Natural England gender pay gap report 2023
Published 28 March 2024
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2024
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Foreword
Natural England’s purpose is to help conserve, enhance and manage the natural environment for the benefit of present and future generations. We play an integral role in supporting delivery of the government’s 25 Year Environment Plan and Environmental Improvement Plan targets, the commitment to net zero by 2050 and meeting the government’s post EU ambitions for agriculture and fisheries. Our vision is ‘Thriving Nature for people and planet’ and we are driven by our mission, ‘Building partnerships for Nature’s recovery’.
Natural England are committed to being an equitable, diverse and inclusive organisation where every individual has equality of opportunity to progress and is able to thrive. The Defra group Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2020 to 2024 affirms this commitment and builds on a strong foundation for both individual and organisational growth.
Gender pay gap reporting helps us to understand how well we achieve gender equality in our pay structures. This report provides gender pay gap information for the year ending 31 March 2023, with comparable statistical information since 2017. We are pleased to report that both our mean (3%) and median (0%) gender pay gaps reduced in 2022-2023 (reduction of 0.8 percentage points (pp) mean and 0.3pp median) supporting a continuous downward trend since 2017.
Our policies and initiatives promote equal opportunities for all our workforce, and it is encouraging to see this reflected in our narrowing gender pay gaps. However, there remains more work to do and it’s important that we continue to pay particular attention to how we are recruiting, developing and retaining staff and creating clear pathways for people to progress in their career.
Natural England work collaboratively across the Defra group to address and close the gender pay gap through the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Gender Board. We are fully committed to creating an inclusive workplace for our people, and we will continue to work towards making further improvements to reach gender parity at all grades.
Kirsty Carter-Brown, Chief Officer, Business Management
Introduction
Gender pay gap legislation introduced in April 2017, requires all employers of 250 or more employees to publish their gender pay gap for workers in scope as of 31 March annually. This includes the mean and median gender pay gaps; the mean and median gender bonus gaps; the proportion of men and women who received bonuses; and the proportions of male and female employees in each pay quartile.
The gender pay gap is the difference in the average pay between all men and women in the organisation. It is different to equal pay, which is about the difference in the actual earnings of men and women doing equal work (or work of equal value).
The mean gender pay gap is the difference between the mean hourly rate of male full-pay relevant employees and that of female full pay relevant employees
The median gender pay gap is the difference between the median hourly rate of pay of male full-pay relevant employees and that of female full-pay relevant employees.[footnote 1]
Natural England’s pay approach supports the fair treatment and reward of all staff irrespective of gender.
The bonus pay gap measures payments to reward performance that are a part of the annual pay award or throughout the year under the in-year performance payment scheme. The mean bonus value is found by adding all bonus values together and dividing the total by how many people were paid. The median is the middle value if all bonuses were stacked from lowest to highest. It’s important to note some bonus payments such as end of year performance awards are pro-rated for part time workers which can influence bonus pay gaps.
Gender pay gap summary
The mean and median pay figures, proportions of men and women receiving bonuses, proportions of men and women in each pay quartile the overall make up of women in Natural England.
Gender pay gap reporting is a statutory requirement and government guidance indicates that employers should take information as to gender from payroll or HR records. The Natural England gender pay gap report is therefore based on the information we hold on our payroll records.
| Mean gender pay gap | Median gender pay gap | Mean gender bonus gap | Median gender bonus gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3% | 0% | 10.8% | 0% |
| Proportion of women receiving a bonus payment | Proportion of men receiving a bonus payment |
|---|---|
| 82% | 81% |
| Quartile | Female % | Male % |
|---|---|---|
| Lower quartile | 58 | 42 |
| Lower middle quartile | 62 | 38 |
| Upper middle quartile | 64 | 36 |
| Upper quartile | 53 | 47 |
| Natural England group | Female % |
|---|---|
| Total workforce | 59 |
| Principal Adviser, Manager and Principal Specialist | 55 |
| Director / Chief Officer and Executive | 48 |
Organisational Context
Natural England have their own staff framework terminology, and have pay groups ranging from Support Adviser to Chief Executive as follows:
Table 1: Natural England and Civil Service grade comparisons[footnote 2]
| Natural England pay group (increasing in seniority) | Equivalent Civil Service grades used for Cabinet Office reporting |
|---|---|
| Support Adviser | AO |
| Adviser | EO |
| Lead Adviser / Group Coordinator / Specialist | HEO |
| Senior Adviser / Team Leader / Senior Specialist | SEO |
| Principal Adviser / Manager / Principal Specialist | Grade 7/6 |
| Director | SCS1 |
| Chief Officer | SCS2 |
| Chief Executive | SCS3 |
| Board Member | n/a |
Grades vary according to the level of responsibility and each pay group has a set pay range.
