Gender pay gap report

Employers with 250 or more employees as at a specified ‘snapshot’ date are required to publish gender pay gap information.

Raven’s total headcount on the snapshot date of 5th April 2023 was 310.

Everyone at Raven is proud of our purpose “Building Homes, Changing Lives”.

In the face of turbulent times, our purpose remains clear – we don’t just build houses, we build homes; and we provide the services and support that help change lives.

How we deliver our purpose is important to us, and our three culture statements inform everything we do:

• Put Customer First – We care about our customers and so we understand, meet and pre-empt their needs; providing a consistently great experience.
• Always Be Curious – We ask questions, challenge the status quo, and learn from one another; continuously seeking ways to improve.
• Make It Happen – We use our knowledge, experience and data to make decisions and take action; driven by our responsibility and commitment.

As an IIP Gold accredited organisation we recognise our staff as central to achieving our purpose, and as outlined within our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion strategy we are committed to a culture built on principles of fairness and trust, where differences are celebrated, and every employee is valued. As part of this, it is important that we recruit, develop, and recognise our employees based on individual merit and regardless of personal characteristics such as race, disability, sex, age, and gender reassignment, as covered within the Equality Act (2010).

This report contains the Gender Pay Gap (as of 5th April 2023) for Raven Housing Trust, as required by the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017. We recognise the implementation of mandatory gender pay gap reporting as an important step towards transparency and greater equality for women in work.

It is important to remember that the gender pay gap relates to the earnings of female employees compared to male employees in all positions across the workforce and therefore reflects the types of position in which each are employed rather than being an indicator of equal pay for equal work. This means that organisations with a greater proportion of men than women in more senior, higher paid roles will have a larger pay gap.
Raven has a mean gender pay gap of 3.3% favouring males. This is because there is a larger percentage of female than male employees in the lower pay quartile, Band A, which has a downwards pressure on average female pay; and because male employees in the upper quartile tend to be within higher paid positions than females, meaning that the higher mean hourly pay for male employees in this quartile has an upwards impact on average male pay.

Our mean gender pay gap is good compared to the national picture, with the provisional mean gender pay gap for the Not-for-Profit sector as reported by the Office of National Statistics in November 2023 being 15.6% favouring men, and for all sectors being 13.2% favouring men.

The median gender pay gap at Raven is 3% favouring men, which means that when our hourly pay rates are listed from highest to lowest, the middle pay rate for male employees is higher than for female employees. This is due to a larger percentage of female employees in Band A, the lower pay quartile. It does not mean that female employees in the same positions as male employees receive lower hourly rates.

The median gap at Raven has reduced by 2.8% since 2020, due to the recruitment of female employees into some of our higher paid positions. The largest increase in female representation is within the upper middle quartile, Band C, which has increased by 4%.

The median gap compares favourably to the national median of 17.3% within for the Not-for-Profit sector and 14.3% across all sectors, as provisionally reported by the Office of National Statistics in November 2023.

Our mean gender bonus gap is 30% in favour of male employees; this is because in the 12 months to the snapshot date we had formal bonus schemes in place only for business development and director positions, which have a greater proportion of male employees. The director bonus scheme has now ended, with the final payments made in April 2023.

Our median gender bonus gap is 0%, which means that when the bonus amounts are listed from highest to lowest, the middle amount for male and female employees is the same.

There is a higher percentage of female than male employees who received a bonus in the year to 5th April 2023 (55% compared to 45%), this is because a larger number of female employees were eligible for a discretionary bonus that was given to those earning £32,000 or less per annum, to support with the cost of living crisis. This salary threshold was based on national definitions of fuel poverty and the associated level of household income.

1. Requirements

Mandatory Gender Pay Gap Reporting regulations require organisations with 250 or more employees to report their pay gap as of 5th April (snapshot date) with the following information:

i. Mean gender pay gap: the difference between the average hourly rate of pay received by male and female employees.
ii. Median gender pay gap: the difference between the middle hourly rate of pay for male and female employees when listed from highest to lowest.
iii. Pay quartiles: the percentage of men and women that fall within four equal-sized pay bands, based on hourly rate of pay.
iv. Mean gender bonus gap: the difference between the average bonus pay received by male and female employees in the 12 months to the snapshot date.
v. Median gender bonus gap: the difference between the middle bonus amount for male and female employees when listed from highest to lowest.
vi. Percentage of men and women who received bonuses.
Relevant employees:

All those employed on the snapshot date are regarded within the legislation as ‘relevant’ employees and are included in the metrics, even if they joined or left Raven part-way through the pay period and were paid for only a portion of that pay period.

The first four of the above metrics are based on data relating to ‘full-pay relevant’ employees, which according to the legislation is those who, during the pay period that includes the snapshot date, were paid their normal pay for the hours they worked. For part-time employees, this is their usual pro-rata pay. The data for these metrics therefore excludes employees who, as a result of being on maternity leave, sick leave, or special leave (e.g., sabbatical or other type of unpaid leave), were paid at a reduced rate that is less than their usual pay.

