Gender pay gap report 2023

Gender pay gap data

The following table shows our gender pay gap based on the April 2023 payroll for 1,092 relevant colleagues within the charity. The charity’s relevant headcount has decreased from 1,122 in 2022.

Gap values are displayed in relation to men, where negative percentages represent a gap favouring women:

2023 gender proportions by pay quartile (change from 2022 in brackets)

Gender pay commentary

Our pay does not discriminate by gender

While there have been small changes to our median and mean pay gaps since 2022, the gaps remain small at 7.8% and 3.3% respectively.

These pay gaps continue to be smaller than most other organisations and significantly below those with a similar focus, where the average median gap is 22.9% and the average mean gap is 24.5%.

This year, alongside calculating the gender pay gaps, we have undertaken an Equal Pay Audit to compare pay for work of equivalent value. This audit confirmed that we do not discriminate pay based on gender for work of equivalent value. Where the audit identified potential issues these were very small in number, representing 2.3% of colleagues. Following investigation the majority of these pay differentials were found to be justifiable reflecting colleague competence, performance and experience.

Changes to pay gaps since 2022 reflect natural variations in our headcount

The year-on-year changes to the median and mean pay gaps are small. The median pay gap has increased by 1.6% and the median gaps shows a 0.1% decrease.

We continue to believe that these changes reflect the natural variations resulting from running the charity. Gender pay calculations are based on a snapshot of pay at a point in time and ongoing recruitment activity will see the gender pay gap fluctuate, both up and down, over time.

Since 2022, the charity’s overall headcount has reduced and female representation has increased in all pay quartiles. These changes have not been evenly distributed from a pay perspective. The largest increase in female representation is in the lower middle and lowest pay quartiles, and is the key reason for the increase in our median gender pay gap.

Gender bonus gap data

Gap values are displayed in relation to men, where negative percentages represent a gap favouring women:

Gender bonus commentary

We don’t pay bonus, so our gender bonus gap figures are unusual

We have not paid a bonus since 2021 and have recently announced the formal closure of our annual bonus scheme.

This means that our bonus gap analysis is based solely on payments through the Iain Kendall Memorial Awards, which recognises colleagues who have truly demonstrated our values and gone above and beyond in their roles here at StepChange.

The number of colleagues receiving payments is small, with 20 colleagues receiving payments during the year to April 2023 out of 1,185 included in the bonus gap analysis. Analysis based on such a small sample is likely to produce unusual results and larger variations from year-to-year.

For 2023, the split of these payments was even with 10 women and 10 men receiving the same payment value. As a result the median bonus payment is level but, because the number of women working at the charity is higher than the number of men, this reduces both the mean bonus value and proportion receiving bonus for women.

Notes on process

Gender pay gap background

Since April 2017, employers with 250 or more colleagues have been required by law to publish the pay gap between men and women.

The gender pay gap is the difference between the average earnings of all the men and women working in an organisation, irrespective of their role or seniority. As such, it provides a broad indication of how well organisations are seeking to achieve gender equality.

In line with the gender pay gap legislation, the pay gap and pay quartiles information is based on payments made through payroll in April 2023. The bonus information reflects payments received during the 12 months from 6th April 2022 to 5th April 2023.

Equal Pay Audit

For 2023 we have undertaken our equal pay audit following the approach suggested by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and their guidance for large organisations with over 50 employees.

Equal Pay is separate from the Gender Pay Gap and ensures that men and women in the same employment performing equal work must receive equal pay, unless any difference in pay can be justified.

The three steps of an Equal Pay Audit are to:

This audit demonstrates our commitment as an employer to remove unfair pay practices.

The EHRC explains that gaps are to be expected when performing an audit, however this does not necessarily mean that pay discrimination has occurred or is deliberate. It is important to investigate these gaps to determine whether they can be justified and ensure that appropriate action is taken as a result.

1. Identification of any differences between men and women doing equal work

We have determined equal work using Mercer’s analytical job evaluation process. All our roles have been assessed using this process, which allows us to accurately identify job roles that are of equivalent size and scope. Combining this with the pay data used for the Gender Pay Gap analysis provides the basis for an organisation-wide investigation of pay differences by gender.

The EHRC recommend that “as a general rule, differences of 5% or more, or any recurring differences of 3% or more merit further investigation”.

Our audit identified no recurring differences of 3% for like work, and a small number of groups with a gap of 5% or more that warranted further investigation. The population with a 5%+ gap consisted of nine groups covering a total of 25 colleagues, or 2.3% of the total population. Note that we found no significant gap in our high-volume client-facing roles.

Our analysis found that the gap is often created by a single outlier in each group, and a third of these groups had a gap favouring women, and two thirds of the group had a gap favouring men.

2. Investigation of the causes of any difference in pay between men and women doing equal work

For the nine identified colleague groups, we have worked with local management to review the causes of pay gaps on an individual basis.

Our investigation found that most gaps are justifiable and are typically based on an individual’s experience, competence and performance as well as personal choices to reduce pay through salary exchange schemes.

3. Eliminate instances of unequal pay that cannot be justified

The small number of remaining gaps can be explained, although not justified, by compounding pay factors such as inflation-based pay review uplifts for those employed for longer periods. In these cases, we have implemented targeted plans to correct these pay gaps over time.

These outcomes give us confidence that we do not have a widespread equal pay issue, and that our regular pay management processes, and how they are being applied, does not discriminate.

As with the Gender Pay Gap, there is an expected natural fluctuation in these gaps over time as the colleague population changes. We will continue to monitor and identify any gaps in equal pay and perform the necessary steps to close any gaps that arise.