Equal Pay Gaps in Scotland’s NHS
A research report as at August 2015
Page 1 Equal Pay Gaps in Scotland’s NHS – a research report as at August 2015
Contents Page Context
3
History
5
Overview & Analysis
6
Conclusion
9
Appendix A
10
Specific duties on equal pay etc.
Appendix B
12
Summary table of data published by 22 NHS Boards
Appendix C
13
Performance ranking of 22 NHS Boards by pay gap
Page 2 Equal Pay Gaps in Scotland’s NHS – a research report as at August 2015
Context In the sunny days August of 2012, research was published on what the NHS in Scotland had then managed to publish by way of calculations of equal pay gaps between women and men employed in the NHS. At that time just 2 out of Scotland’s 22 health boards had published equal pay audits showing what their equal pay gap between women and men was. As we labour under the dull grey clouds which seem parked permanently over Scotland just now 3 years later, it seemed a good point at which to check on what progress, if any, was being made with identifying the size of the equal pay gap between women and men in the NHS in Scotland. As a reminder to those not wholly familiar with equal pay audits, the EHRC updated guidance first published a long time ago by the Equal Opportunities Commission. In explaining why an equal pay audit is good practice, the EHRC says : Most employers believe that they provide equal pay for equal work, irrespective of whether job holders are men, women, of minority ethnic origin, white, disabled, work part-time… An equal pay audit is the most effective way of establishing whether your organisation is providing equal pay and rewarding employees fairly in practice, and is an effective demonstration of action to promote equal pay under the terms of the equality duties. It provides a risk assessment tool for pay structures. This latest research has looked at what reports on equal pay gaps have been published by NHS Boards since 2012 and made publicly available on their web sites.
Wladyslaw Mejka Equality Here, Now August 2015
Page 3 Equal Pay Gaps in Scotland’s NHS – a research report as at August 2015
History Equal pay for women has been around as a legal requirement on employers longer than some public bodies have existed in their current guise. It has a considerable back story based on the real life struggles of women for equality. The 2011 film, ‘Made in Dagenham’, has been just one of many efforts to remind people that equal pay is not something confined to the dry legalese of lawyers, judges and courts, specific equality duties, or codes and guidance from the EHRC. Equal pay has been at the heart of the late-20th century struggle to stop the abuse of power by men over the lives of women and to require, in law, that there be a transfer of power from men to women so that equality can be evidenced in the wallets, purses, pay packets and bank accounts of women and men who do work of similar value. The film provides a less than dry account of how the Equal Pay Act 1970 fired the starting gun on a race to pay equality which is still being run, some 45 years on. European Community Directives have pushed successive governments towards bringing an end to the race. The 2006 Equality Act added new, clear obligations on employers, particularly public sector bodies. They needed to ensure they took active steps to eliminate sources of discrimination in their own employment practices, for example, by ensuring the proportion of women they employed at a senior level is appropriate, or that they paid their workforce in accordance with the equal pay laws. Rather than wait for claims to be made, employers needed to investigate pay systems proactively and take action to correct inequalities. The 2010 Equality Act has stirred the equal pay pot yet again, and Scotland’s new specific equality duties have provided the smallest of nudges towards the race for equal pay for women moving into the final lap. At the same time, public bodies are being asked to look at identifying and eliminating discrimination in pay systems as they affect all the other protected Page 4 Equal Pay Gaps in Scotland’s NHS – a research report as at August 2015
characteristics. If you want to know more about equal pay, you can learn as much as you will need from the Equality & Human Rights Commission’s Code of Practice. And finally, given this research looks at the performance of the NHS in Scotland, the following quote may provide some of the strategic policy context for what we are looking at. The Scottish Parliament’s Equal Opportunities Committee have previously taken an interest in the progress being made [or not, as the case may be] by the NHS on equal pay, and quizzed the Cabinet Secretary for Health at a meeting in October 2009. The Official Record notes that the Cabinet Secretary, Nicola Sturgeon, said then to Committee members : 'It was indicated [at a previous Committee round-table discussion on equal pay reviews] that advice had been given to NHS boards not to perform equal pay reviews to ensure that agenda for change remains equal-pay-proofed. I want to clarify that that is not the case. There remains an issue about the extent to which such reviews can be carried out while agenda for change reviews are under way, but there is a clear expectation that all boards will get on and complete those reviews as quickly as they can, and that they will go beyond the letter of the law to ensure that they are exemplary employers that live up to all the duties required of them.' [6th October 2009] That unambiguous statement made almost 6 years ago would suggest that any research is bound to show the NHS in Scotland would be close to the finishing tape in the race to deliver equal pay for women working in the NHS in Scotland.
