) were female and 436 (38%) were male.

3.2. Figures 1 and 2 show a breakdown of the 1,301 relevant employees in DBS on the 31st of March 2023.

Figure 1: DBS workforce information by gender

Grade	Female	Male
Administrative Officer (AO)	256 (60%)	169 (40%)
Executive Officer (EO)	208 (68%)	98 (32%)
Higher Executive Officer (HEO)	228 (66%)	115 (34%)
Senior Executive Officer (SEO)	57 (55%)	46 (45%)
Grade 7	38 (47%)	43 (53%)
Grade 6	13 (50%)	13 (50%)
Senior Civil Servant (SCS)*	3 (30%)	7 (70%)

*Public servants at SCS equivalent grades

Figure 2: DBS workforce numbers by gender

Grade	Female	Male
Administrative Officer (AO)	256	169
Executive Officer (EO)	208	98
Higher Executive Officer (HEO)	228	115
Senior Executive Officer (SEO)	57	46
Grade 7	38	43
Grade 6	13	13
Senior Civil Servant (SCS)*	3	7

*Public servants at SCS equivalent grades

Figures 1 and 2 show that:

• 83% of the workforce is employed at AO, EO, and HEO level
• at AO grade, 60% of employees are female and 40% are male
• at EO grade, 68% of employees are female and 32% are male
• at HEO grade, 66% of employees are female and 34% are male
• at SEO grade, 55% of employees are female and 45% are male
• at Grade 7, 47% of employees are female and 53% are male
• at Grade 6, 50% of employees are female and 50% are male
• for 2023, in Grade 7, Grade 6, and SCS roles, 46% of employees were female at these grades (54 out of 117) - this is a 1 % reduction from 2022 when there were 50 female employees out of a total of 103 (47%)

4. Mean gender pay gap

4.1. As at 31 March 2023, the mean hourly rate for male employees was £16.69 per hour and for female employees, it was £15.34 per hour. This means that male employees earned an average of £1.35 per hour more than female employees, compared to earning an average of £1.10 more per hour than female employees in 2022.

4.2. The mean difference recorded at DBS for 2023 is 8.09%. The gap reduced from 2017 to 2019 from 5.50% to 2.00% but has increased since then, from 2.00% in 2019 to 3.93% in March 2021 and 6.77% in March 2022. This is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Mean pay gap

Year	Mean
2023	8.09%
2022	6.77%
2021	3.93%
2020	2.90%
2019	2.00%
2018	3.50%
2017	5.50%

4.3. We calculated our pay gap using a method set by the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017. For context DBS’ mean pay gap for 2023 in comparison with other government departments, such as Home Office at 7.0%, (increasing from 6.7% in 2022) and HMRC at 6.0%, (reducing from 6.6% in 2022). The gap at DBS is considerably less than the national public sector mean pay gap, which is 14.3% (Office for National Statistics – provisional 2023 figure).

5. Media gender pay gap

5.1. The median hourly rate of pay for male employees was £13.71 per hour and for female employees, it was £13.70 per hour. This means that male employees earned an average of 1 pence per hour more than female employees, which equates to a difference of 0.03%.  This has decreased from 3.96% last year.

6. Proportion of male and female employees receiving bonuses

6.1. DBS offers in-year reward and recognition awards to employees. These are awarded in the form of vouchers or through salary. Both are included for the purpose of gender pay gap calculations.

6.2. Out of 807 female employees, 395 received a bonus which equates to 49.8%. Out of 494 male employees, 246 received a bonus which equates to 48.9%.

7. Gender bonus gap

7.1. The mean gender bonus gap (difference between male and female employees) is 27.8% with male employees being awarded more and the median gender bonus gap is 0.00%. This is shown in Figure 4.

7.2. This varies year on year on a demand or activity basis and is tested for equality impacts annually. Within the delegated grades rewards and recognition scheme (AO – Grade 6) there is a negative gap of -7%, while the SCS scheme has a gap of 15%.

Figure 4: Mean and median bonus gap

Year	Mean bonus gap	Median bonus gap
2023	27.8%	0.00%
2022	-1.26%	0.00%
2021	-6.00%	0.00%
2020	36.60%	33.30%
2019	11.30%	0.00%
2018	7.00%	-50.00%
2017	7.20%	36.80%

8. Hourly pay quartiles

8.1. DBS employed 1294 employees as at 31st March 2023, with 1254 qualifying as full-pay relevant employees, which means there are 313 employees per pay quartile.

8.2. The hourly rates that represent each quartile are as follows:

• Upper relates to hourly rates of £16.21 and above
• Upper middle relates to the hourly rates of £13.71 to £16.21
• Lower middle relates to the hourly rates of £12.10 to £13.71
• Lower relates to hourly rates up to £12.10

8.3.The gender split per quartile is detailed below:

• In the upper quartile, there are 171 female employees (55%) and 142 male employees (45%)
• In the upper middle quartile, there are 211 female employees (67%) and 103 male employees (33%)
• In the lower middle quartile, there are 192 female employees (61%) and 121 male employees (39%)
• In the lower quartile, there are 193 female employees (61%) and 121 male employees (39%)

8.4. The highest percentage of female employees is in the upper middle quartile (67%), whilst the highest for male employees is in the upper quartile (45%).

8.5. The lowest percentage of female employees is in the upper quartile (55%) and the lowest percentage of male employees is in the lower middle quartile and lower quartile (both 39%).

8.6. The data highlights that, within the 3 lowest quartiles, the proportion of male and female employees compares closely to their workforce representation across all 3 quartiles, with the difference no more than 5%.

8.7. On average, there is a slightly higher proportion of male employees in the upper pay quartiles than female employees compared to their workforce representation (approximately 7%).

