Gender Pay Gap Reporting 2019

Leeds Arts University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and has well developed policies which support this commitment.

Staff regularly receive training so that they understand their legal obligations and this is embedded in their day to day work. As part of these legal obligations we are publishing this data in response to our responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017, which require reporting the number of staff employed on the 31st March in each given year. This is the University’s third report under the regulations.

Under the regulations, the gender pay gap is the difference between the average pay (expressed as both the mean and median) of men and women stated as a percentage, and should not be confused with equal pay.

2019 Metrics

Mean gender pay gap - Women’s pay is 1.7% lower (2018 2.62% & 2017 3.63% lower)
Median gender pay gap - Women’s pay is 5.8 % lower (2018 & 2017 5.69% lower)
The mean gender bonus pay gap - n/a (no bonuses paid)
The median gender bonus pay gap - n/a (no bonuses paid)

The table below shows the percentage of men and women in each quartile of our payroll on 31 March 2019, 2018 and 2017, with quartile 1 being the lowest paid and quartile 4 being the highest paid, with the previous 2 years figures provided for comparison purposes.

The overall profile of our staff population on 31 March 2019 was 58.8% female and 41.2% male which is comparable to previous years. The number employed by the University has increased to 296 staff employed on 31 March 2019 compared to 275 in 2018.

Context

The University is committed to equal pay, and operates a grade structure based on the New JNCHES pay scale, which has 51 spine points. All roles outside the most senior staff are evaluated using the HERA job evaluation scheme, and the salaries of senior post holders are set by the University’s Remuneration Committee which considers a range of metrics, external and internal data when setting pay levels.

The HERA scores are mapped to the grading structure to ensure staff are remunerated fairly. There are 11 formal grade bands with a limited number of spine points in each, this allows for salary progression based on experience, (assuming that performance criteria are met) and places an upper and lower limit on remuneration for a given band. This ensures that the equal pay provisions of the Equality Act 2010 are fully met. Each spine point has a differential of around 2.5%.

Analysis

The data from 2017 of the gender pay gap report included student ambassadors, for the last two years there have been no student ambassadors engaged on the reporting date. The mean gender pay gap has decreased for the last three years from 3.63% in 2017, to 2.62% in 2018, and to 1.7% in 2019.

Having remained static for the first two years of reporting, the median gender pay gap has increased by 0.1%. It is worth noting that this is due to the national pay scales, as median pay for women remains spine point 28 (the penultimate spine point of grade 5); and for men it remains point 30 (the bottom spine point of grade 6). This has been the case across the two previous years of reporting.

The core University staffing has continued to grow with the planned expansion in the course portfolio and associated numbers of support staff. This combined with staff turnover and overall staffing profile continues to change, but there has been very little turnover in senior roles within the institution.

Considering the data on a quartile basis the following was observed:

• In Quartile 1 (Lower Quartile) there was no median pay gap between genders and the male mean salary was slightly lower than the female mean salary;
• In Quartile 2 both the female median salary and mean salary are higher than the male;
• In Quartile 3 the female median salary is lower than the median male salary, but the female mean salary is higher than the male mean salary;
• In Quartile 4 (Upper Quartile) the female median salary is lower than the median male salary, but the female mean salary is higher than the male mean salary.

Because of the above, the profile of the University’s staffing by grade is considered to be a factor in accounting for the ongoing median pay gap. The majority of staff are employed in roles which fall within grades 3 to 7. There are significantly more women employed in grades 3 to 7, and in particular within Grade 4 (£24,771 - £27,830) and Grade 5 (£28,660 - £32,236) as a proportion of that demographic of the workforce, than there are men.

It should be noted that 122 men were employed on the census date. Of these; 60 were employed on salaries of spine point 28 or below, and 62 were employed on spine point 29 (the top of grade 5) or above. If that split had been 62 men employed on salaries on spine point 28 or below, and 60 employed on spine point 29 or above, the median gender pay gap would have been 0%.

Whilst noting this analysis and that the ongoing action to recruit more men into lower graded roles may assist in its elimination, a complete eradication of a pay gap (with either gender being paid more) may be impossible to achieve with staff turnover and a grade band structure. We will continue to monitor the detail behind any reported figures and take action where appropriate. Prior to publication these figures have been considered by our Senior Management Team and will also be considered by our Equality Diversity & Inclusion Committee.