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Overview & Analysis Out of the 22 NHS Boards, it was possible to find 14 Boards where the data on equal pay gaps was available in a straightforward manner. Another 3 Boards provided data of sorts, but where additional work is required to extract it from sometimes less than accessible information published on Board web sites. Another Board had to be asked for the data which was not available on the web site. One Board published just the pay gap expressed as a percentage, with no data offered on hourly wage rates for women and men or the numbers of workers. 10 of the Boards have published equal pay gaps using 2015 data, 5 using 2014 data, and 3 using 2013 data.
Accessibility of information One of the key features of the specific equality duties which set out how the public sector should go about meeting the general equality duty was that information published by public bodies should be accessible. Looking for easily accessible data on the equal pay gaps across the NHS in Scotland has been a good test of how well that is being made to happen. In the course of this research, it was not possible to find any evidence of a uniform or common approach amongst Boards to how the information on equal pay gaps would be presented or where to find it on Board web sites. Quite why Scotland’s 22 NHS Boards should arrive at 22 different ways of publishing their equal pay gaps is a passing mystery. The NHS in Scotland has had a major resource for some years now, a dedicated Equality Directorate providing support, guidance and advice to all Boards on meeting the general and specific equality duties. It does seem an opportunity missed that members of the public are unable to access data on the equal pay gaps in all 22 NHS Boards and where the data is immediately comparable and in the same – virtual – place. This end product would not require major resources, simply the Equality Directorate facilitating debate and securing agreement on all taking a Page 6 Equal Pay Gaps in Scotland’s NHS – a research report as at August 2015
common approach to working up data and then all 22 NHS Boards undertaking to publish their data sets not just on their own web site, but also in a web site hosted by the Equality Directorate in NHS Health Scotland. One would imagine the Cabinet Secretary for Health and her civil service team would find it helpful to be able to access such a resource.
Closing the Gap in the NHS ? Progress of sorts has been made. In 2012, just 2 Boards had published equal pay gap data. 3 years on that is now 18 Boards. In 2012, just 1 of the 22 Boards published an equal pay gap of less than 5%. Three years on, 3 of the 22 Boards publish equal pay gaps of 5% or less. When aggregating hourly rates and staff numbers to reach a pan-NHS equal pay gap figure, based on data Boards themselves have published, the gap is £3.32, expressed as an average hourly rate, and means that women working in the NHS are earning, on average, 18.85% less than men. In 2014, Close the Gap was reporting that the Scottish pay gap was 11.5%. Reporting the gap itself can never be enough. There is an expectation, clearly set out in the EHRC Code of Practice, that public bodies will act on any pay gap of over 5% by conducting an analysis and putting in place an action plan to eliminate/reduce the gap. This is not always the case across the NHS in Scotland. NHS Grampian has published a table with data for its equal pay gap in 2015. The gap is reported as 24.19%. The single page report offers no analysis of why the gap is 24.19% and offers up no action plan for reducing the gap. NHS Shetland reports a pay gap of 28.07%. The report concludes that there is no evidence that gender informs the level of pay for any post within NHS Shetland. The report advances a case for the gap being a direct result of occupational segregation, citing “women are more likely to work in traditional caring roles” as a factor. The report ends with a plan which lacks detail and timescales : “we will continue to work in partnership with trade unions to continue to advance equality of opportunity for all staff and to reduce the gender pay gap”.