Distribution of male and female staff in NE
Women currently make up 59% of NE’s workforce, which has increased from 57% in 2022. Table 2 shows the distribution of female and male staff by grade from junior to senior roles in Natural England.
Representation of women at senior levels of the organisation (Principal Adviser, Manager, and Principal Specialist pay group) has increased from 53% in 2022 to 55% in 2023. The number of women in the Director, Chief Officer and Chief Executive Group has fallen from 55% in 2022 to 48% in 2023
Table 2: Distributions of male and female staff by grade
| Pay group (Increasing in seniority) | Number of men | Men as % of workforce at this grade | Number of women | Women as % of workforce at this grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support Adviser | 59 | 4.8% | 47 | 2.7% |
| Adviser | 174 | 14.3% | 233 | 13.2% |
| Lead Adviser / Group Co-ordinator / Specialist | 391 | 32.1% | 611 | 34.7% |
| Senior Adviser / Team Leader / Senior Specialist | 420 | 34.4% | 660 | 37.4% |
| Principal Adviser / Manager / Principal Specialist | 155 | 12.7% | 192 | 10.9% |
| Directors / Chief Officer / CEO | 16 | 1.3% | 15 | 0.9% |
| Board Member | 5 | 0.4% | 5 | 0.28% |
| Total workforce: (2,983 people) (includes rounding) | 1,220 | 100% | 1,763 | 100% |
Mean and median hourly pay gaps
The mean gender pay gap (3%) has reduced by 0.8 percentage points (pp) since 2022 when it was 3.8%. The mean gender pay gap is now the lowest since reporting began in 2017, when the mean gender pay gap was 10.9%. The 2023 median gender pay gap is 0%, which is a decrease of 0.3pp since 2022, when the median pay gap was 0.3%.
Table 3: Mean and median hourly pay gaps over time (2017-2023)
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | (pp) change from 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean gender pay gap - ordinary pay | 10.9% | 9.4% | 8.4% | 7.0% | 5.0% | 3.8% | 3.0% | 0.8pp |
| Median gender pay gap - ordinary pay | 13.2% | 12.4% | 6.1% | 2.7% | 1.0% | 0.3% | 0% | 0.3pp |
Graph 1: Mean and median hourly pay gaps over time (2017-2023)
Mean and median bonus pay gaps
For the purposes of Gender Pay Gap reporting, references made to bonuses are referring to performance payments made to Natural England’s employees. Specifically, these are the non-consolidated payments made under the in-year performance payment scheme as part of the pay award, where a sum is paid to recipients based on an end-of-year performance rating.
Natural England’s end-of-year performance awards paid to the Principal Adviser/Manager/Principal specialist group and below are a set value depending on performance level, irrespective of gender.
Performance payments for Director and Senior Leadership Team were paid in line with Cabinet Office SCS guidelines where variable amounts may be awarded.
| Proportion of men receiving a bonus payment | Proportion of women receiving a bonus payment |
|---|---|
| 81% | 82% |
Graph 2: Percentage of men and women paid bonuses over time (2017-2023)
Over the last reporting period the mean bonus pay gap has widened, increasing from 10% to 10.8%.
Data on new entrants showed there were 465 women and 285 men recruited into Natural England. New starters are generally less likely to receive performance related bonuses due to being new into the role and being in post for a shorter amount of time which may have impacted the overall mean bonus pay awards. In addition, end-of-year bonuses are pro-rate
bonus pay. In Natural England, 32% of women work part time in comparison to 13% of men who work part time.
The median bonus pay gap, has remained at 0% since 2021 means there is no difference in the median or middle value of bonuses awarded to men and women.
In this reporting year, 81% of men received bonus payments and 82% of women received bonus payments.
Table 4: Bonus pay gap figures 2017-2023
| Bonus pay gap | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | (pp) percentage point change from 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean gender pay gap - bonus pay in 12 months ending 31 March | 20% | 21.9% | 0.5% | 0.9% | 0.6% | 10% | 10.8 | +8pp |
| Median gender pay gap - bonus pay in 12 months ending 31 March | 0% | 0% | 0% | -160% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0pp |
| Proportion of male employees paid a bonus in 12 months ending 31 March | 87% | 44% | 40% | 91% | 41% | 74% | 81% | +7pp |
| Proportion of female employees paid a bonus in 12 months ending 31 March | 89% | 37% | 44% | 92% | 44% | 73% | 82% | +9pp |
Graph 3: Mean and median bonus pay gaps over time (2017-2023)
Pay by quartiles
The percentage of women in the highest quartile has fallen from 51% in 2022 to 47% in 2023. However, the percentage of women has increased in the upper middle quartile from 60% in 2022 to 64% in 2023. The percentage of men and women has remained the same as in 2022 in the lower middle and lowest quartiles. Table 4 and graph 4 show the percentage of men and women in each pay quartile.
