Natural England gender pay gap report 2019
Published 23 January 2020
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2020
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/natural-england-gender-pay-gap-report-2019/natural-england-gender-pay-gap-report-2019
Gender pay gap legislation (developed by the Government Equalities Office) introduced in April 2017 requires all employers of 250 or more employees to publish their gender pay gap for workers in scope as of as specific ‘snapshot’ date. The snapshot date for this report was 31 March 2019.
Natural England (NE)’s pay approach supports the fair treatment and reward of all staff irrespective of gender.
1. Key figures
| Mean gender pay gap | Median pay gap | Mean gender bonus pay gap | Median bonus pay gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8.4% | 6.1% | 0.5% | 0% |
| Proportion of men receiving a bonus payment | Proportion of women receiving a bonus payment |
|---|---|
| 40% | 44% |
| Quartile | Female % | Male % |
|---|---|---|
| Lower quartile | 59.43% | 40.57% |
| Lower middle quartile | 61.93% | 38.07% |
| Upper middle quartile | 54.49% | 45.51% |
| Upper quartile | 44.32% | 55.68% |
2. Background for each calculation and context
2.1 Mean and median pay
Natural England have their own staff framework terminology, and have pay groups ranging from Support Adviser to Chief Executive as follows:
| Natural England pay group | Civil Service grades used for Cabinet Office reporting |
|---|---|
| Support Adviser | Administrative Officer |
| Adviser | Executive Officer |
| Lead Adviser, Specialist, Group Coordinator | Higher Executive Officer |
| Senior Adviser, Senior Specialist, Team Leader | Senior Executive Officer |
| Principal Adviser, Principal Specialist, Manager | Grade 7 / Grade 6 |
| Director | SCS Pay Band 1 |
| Chief Officer | SCS Pay Band 2 |
| Chief Executive Officer | SCS Pay Band 3 |
| Board member | n/a |
Grades vary according to the level of responsibility that staff have and each pay group has a set pay range. The longer period of time that someone has been in a grade the more we would expect them to earn irrespective of their gender.
The mean gender pay gap has reduced by 1.0% from 2018 when it stood as 9.4% higher than females. The median gender pay gap has also reduced, by 6.3% from the 12.4% 2018 figure. These reductions are attributable to increases in the percentages of women into the fourth quartile, which is a result of increases in percentages of women in Principal Adviser / Manager / Principal Specialist pay group and also a change of Chief Executive.
| Natural England – publication data | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | +/- from 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean gender pay gap - ordinary pay | 10.9% | 9.4% | 8.4% | -1.0% |
| Median gender pay gap - ordinary pay | 13.2% | 12.4% | 6.1% | -6.3% |
While there has been an increase in the proportion of women into more senior roles over the last 3 years, we are aware that there is further work to do.
- 55% of NE’s workforce are women
- 31% of NE’s Senior Leadership Team and Director group (SCS equivalent) are women
- 45% of NE’s Principal Adviser / Manager / Principal Specialist are women
2.2 Mean and median bonus pay
For the purposes of gender pay gap reporting, references made to bonuses is referring to performance payments made to Natural England’s people. Specifically, these are the non-consolidated payments made as part of the pay award, where a sum is paid to recipients of an end-of-year performance rating. For this report, these were the sums paid out in the 2018 pay award to those who received a rating 1 or 2. Directors and above are subject to different pay review arrangements set out in Senior Civil Service Pay Guidance from Treasury, which includes specific guidance on performance payments.
The mean bonus pay gap has decreased by 21.4% % since 2018 and the median gender pay gap has remained at 0% as it has since Natural England began reporting in 2017.
| Proportion of men receiving a bonus | Proportion of women receiving a bonus |
|---|---|
| 40% | 44% |
The proportion of men receiving a bonus has decreased by 4% since 2018 whereas the proportion of women receiving a bonus has increased by 7% from last year.
| Natural England – publication data | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | +/- from 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean gender pay gap - bonus pay in 12 months ending 31 March | 20% | 21.9% | 0.5% | -21.4% |
| Median gender pay gap - bonus pay in 12 months ending 31 March | 0% | 0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Proportion of male employees paid a bonus in 12 months ending 31 March | 87% | 44% | 40% | -4.0% |
| Proportion of female employees paid a bonus in 12 months ending 31 March | 89% | 37% | 44% | 7.0% |
Natural England’s performance awards paid to the Principal Adviser/Manager/Principal Specialist group and below are done so as a set value depending on performance level, irrespective of gender. Bonuses were pro-rated for staff who worked part-time, this lowers the average bonus pay for women who are on average more likely to work part time. Performance payments for Director and Senior Leadership Team were paid in line with Cabinet Office SCS guidelines where variable amounts may be awarded.
