Gender pay gap reporting

The Gender Pay Gap (GPG) shows the difference in the average earnings between male and female employees within organisations.

We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace at Sheffield Children’s. We recognise, like many NHS organisations, that we have a gender pay gap and acknowledge that we have further work to do to address this, including recruiting more women into senior positions and recruiting more men into other roles, including entry level roles. We already have a robust job evaluation system, so that people get paid equal pay for work of equal value and we have a strong commitment to flexible working so that we can support employees with their work/life balance and other responsibilities. We are also investing further in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion by appointing to roles in order to address changes that need to be made’. We have recently appointed to a Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion post. The Head of EDI role will include a focus on changes that address our gender pay gap.

Gender Pay Gap legislation requires all employers of 250 or more employees to publish their gender pay gap as at 31 March each year.

In 2021 we have published our fourth Gender Pay Report for Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust. The data is always based on a snapshot date of 31 March for the previous year.

The information is sourced from the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) system, which holds our employee data. This information has also been submitted to the Government’s Gender Pay Gap reporting portal.

It must be noted that GPG is not the same as Equal Pay. The issues that GPG raises are important but different. The NHS has an equal pay system in place where pay for work of equal value is recognised.

What can we do as a Trust?

As a Trust we need to continue to:

• Expand and utilise the Trust’s Gender Equality group to promote positive discussion and develop further awareness of the issues around the Gender Pay Gap, along with looking at representation, particularly at senior levels and junior levels within the Trust i.e. there needs to be a greater representation of women at senior pay levels and equally the Trust needs to attract more men into other roles.
• Ensure training and development opportunities are accessible to all. Also look at targeting specific groups of people where the pay gap is seen as an issue to ensure that progress is based on merit not gender
• Promote equality, diversity and inclusion more prominently to prospective applicants to show the Trust as an employer of choice
• Contribute to a culture which enables women to progress and develop into more senior roles
• Provide training and education to managers to address any issues related to unconscious bias
• Specifically target female consultants to encourage them to apply for CEA awards and ensure a diverse representation on the decision making panel. The Trust as part of the new CEA arrangements will also be paying the full value of the CEA bonus payment to colleagues who work part time.