8.8. In the highest pay quartile, 51 (45%) of the 114 Grade 7, Grade 6, and SCS staff are female, which is lower than their workforce representation at those grades (62%).

Action Plan Summary

9.1. Commitment to Pay Equality and Diversity

DBS is committed to fostering equality in its pay and reward strategies and beyond. Our organisation consistently monitors equality within the workforce and actively pursues a comprehensive equality, diversity, and inclusion plan.

The below actions aim to ensure fair and equitable practices for all employees with a specific focus for this summary on key factors affecting the gender pay gap. It covers our existing actions, which we believe are having a positive impact, and our new actions added as a consequence of this analysis.

9.2. Impact of Strategic Recruitment and Organisation Design

As part of our strategic organisational design, DBS has engaged in increased recruitment to introduce new capabilities and expertise and strengthen existing areas. This recruitment, targeting hard-to-reach audiences, required offering competitive salaries within grade bands, supported by thoroughly evidenced business cases. While this initiative was crucial for securing the necessary talent, it has also had an impact on the current gender pay gap.

Action completed: We have completed a review of the impact of recent appointments at higher salary business cases and, beyond the initial impact on the pay gap of this large recruitment activity, no further adverse impact is evidenced related to this process.

9.3. Scope for Improvement and Ongoing Actions

Recognising that the increase in our gender pay gap is largely attributable to these recent strategic changes and some smaller contributory factors, DBS acknowledges the need for further improvements.

These are detailed in the actions for 2024-2025 below:

9.4. Theme 1: Equal Pay and Continuous Analysis

DBS will maintain its practice of conducting annual equal pay audits to identify areas for improvement, informing decisions on the annual pay award. Within the frameworks set by HM Treasury and Cabinet Office, DBS has the autonomy to determine pay and reward structures up to Grade 6 through the annual pay remit and similarly through an annual SCS pay remit. These are the frameworks that most directly impact gender pay and equal pay.

The improvement in the median gender pay gap, now at a minimal 0.03%, suggests that our pay strategy is effective for a substantial portion of the workforce. This progress indicates that our recent pay remit initiatives have positively impacted pay equity.

Ongoing and existing actions

• We are committed to transparency in publishing gender pay gap information and learning from best practices in other organisations.
• We will continue to progress our evidence-based and equity and inclusion-focused approach to pay and reward at DBS.
• Continue analysis of job application data as part of wider work on equality, diversity, and inclusion to identify any patterns and appropriately adjust DBS processes.
• An annual analysis of gender pay gap data, with year-on-year comparisons, will be undertaken.
• The DBS Strategic Leadership Team will regularly review this data and monitor the progress of actions within our plan.

New action

• “Adding more deep dive post pay remit analysis and action per grade to the annual pay remit process” - The impacts of our interventions will continue to be tested and analysed in further depth as part of the pay remit process with a greater focus on per grade or group impacts and post remit real terms impact.

9.5. Theme 2: Culture and Visible leadership

The departure of 2 female employees at Senior Civil Servant (SCS) equivalent grade and one female Grade 6 has likely contributed to the skewing of the gender pay gap, particularly given their small number within the organisation. This not only impacts the mean gender pay gap calculation but also has broader implications for organisational culture, succession planning, and the visibility of women in leadership roles.

Ongoing and existing actions

• Senior female colleagues will continue to be supported to spearhead and champion cross-DBS issues as well as topics such as menopause.

• Detailed and collaborative examination of staff survey results and focus on delivering an action plan.

New action

• “I can’t be what I can’t see” - We will build a visibility plan to ensure that there is visibility of women in leadership roles and that they are featured as part of career workshops.

• “Stimulating progression” - DBS is committed to launching a mentoring and coaching scheme via the DBS Academy facility.

9.6. Theme 3: Inclusive Recruitment and Development

DBS is committed to inclusive recruitment, leveraging campaigns and external partnerships. We will monitor Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) data post-recruitment activities for continuous improvement.

From a development perspective, there is positive evidence that through mechanisms like Higher Responsibility Allowance, Temporary Promotion and through the DBS Academy we support more female colleagues than male colleagues which will contribute positively over time to the average gender pay gap.

Ongoing and existing actions

• Our advertising language will continue to be critically reviewed, especially for roles at Grade 7 and above, to avoid gender biases and ensure equal appeal to all genders.

• Efforts to achieve diverse representation across all protected characteristics in our workforce, at all levels, will continue through targeted recruitment, attraction and development strategies and tested in-depth regularly through detailed equality analysis.

New action

• “A compelling and attractive picture of DBS” - As part of our business planning, we commit to ensuring that our positive reward proposition is put forward to best attract more internal and external female colleagues to higher grades roles, featuring the stories of our successful senior female leaders and the DBS offer that provides a flexible and inclusive environment.

• “A rich and impactful learning offer” - Stimulating colleague awareness and skills in key areas that will support the achievement of the DBS strategy. This includes ensuring managers have coaching and leadership skills to best support staff to increase both capability and confidence so they can develop the career they want.

10. Conclusion

10.1 The gender pay gap within DBS is 8.09%, increasing from 6.77% last year. DBS compares favourably to the UK mean gender pay gap of 14.3%[1]. While there have been small increases in the DBS gender pay gap over the past 3 years, it now is higher overall than reported in 2017.

10.2 While the gap has shown a marginal increase over the past few years, it is predominantly attributed to changes in the profile of our workforce, especially the higher representation of male employees in senior roles and the increased presence of female employees in junior positions.

10.3 DBS is committed to the action plan set out above to address these trends and ensure fair pay practices across the organisation as part of our strategic priority of equality, diversity, and inclusion.

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[1] Source: Office for National Statistics annual survey of hours and earnings (ASHE) – provisional figure for 2023