Page 7 Equal Pay Gaps in Scotland’s NHS – a research report as at August 2015
The report from NHS Tayside runs to 5 pages, all tables, and reveals an overall pay gap of 14.85%. There is no published analysis of why this gap exists and no action plan for closing and eliminating it. The report published by NHS Health Scotland offers a more detailed analysis than most of the pay gap there of 16.43%. And yet, on page 3 it cites a contributing factor to the pay gap as being : “the difference in the average hourly pay by gender across all bands is a result of vertical segregation. In NHS Health Scotland women tend to be employed in lower paid roles and men employed in higher paid roles”. No action plan is offered to rebalance the effect of occupational segregation on the equal pay gap. There is a wide variation in how equal pay gaps are being reported across the NHS in Scotland, and there is an equally wide variation in how NHS Boards are meeting the general and specific duties as they relate to equal pay and equality of opportunity in employment for women. No evidence was found of any of the 22 NHS Boards living up to the challenge set for them in 2009 on meeting their duties in relation to equal pay : “they will go beyond the letter of the law to ensure that they are exemplary employers”
Page 8 Equal Pay Gaps in Scotland’s NHS – a research report as at August 2015
Conclusion Having had over 40 years to embrace the work required to deliver equal pay for women, and make good on a commitment made by the Cabinet Secretary for Health 6 years ago, the stark reality is that in Scotland’s NHS, making equal pay happen for women remains something much talked about but little acted upon. The lack of easily available, clear, consistent and comparable data on equal pay gaps across the whole of the NHS makes it difficult for women and trade unions to hold Boards to account on equal pay. Exactly how the current Cabinet Secretary for Health is supposed to know what the equal pay gap is in the NHS she is supposed to run remains, like so many of the methods used to calculate and publish it, a mystery.
Page 9 Equal Pay Gaps in Scotland’s NHS – a research report as at August 2015
Appendix A The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012 Duty to publish gender pay gap information 7.—(1) A listed authority must publish information on the percentage difference among its employees between men’s average hourly pay (excluding overtime) and women’s average hourly pay (excluding overtime). (2) The information is to be published no later than 30th April in— (a)2013; and (b)each second year after that. (3) The information published must be based on the most recent data available for a date when the authority had at least 150 employees. (4) No publication is necessary if, throughout the period since these Regulations came into force or since publication was last due, the authority did not have 150 or more employees at any point. (5) The Scottish Ministers must review from time to time whether the figure of “150” in paragraphs (3) and (4) should be amended. Duty to publish statements on equal pay, etc. 8.—(1) A listed authority must publish a statement containing the information specified in paragraph (2) no later than 30th April in— (a)2013; and (b)each fourth year after that. (2) The statement must specify— (a)the authority’s policy on equal pay among its employees between— (i)men and women; (ii)persons who are disabled and persons who are not; and (iii)persons who fall into a minority racial group and persons who do not; and (b)occupational segregation among its employees, being the concentration of— (i)men and women; (ii)persons who are disabled and persons who are not; and (iii)persons who fall into a minority racial group and persons who do not, in particular grades and in particular occupations. (3) The information published must be based on the most recent data available for a date when the authority had at least 150 employees. Page 10 Equal Pay Gaps in Scotland’s NHS – a research report as at August 2015
(4) No publication is necessary if, throughout the period since these Regulations came into force or since publication was last due, the authority did not have 150 or more employees at any point. (5) Paragraphs (2)(a)(ii) and (iii) and (2)(b)(ii) and (iii) apply only in relation to the second and subsequent statements published by a listed authority under paragraph (1). (6) In paragraph (2), “racial group” is to be construed in accordance with section 9 of the Act. (7) The Scottish Ministers must review from time to time whether the matters specified in paragraph (2) and the figure of “150” in paragraphs (3) and (4) should be amended.