3. Pay by quartiles
| Hourly pay quartile | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| Lower quartile | 59% | 41% |
| Lower middle quartile | 62% | 38% |
| Upper middle quartile | 54% | 46% |
| Upper quartile | 44% | 56% |
The quartiles have remained relatively constant, the percentage of women in the quartiles reducing as the quartiles go up, illustrates that the pay gap is largely as a result of a higher concentration of women in more junior grades and fewer female staff in more senior grades.
Proportion of male and female employees in each quartile
| Quartile | Female % 2017 | Female % 2018 | Female % 2019 | Female % Difference | Male % 2017 | Male % 2018 | Male % 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First (lower) quartile | 56 | 56 | 59 | 3 | 44 | 44 | 41 |
| Second quartile | 66 | 64 | 62 | -2 | 34 | 36 | 38 |
| Third Quartile | 58 | 58 | 54 | -4 | 42 | 42 | 46 |
| Fourth (upper) quartile | 39 | 43 | 44 | 1 | 61 | 57 | 56 |
The following table shows the distribution of female and male staff by grade from junior roles to senior roles in Defra. Women are over-represented in more junior grades, where pay is lower, and under-represented in more senior grades.
| Grade (increasing seniority) | Number of men (% of men who work in this grade) | Number of women (% of women who work in this grade) | % female |
|---|---|---|---|
| Support Adviser | 37 (4.4%) | 40 (3.8%) | 52% |
| Adviser | 130 (15.5%) | 183 (17.5%) | 58% |
| Lead Adviser/Group Coordinator/Specialist | 335 (40%) | 453 (43.3%) | 57% |
| Senior Adviser/Team Leader/Senior Specialist | 227 (27.1%) | 282 (26.9%) | 55% |
| Principal Adviser/Manager/Principal Specialist | 93 (11.1%) | 79 (7.5%) | 46% |
| Director/Chief Officer/CEO | 11 (1.3%) | 6 (0.6%) | 35% |
| Board Member | 5 (0.6%) | 4 (0.4%) | 44% |
| Total | 838 (100%) | 1047 (100%) | 56% |
4. Working to reduce the gender pay gap
Natural England is committed to improving our gender pay gap and delivering a number of initiatives through our equality, diversity and inclusion strategy to support women in the workplace.
We offer active support for women returning to work following maternity or adoption leave. We offer shared parental leave, job share, part-time opportunities and flexible working. We equally offer these opportunities to men to enable all employees to fulfil their caring responsibilities irrespective of gender.
We help women to progress their careers through schemes such as the Positive Action Pathway (a talent programme for under-represented groups) and Crossing Thresholds (a year-long career development programme for Women in the Civil Service, both of these are open to Non-Department Public Bodies). We also help people progress their careers by joining talent programmes and ensure that the gender mix of successful candidates will contribute to reducing the gender pay gap. These include:
- Future Team Leaders
- Conservation Strategy Advisers
- Civil Service accelerated promotion schemes such as Future Leaders and Senior Leaders
We support a range of employee led networks supported and championed by Natural England’s senior management and Equality and Diversity and Inclusion teams. Natural England’s Gender Champion aims to help women reach their full potential by providing advice and support, contributing to policy development and establishing good practices.
We monitor pay to identify any pay differences and take targeted action, where appropriate and where budget constraints allow.
We have improved the recruitment process through anonymised application processes, ensuring that all interviewers have undergone unconscious bias training and using diverse interview panels for selection. Recruitment data is monitored through the attraction, recruitment and selection process to identify areas for further improvement in recruiting a diverse workforce.