Table 5: Pay quartiles 2017-2023
| Pay quartiles | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower quartile - men (%) | 44 | 44 | 41 | 44 | 42 | 42 | 42 |
| Lower quartile - women (%) | 56 | 56 | 59 | 56 | 58 | 58 | 58 |
| Lower middle - men (%) | 34 | 36 | 38 | 38 | 41 | 38 | 38 |
| Lower middle - women (%) | 66 | 64 | 62 | 62 | 59 | 62 | 62 |
| Upper middle - men (%) | 42 | 42 | 46 | 41 | 39 | 40 | 36 |
| Upper middle - women (%) | 58 | 58 | 54 | 59 | 61 | 60 | 64 |
| Upper quartile - men (%) | 61 | 57 | 56 | 56 | 53 | 49 | 53 |
| Upper quartile - women (%) | 39 | 43 | 44 | 44 | 47 | 51 | 47 |
Graph 4: Representation of women by quartile over time (2019-2023)
Taking action to close the gender pay gap
Natural England aspires to be one of the most inclusive employers in the UK. The Natural England People Committee provides executive leadership to all Natural England’s work and oversees the delivery of actions to close our gender pay gap through the Defra group Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.
Although our gender pay gap, continues to decrease Natural England recognise that we must continue develop and progress actions to achieve equitable gender representation at all grades in order to close the gender pay gap.
Natural England have reviewed our inclusive recruitment processes, which now include a more consistent approach to outreach activity, have anonymised application processes and use diverse interview panels. Recruitment outcomes data is reviewed throughout the attraction, recruitment, and selection processes to evaluate effectiveness and identify areas for improvement to achieve greater workforce diversity.
Natural England have a range of employee led networks championed by Senior Leaders. Networks includes the Gender Equality network, the Pregnancy and Parenting network and the cross Defra Group Job Share, Solo Parents, Homeworkers’ and Work Life Balance networks. Our employee networks offer peer-support and networking opportunities to our staff, act as a consultative support to the organisation and help raise awareness of diversity through the sharing of lived experiences.
Natural England mainstream workplace policies and guidance to support equality in the workplace, including maternity, adoption and shared parental leave, parental bereavement leave, breastfeeding, menopause and parents’ guidance. We have recently developed a fertility policy and pregnancy loss policy, to support employees and their partners.
To reduce barriers to career progression and for a good work-life balance, we have clear and visible policies on flexible working arrangements for all employees including job sharing, part time and blended working. Our updated flexible working policy allows requests for flexible working from the first day of employment with Natural England.
Natural England are committed to creating an inclusive culture and have achieved accreditations including disability confident, carer confident and are an Age Friendly Employer. Our inclusive leadership and conducting high level conversations for team leaders, focus on building confidence in workplace inclusion. The mandatory Civil Service expectations course provides an overview of diversity legislation, explores biases and how to improve inclusivity and equality amongst diverse colleagues and customers.
To support career development of women and encourage a more equitable representation throughout organisational grades, Natural England offer targeted training, mentoring, and coaching, have a range of apprenticeships and have developed a career conversation guide to facilitate discussions on career aspirations.
Following the 2022 to 2023 pay review we have built on our targeted pay strategies. Natural England have introduced the Support Adviser spot rate and shortened pay scales by both applying a pay freeze to the pay scale maximum and applying larger pay increases to staff who are at the lower end of their pay scale. Natural England ensure that pay scales are transparent and easy for staff to understand. Our pay strategies have positively impacted on the gender pay outcomes.
Declaration
We confirm that data reported by Natural England is accurate and has been calculated according to the requirements and methodology set out in the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017.
Marian Spain
Natural England Chief Executive
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‘Full-pay relevant employee’ means a relevant employee who is not, during the relevant pay period, being paid at a reduced rate or nil as a result of the employee being on leave, The Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017. Throughout this report, references to employees or gender profile includes full-pay relevant employees only.
The ‘relevant pay period’, in relation to the relevant employee, means (a) the period in respect of which the relevant employer pays the employee basic pay, whether weekly, fortnightly, or monthly or any other period, or (b) if the relevant employer does not pay the employee basic pay, the period in respect of which the employer most frequently pays the employee one of the elements of ordinary pay mentioned in regulation 3(1) (b) to (e), The Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017. ↩
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As of 31 March 2023 ↩