Page 11 Equal Pay Gaps in Scotland’s NHS – a research report as at August 2015
Appendix B NHS Board
Total men workforce 2011/12
women
pay gap
Total workforce 2013-15
10,435 3,130 4,326 8,522 5,856
1,716 550 718 1,352 897
8,719 2,580 3,608 7,170 4,959
38,565 10,226 11,487 21,549 527 588 13,525
8,193 1,980 1,858 4,662 83 106 2,835
30,372 8,246 9,629 16,887 444 482 10,690
not known not known not known not known not known not known not known not known not known not known not known not known not known
3,354 1,439 1,510 752 308 294
1,282 400 266 210 74 74
2,072 1,039 1,244 542 234 220
not known not known 4.30% not known not known not known
4,213 699
2,789 332
1,424 367
not known 12.90%
2,209
598
1,611
8.60%
Staff numbers where the equal pay gap is unknown
139,096
29,779
109,317
15,331
Staff number Totals
141,305
30,377
110,928
169,414
Ayrshire & Arran NHS Borders NHS Dumfries & Galloway NHS Fife NHS Forth Valley NHS Grampian NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde NHS Highland1 NHS Lanarkshire2 NHS Lothian NHS Orkney3 NHS Shetland NHS Tayside NHS Western Isles4 NHS NSS NHS NWTCB NHS 24 NHS NES5 NHS Health Scotland NHS Healthcare Improvement Scotland6 NHS SAS NHS State Hospital7 Staff numbers where the equal pay gap is known
men
Average Women hourly pay
10,799 1,810 £18.00 3,043 558 £18.32 5,176 912 £28.61 8,633 1,321 £17.44 5,575 640 £14.36 17,716 3,163 £18.05 38,760 8,243 £17.34 13,861 2,364 £17.84 12,059 1,961 not known 23,759 5,085 £17.04 635 72 £12.91 916 160 £18.87 13,994 2,868 £17.20 1,039 3,449 1,309 £17.28 1,583 1,505 284 £14.30 1,244 384 £26.93 275 71 £20.35
Average pay hourly pay gap in £s
8,989 £13.51 2,505 £14.22 4,264 £23.89 7,312 £13.70 4,935 £13.64 17,716 £13.69 30,517 £14.09 11,497 £12.95 10,098 not known 18,674 £14.23 563 £12.72 756 £13.57 11,126 £14.24
£4.49 £4.10 £4.72 £3.74 £0.72 £4.36 £3.25 £4.89
Pay gap in %
£2.81 £0.19 £5.30 £2.96
24.94% 22.38% 16.50% 21.44% 5.01% 24.16% 18.74% 27.41% 27.81% 16.49% 1.47% 28.09% 17.21%
2,140
£15.54
£1.74
10.07%
1,221 860 204
£13.86 £20.98 £17.01
£0.44 £5.95 £3.34
3.08% 22.09% 16.41%
336 4,407 650
79 2,818
£19.14 £15.13
257 1,589
£17.78 £13.84
£1.36 £1.29
7.11% 8.53%
154,083
32,141
£17.61
125,125
£14.29
£3.32
18.85%
1
NHS Highland provided data for a pay bands only analysis. This overall rate had to be worked up from that data. NHS Lanarkshire Equal Pay report does not provide average hourly rate data 3 NHS Orkney Equal Pay Report is incomplete and provides pay band only data, with these data sets being worked up from those published. 4 NHS Western Isles published very limited data on Equal Pay gaps, proving percentages only and for pay band groups only. 5 NHS NES provided data for a pay bands only analysis. This overall rate had to be worked up from that data. 6 NHS Healthcare Improvement Scotland Equal Pay gap report is not for the whole workforce and excludes staff numbers. 7 Unable to find an Equal Pay Gap report on NHS State Hospital web site 2
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Appendix C
Page 13 Equal Pay Gaps in Scotland’s NHS – a research report as at August 2015
