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Equal Pay Audit

Equal Pay Audit
Joint UCL HR and Trades Unions Communications

UCL implemented the Pay Framework Agreement for all non-clinical posts across the organisation in May 2006. A new coherent ten grade structure, based on a new non discriminatory job evaluation scheme (HERA), plus harmonised terms and conditions was negotiated with UCL's trades unions and were harmonised.

UCL committed to undertake an Equal Pay Audit of pay to cover the themes of gender, ethnicity, disability and patterns of working. This reflects the organisations clear commitment to equal opportunities and effective reward management. The UCL trade unions were an integral part of this process. This audit has now been undertaken following the guidelines of good practice advocated by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) and the Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff (JNCHES).

Main Findings

There are no significant pay differentials in terms of gender, ethnicity, disability or part-time status.

Any differences are within the typical range of expectations for an organisation that has successfully implemented a fair pay and grading review free of gender, ethnicity, disability or patterns of work bias.

This reinforces the initial assessment of the joint negotiating team that the implementation of the Pay Framework Agreement at UCL would deal with the main equal pay tensions in the previous arrangements.

The equal pay audit focussed on non-clinical employees in Grades 1 to 9 which represent the majority of staff assimilated onto the new grade structure in May 2006. In addition the pay levels of newly appointed staff were similarly audited. The audit examined pay records of 6,400 employees.

As a reference guide, the EOC advocates that where a pay differential related to sex is less than 3%, no action is necessary. Where the difference is greater than 3% but less than 5%, the position should be regularly monitored and for gender pay gaps of more than 5%, action is needed to address the issue and close the gap.

Detailed Findings

Gender

In terms of average pay by grade and sex, there was no consistent pattern of average male pay exceeding average female pay or vice versa. Any differences identified were less than 3% in magnitude.

Average Male Pay compared with Average Female Pay

Grade	Males Avg Basic Pay	Females Avg Basic Pay	% Pay Gap Males / Females
1	12,231	12,218	0.11%
2	12,573	12,772	-1.58%
3	13,906	14,173	-1.92%
4	15,874	15,765	0.69%
5	17,993	18,484	-2.73%
6	21,962	22,520	-2.54%
7	28,802	28,833	-0.11%
8	37,311	36,666	1.73%
9	45,912	45,864	0.10%

Ethnicity

In relation to ethnicity, there was no consistent pattern of white staff earning more than black and ethnic minority staff (BME) or vice versa. Nearly 20% of UCL employees (where ethnicity is known) have classified themselves as of BME origin.

Average White Pay compared with Average BME Pay

Grade	White	BME	White / BME
	Avg Basic Pay	Avg Basic Pay	Pay Gap (%)
1	12,234	12,218	0.13%
2	12,739	12,761	-0.17%
3	13,989	14,053	-0.45%
4	15,868	15,719	0.94%
5	18,297	18,471	-0.95%
6	22,407	22,279	0.57%
7	28,928	28,592	1.16%
8	37,109	37,013	0.26%
9	45,839	46,351	-1.12%

Disability

On disability, there is no consistent pattern of non-disabled staff earning, on average, more than disabled staff, although there are currently only 65 staff who have formally classified themselves as having a disability.

Part Time Working

For part-time staff, 20% of UCL employees work less than full-time. There was no consistent pattern of men earning more than women regardless of the type of working pattern. If anything, part time women have a slightly higher average basic pay by grade than their male peers. Where pay differences do occur, there is not a consistent pattern and the differentials are well within acceptable equal pay parameters.

Newly Appointed Staff

The salary levels of newly appointed staff are a very accurate test of the way a new grading structure is being implemented. For UCL there was no consistent pattern of pay differentials by sex; ethnicity; disability; or part time working.

What Does this Mean?

This is a very significant achievement for UCL. The whole organisation has worked very hard to achieve the successful implementation of the Pay Framework Agreement. The outcome shows that UCL has developed a new clear and transparent grading structure that is free from bias in both design and practice.

Next Steps

This is not the end of the process. There will be further audits to check that UCL continues on the high standard it has set itself. Equal pay auditing will include Grade 10 staff once the review of the arrangements for determining pay for these staff has been completed. These audits will be done in consultation with UCL’s recognised trade unions.

Joint Statement

This is a joint statement on behalf of UCL and the UCL recognised trades unions:

UCU
UNISON
Unite

September 2007