The Trust is committed to providing outstanding care and to support this the Trust ensures we have a diverse, talented and high performing workforce where gender equity is considered at all stages of employment.
Gender Pay Gap legislation was introduced in 2017 and requires employers with 250 or more employees to publish statutory calculations by 30th March each year.
Gender Pay Gap information aims to establish the pay gap between male and female employees as at 31st March the previous year. For example, 31st March 2024 pay information must be published by 30th March 2025 on the employer's website.
The requirements of the legislation are that employers must publish six calculations:
- Average gender pay gap as a mean average;
- Average gender pay gap as a median average;
- Average bonus gender pay gap as a mean average;
- Average bonus gender pay gap as a median average;
- Proportion of males receiving a bonus payment and proportion of females receiving a bonus payment;
- Proportion of males and females when divided into four groups ordered from lowest to highest pay
Fostering and supporting a diverse and inclusive workforce is at the forefront of our Trust’s plans to be a great place to work and enable ongoing delivery of excellent patient care.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission defines the difference between equal pay and the gender pay gap as follows:
- Equal pay means that men and women in the same employment performing equal work must receive equal pay, as set out in the Equality Act 2010.
- The gender pay gap is a measure of the difference between men’s and women’s average earnings across an organisation or the labour market. It is expressed as a percentage of men’s earnings.
Our People
Every role at the Trust is evaluated through the national NHS job evaluation scheme (Agenda for Change roles). Panels of trained colleagues within the Trust conduct job evaluations through the review of a job description and person specification; the post holder is not evaluated and there is no reference to gender or any other personal characteristics of existing or potential job holders.
Once evaluated, a role is placed within a band following set national bands. Each band varies depending upon levels of responsibility and/or specialism . Bandings enable clinical and non-clinical staff to progress through the grades of pay within nationally set bands as they develop their careers and their years of service in the NHS.
The Trust has adopted and implemented national NHS pay schemes which have undergone equality analysis.
Gender Identity
Gender identity is often assumed from the sex assigned at birth. As a Trust, we acknowledge gender is more complex than ‘men’ and ‘women’ and there are people that don’t fit into these binary categories, for example, people who identify as non-binary or intersex. We also recognise that a person’s sex or gender identity doesn’t always align to the sex and/or gender they were assigned at birth.
In producing this report, we have to follow the current statutory requirements for gender to be reported in a binary way, i.e. men and women and we use the words men and women in the knowledge this may not be a satisfactory description for some of the colleagues categorised in this way.
Gender pay gap report
This report includes the statutory requirements of gender pay gap legislation and includes information about the North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust’s commitment to closing this gap. The snapshot data of this report is 31 March 2023.
This report includes for the first time, gender pay gap reporting information for ethnicity and disability.
Our workforce profile
| Staff group | Female | Male |
|---|---|---|
| All staff | 85% | 15% |
| Medical and dental | 39% | 61% |
| Nursing and midwifery | 95% | 5% |
| Scientific and technical | 84% | 16% |
| Estates and ancillary | 64% | 36% |
| Healthcare scientists | 68% | 32% |
| Additional clinical services | 93% | 7% |
| Allied health professionals | 81% | 19% |
| Administrative and clerical | 82% | 18% |
Gender pay gap calculations
Gender pay gap as a mean (average)
In 2024, the gender pay gap, when expressed as a mean (average), shows that female staff earn £6.79 less than male staff. This equates to a 27% pay gap. This remains the same as our 2023 data.
| Female | Male | Difference from previous year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (Average) hourly rate | £17.27 | £23.66 | No change |
Gender pay gap as a median average
In 2024, the gender pay gap, when expressed as a median average, shows that female staff earn £2.53 less than male staff. This equates to a 14% pay gap. This is an improvement on our 2023 gender pay gap median (average).
| Female | Male | Difference from previous year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median (Average) hourly rate | £15.11 | £17.95 | 2% higher |
Bonus Pay Gap 2024
The National Clinical Impact Awards (NCIA) scheme is considered a ‘bonus’ scheme. This award scheme is only open to eligible consultants within the Trust who meet the specific criteria which is set nationally. The criteria for eligibility applies to substantive consultants only and have been working for the Trust for at least one year or more. The revised national award scheme and the removal of local CEAs (Clinical Excellence Awards) may potentially impact on the gender pay gap in the coming years.
The Trust employs 61% male and 39% female within the Medical and Dental workforce, Within that medical body the Trust employs 261 substantive consultants, of which 33% are women and 67% are men. The chart below shows the number of consultants eligible for the National Clinical Impact Awards.
Consultants Eligible For NCIAs
| Gender | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Female | 41% |
| Male | 59% |
Bonus gender pay gap as a mean (average)
The gender bonus pay gap, when expressed as a mean (average), shows that female staff earnt 19% less than male staff. This equates to a difference of £2,161.51 per annum. This is an improvement of 14% on our 2023 gender pay gap.
Bonus gender pay gap as a median
In 2024, the bonus pay as a median was £7,571.14 for males and females, resulting in there being no pay gap when presented as a median.
