Agenda item

To consider the Executive Director’s Report No. PEO2602 (copy attached), which seeks approval for the Pay Policy Statement for 2026/27 for recommendation to full Council and to note the Gender Pay Gap and Ethnicity Pay Gap Report.

The Committee considered the Executive Director’s Report No. PEO2602, which sought approval for a Pay Policy Statement for 2026/27. The Pay Policy Statement set out the framework within which pay was determined within the Council and provided an analysis comparing the remuneration of Chief Officers with other employees of the Authority. The Report also set out the calculations of the Gender Pay Gap, which the Council was required to publish annually under the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities Regulations 2017) and the Ethnicity Pay Gap, which was reported on for the first time.

The Committee noted that the comparisons looked at the ratio between the Managing Director and the full-time equivalent salary for a permanent member of staff employed in the lowest grade within the structure. The ratio for 2026/27 was 1:5.07. The second ratio included within the analysis looked at the relationship between the median remuneration of all staff compared to the Managing Director.  The ratio for 2026/27 was 1:2.96. The recommendation of the Hutton Report (2010) was that public sector organisations should comply with a maximum pay multiple of 1:20. Rushmoor was well within this multiple.

The Committee noted that the mean Gender Pay Gap equated to 16.04%, as at 31st March 2025, with the average female salary being lower than the average male salary. The gap had increased from 12.75% in the previous year. The median gender pay gap equated to 13.17%, as at 31st March 2025, with the female median rate being lower than the male median rate. The gap had increased from 9.84% in the previous year. The Committee noted that, to address the gender pay gap, the new People Plan for 2026-2028 included further initiatives to encourage and support the personal development of employees, such as upskilling and mentoring opportunities as well as secondments, cross council project working and flexible working.

The Committee noted it was not mandatory for the Council to provide an Ethnicity Pay Gap report and it was being voluntarily reported on to demonstrate the Council’s commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. The Ethnicity Pay Gap was calculated by comparing the average pay of white employees, with that of employees from black and minority ethnic groups (BAME). The mean ethnicity pay gap equated to 9.5%, with the non-white average salary being lower than the average white salary, which represented a decrease of 3.2% from the previous year. The median ethnicity pay gap equated to 0.2% with the non-white median rate being lower than the white median rate, which represented a decrease of 5.1% from the previous year. The ethnicity pay gap would be reported retrospectively, as of the 31st of March, in any year. The Committee noted that whilst both the mean and medium ethnicity pay gaps had decreased, the Council would continue to review the ways they worked to encourage a more diverse and inclusive workforce. They would continue to review the recruitment, secondment and development processes and opportunities to address their commitment to be a more inclusive organisation.

During discussion, Members raised questions regarding the reasons for the increase in the gender pay gap and enquired about details of how the gap was being addressed by the Council. Members were informed that the recent decrease in females in the upper quartile (higher paid roles), who had not been replaced, and an increase in number of females joining the Council in the lower quartile (lower paid roles), had contributed to the gender pay gap increase. Members were advised that the People Plan included initiatives the Council were taking to address the gender pay gap, including secondments, mentoring opportunities, career pathway and upskilling support, flexible working and job-shares.

ACTION:

The Committee

(i)                     RECOMMENDED TO THE COUNCIL that approval be given to the Pay Policy Statement 2026/27, as set out in Appendix A of the Report;

(ii)                    RESOLVED that the Gender Pay Gap calculations for 2024/25, as set out in the Report, be noted; and

(iii)                   RESOLVED that the Ethnicity Pay Gap calculations for 2024/25, as set out in the Report, be noted.