The Cumberland: Gender Pay Gap Reporting

Challenge

Due to regulations published in the Equality Act 2010, all companies with more than 250 employees are required to publish six statutory numbers regarding their gender pay gap (GPG) annually on their website:

• Mean hourly pay gap

• Median hourly pay gap

• Proportion of men and women by hourly pay quarter

• Proportion of men and women who received a bonus

• Mean bonus pay gap

• Median bonus pay gap

During this project, we calculated The Cumberland’s gender pay gap numbers as per the legal requirements. This would then also be published on the government website, alongside a confirmation statement and narrative.

The Cumberland was interested in conducting a deep-dive analysis beyond the mandatory numbers to figure out what was causing the pay gap. They also wanted to highlight actions they could take to reduce it that could also feed into their wider diversity & inclusion agenda.

Solution

To begin, we held a meeting with The Cumberland’s project team to establish the scope of the project and discuss data we would need for analysis. As well as this, we helped them to understand the requirements of GPG legislation and how the numbers would be calculated.

Our reward consultants took the time to explain the differences between equal pay and GPG.

Data analysis

This process looked at the various elements of pay at The Cumberland. We worked with their payroll team to ensure data was accurate and that we accounted for long term sick leave, parental leave, bonuses for the snapshot date, overtime and shift allowances.

Once we ensured that the data was accurately provided to us, we calculated the mandatory GPG numbers and produced a visual infographic, branded with The Cumberland colours, fonts, logo and language.

Deep-dive

Having completed this, we moved onto a deep dive analysis which looked at gender pay gap by level, by function (or business area), and by location. This gave us an understanding of where in The Cumberland the gender pay gap reporting figures differed.

We looked at the recruitment trends over the last 12 months to see if there were any trends or concerns there. Beyond this, we considered the trend in the hourly and bonus pay gaps for The Cumberland over the last five years. This allowed us to see whether it was reduced or whether it was increasing.

The next step was to look at a small comparator group of organisations to see how The Cumberland compared over the last two years. (This also referenced the hourly pay gap and the bonus pay gap.)

As a result of this, The Cumberland was provided with a summary of current initiatives, as well as proposed further actions to continue their focus on the GPG.

Outcome

Our detailed report was presented to the senior leadership team and the board at The Cumberland. As a result, the Project Lead (HRD) was also able to put forward recommendations to their people and remuneration committee as part of the diversity & inclusion agenda.

Thanks to this project, The Cumberland team now understand more about what drives their gender pay gap. Not only that, but the request for a deep-dive analysis displayed The Cumberland’s focus on working towards fair and equitable pay practices within the organisation.