Contributory factors for the improvements to the Bonus Pay Gap
- The number of women receiving a ‘bonus’ has increased slightly from the previous year. For example 35% of those receiving bonus in 2023/24 compared to 32.17% of those receiving bonus in 2022/23
- The local 2018 Clinical Excellence Award (CEA) were paid as a one off payment in the year as an equal value for all consultants. Previously individual consultants had to apply for the local awards and not all consultants did apply.
- The number of consultants employed in receipt of CEAs prior to 2018 scheme (which were of a higher monetary value and were predominately male) has reduced.
Gender pay gap by quartiles
Rates of pay are placed into four equal sections (quartiles) and shows the percentage of males and females in each quartile.
The below shows the percentage of employees by gender with Quartile 1 being Low and Quartile 4 being High for 2024.
| Quartile | Female | Male |
|---|---|---|
| Quartile 1 | 86% | 14% |
| Quartile 2 | 88% | 12% |
| Quartile 3 | 89% | 11% |
| Quartile 4 | 76% | 24% |
Ongoing Activity to Close the Gender Pay Gap
Our ongoing EDI work is committed to a culture in the Trust where women can succeed in our organisations and we will continue to provide a range of support for our women colleagues. Promotion of our staff networks were we can encourage staff to share their positive experiences building best practice across the Trust and celebrate diversity and inclusion.
Ensuring all colleagues have access to flexible and agile working arrangements wherever possible to ensure a positive work/life balance whilst maintaining services to our patients. We recognise that for many of our colleagues, a flexible approach to work empowers them to be their best and ensure career development is not impacted by individual circumstances outside of the workplace.
Celebrate our Women in North Cumbria Integrated Care Trust through events and awareness raising. By sharing the stories of inspirational women leaders in the organisation, we hope to inspire others to continue their career journey with the us.
Continue our positive work around menopause to reduce stigma and to ensure support is in place for women during perimenopause and post-menopause to continue to thrive in their careers despite the challenges they may face.
Gender Pay Gap Actions 2024/25
- Complete the self-assessment checklist in the NHS Employers Gender Pay Gap Guide to ensure we are meeting the national guidance with our actions detailed below and through our EDI work programme.
- Ensure opportunities for career progression into senior roles is promoted for women in the Trust through Leadership Development programmes to support the development of our female managers to become leaders.
- Increase the number of female consultants receiving a National Clinical Impact Award by ensuring all eligible females are encouraged and supported to apply for an award.
- To develop ‘safe spaces' for women to share their challenges in career progression. Continue to build on the work in relation to flexible working and develop a policy of ‘Flexibility From Day One’.
- To develop the pathway to support the transition of medical staff into leadership positions in order to attract a diverse pool of leaders.
- To develop an inclusive recruitment guide with the addition of positive actions for under-represented groups, review of adverts, job descriptions and person specifications and increasing diversity within interview panels.
Gender Pay Gap Actions 2024/25
- Build our apprenticeship offer which will support female employees to develop and progress within the organisation and attract men into the organisation.
- To develop promotional materials to include the diversity of staff including videos of employees from under-represented groups and male employees.
- The Trust uses the annual NHS Staff Survey data on equality questions to understand themes by protected characteristic groups and develop action plans.
- Development of an EDI strategy.
Next Steps
Over the following weeks the initiatives identified for 2025/26 will be translated into a comprehensive action plan with clear implementation timelines, Progress and impact will be monitored through the Trust’s appropriate governance arrangements.
Conclusion
It is important when viewing the data that consideration is given to the reasons for the gap. The evidence provided within this report shows that one of the main contributory factors in our gap is the overrepresentation of men in senior roles in a workforce that is overrepresented by women.
Whilst our workforce overall is 85% women and 15% men, our medical workforce is 39% women and 61% men and within this, our consultant workforce (whose pay falls in the upper quartile) is made up of 70% men and 31% women.
The Trust has noted a significant improvement in the bonus pay gap, particularly within the median calculations.
As at 31st March 2024, we had 77 doctors in Foundation Year 1 of which 55% of them were women. The Trust is also aware that 60% of medical students training at The Pears Cumbria School of Medicine are women. This means that there are more women in the training pathway. This is a positive, although it is acknowledged that it will take some time for the impact of more women in these roles to affect the gender pay gap as the career journey for Doctor’s is a long one and therefore women moving into senior medical roles will take time.
Within this report, we have noted considerations that need to be given to roles traditionally held by women and the fact that more women will work part-time than men.
Another consideration that should be given when reviewing our data is the unseen impact on the gap of length of service. NHS pay is incremental and colleagues can attain higher levels of pay depending upon their length of service so those who have worked for longer will achieve higher rates of pay than those starting their career in the NHS.
We acknowledge that we have work to do to close the gap as outlined within this report but it should be recognised that achievement of a 0% gender pay gap is not achievable because of the many factors outlined herein. What is achievable is a reduction in the pay gap and we are committed to this and are hopeful that the ongoing support and specific actions detailed within this report will support our achievement.