For the bonus calculations, all relevant employees are included, regardless of whether they received full, normal pay during the pay period.

2. Raven’s Gender Profile

Data collected on employees as of 5 April 2023 (the snapshot date) shows the following workforce gender breakdown in relation to those who received their normal pay for the hours they worked:

• Male – 140
• Female – 143
• Total no. of full-pay relevant staff – 283

Of the total 283 full-pay relevant employees that were employed on the snapshot date, 49% were male and 51% female.

3. Gender Pay Results

i. The mean gender pay gap in hourly pay for Raven is 3.3% and is more favourable to men.
ii. The median gender pay gap in hourly pay for Raven is 3.0% and is more favourable to men.
iii. Pay quartiles by gender (these quartiles are set out in the reporting requirements):

iv. The mean gender bonus gap for Raven is 30% and is more favourable to men.

v. The median gender bonus gap for Raven is 0% with no difference between male and female employees.

vi. The percentage of male employees who received a bonus is 45% and the percentage of female employee who received a bonus is 55%.

4. Commentary

Mean gender pay gap:

Raven’s mean gender pay gap of 3.3% compares favourably to the national average of 13.2% as reported by the Office of National Statistics in November 2023.

The main reason for the mean gender pay gap at Raven being favourable to males, is the higher female than male representation within the lowest pay quartile (Band A), which is primarily due to a larger number of female employees in administrative positions. This is a common picture nationally and means that even though we take an inclusive approach to recruitment, the volume of applications received for certain positions or functions is often skewed towards male or female candidates.

The largest pay gap is within the upper quartile (Band D), because some of the highest paid roles in the upper quartile are in STEM-related or other male dominated functions and are filled by male employees, even though overall, a slightly higher percentage of employees in this quartile are female than male.

Median gender pay gap:

Our median gender pay gap of 3% is skewed towards male employees but has reduced by 2.8% since 2020 and is below the national average of 14.3% as reported by the Office of National Statistics in November 2023.

The reason for the median pay gap being favourable to men is the higher representation of women in some of our lowest paid roles, with 56% of employees in Band A, the lower pay quartile, being female. However, the increase in female representation within the upper middle pay quartile, Band C, has reduced the median pay gap overall so that it is less favourable to males than it was previously.

Pay quartiles:

The composition of our lowest pay band is consistent with benchmark data provided by XpertHR, which shows that on average, 57% of the lower pay quartile, Band A, is female employees. However, our female representation within the higher pay quartiles is good, with a 4% increase over 4 years in the percentage of female employees in the upper middle quartile, Band C, and a higher percentage of female than male employee in our upper pay quartile, Band D.

Mean gender bonus gap:

Raven’s mean gender bonus gap is skewed towards men because the positions for which we have formal bonus arrangements in place have a higher proportion of male employees. The executive bonus scheme is now ended, but there continues to be a bonus scheme in place for our business development positions, as is market practice.

Median gender bonus gap:

Our median bonus gap is 0%, meaning there is no difference between the middle bonus amount for male and female employees when listed from highest to lowest. This is because a discretionary cost-of-living payment of the same amount was awarded to all eligible staff in October 2022.

Conclusion:

We are proud of having a gender pay gap that compares favourably to the whole economy and to other not-for-profit organisations because it is reflective of Raven being an equal opportunities employer with a good representation of women within senior positions. However, the broader results remind us that we cannot be complacent, and that to maintain a balanced gender pay gap we must continue putting steps in place to ensure an inclusive approach to recruitment, encouraging applications from males and females for all positions and removing barriers to employment and development where they may exit.

5. Chief Executive’s Statement

We are committed to maintaining a fair and transparent approach to pay and to providing all employees with equal opportunities to progress in their careers and to contribute to Raven’s success. The key actions we have taken in support of this are:

a. Regular benchmarking that is carried out by an external specialist, to ensure our reward package is competitive, with the breadth and flexibility to meet different wants and needs.

b. Equal pay audits carried out on an annual basis, when we check internal pay parity across positions with similar responsibilities and in relation to protected characteristics.

c. Managers are encouraged to consider all working arrangements that could be put in place whether the role is junior or senior and regardless of gender, to support our employees in balancing their work and personal commitments. Our Hub, Home, Roam policy and Lifestyle Contract were introduced in 2022 in support of this flexible approach.

d. Improving our employee diversity data to better identify any barriers to employment and development that may exist, and to identify appropriate activities and initiatives. For example, we are currently working towards Level 2 of the Disability Confident scheme, which is an indication of our commitment to recruiting and developing disabled colleagues so that we can better understand our customers.

These actions are aimed at maintaining a balanced gender pay gap as well as broader equality in our organisation, but we welcome the opportunity to annually review the progress that we make in achieving a diverse and inclusive workforce.

I, Jonathan Higgs, confirm that the information in this statement is accurate.

4th April 2024