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NHF pledges to voluntarily report gender pay gap data
The National Housing Federation (NHF) has pledged to report its gender pay gap despite not being required to do so.
Charities and businesses with 250 or more employees had until 4 April to publish their gender pay gap information for 2017 on a government website and their own site.
The umbrella body for housing associations has fewer than 250 employees so does not fall under the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017. However, Gill Payne, executive director of public impact at the NHF, said the organisation intended to publish a gender pay gap report voluntarily and was looking into the process – and a timeline – for doing this.
“We encourage other housing organisations, of all sizes, to reflect on whether they have a gender pay gap and consider appropriate action,” she said.
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A spokesperson for the Chartered Institute of Housing said it was considering reporting it voluntarily but had not been through its data.
Four housing associations – Kingdom Housing Association, Richmond Housing Partnership, Vale of Aylesbury Housing Trust and Yorkshire Coast Homes – have reported their gender pay gaps on the government website despite not meeting the threshold of 250 employees. Sanctuary submitted data voluntarily for its student and key worker accommodation business Sanctuary Management Services, which employs 241 people.
Ms Payne said the NHF recently reviewed its approach to pay and introduced policies to ensure “broader equality of opportunity and diversity” within the organisation.
“These include publishing our diversity data on our website, introducing a management training academy, widening our recruitment pool, introducing training on our approach to equality, diversity and inclusion, as well as disability awareness training,” she said. “We also provide a range of family-friendly and flexible working policies.”
Professional bodies in other sectors, including the Royal Institute of British Architects and Confederation of British Industry have already reported their gender pay gaps voluntarily to the government.
More on the gender pay gap
Here are a few of Inside Housing’s articles on gender pay reporting:
Housing associations promise action following gender pay reports Major housing associations are revealed to have gender pay gaps of more than 25%
Welsh housing associations have 8% gender pay gap The data shows the extent of the gap between pay for men and women in Wales
Huge reverse pay gap at Scotland's largest housing association Full details of Scottish associations’ gender pay gaps – including a gap in favour of women at Glasgow Housing Association
Mind the gender pay gap To mark the deadline for gender pay gap reporting, we republished this piece by Kate Youde looking at the issues involved
A guide to gender pay reporting in the housing and care sectors Emma Burrows of Trowers & Hamlins explains more about what is required and the trends seen so far
Gender pay reporting should be the first step in a wider employment review Siobhan Fitzgerald of law firm TLT argues gender pay reporting is an opportunity for broader change
Homes England pledges to combat ‘unacceptable’ 18.4% gender pay gap The chief executive of Homes England brands the 18.4% gender pay gap at the organisation “not remotely acceptable”
Gender pay reporting explained
Under Equality Act regulations, employers (including housing associations) with more than 250 employees have until 4 April to publish information about their gender pay on their website and on a government website.
An employer must publish the results of six calculations for pay over a 12-month period:
- 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.
The regulations specify how hourly pay, bonus pay and hourly rate should be calculated and in what circumstances agency workers and self-employed people should be included in the calculations
Results for individual organisations can be found on the government's gender pay reporting website here. Find results for housing providers by using the search boxes, or by filtering by sector.
Inclusive Futures
Inside Housing’s Inclusive Futures campaign aims to promote and celebrate diversity and inclusion.
We are pledging to publish diversity audits of our own coverage.
We are also committed to proactively promoting positive role models.
We will do this through the pages of Inside Housing. But we will also seek to support other publications and events organisations to be more inclusive.
Our Inclusive Futures Bureau will provide a database of speakers and commentators from all backgrounds, for use by all media organisations.
We are also challenging readers to take five clear steps to promote diversity, informed by the Chartered Institute of Housing’s diversity commission and the Leadership 2025 project.
INSIDE HOUSING’S PLEDGES
We will take proactive steps to promote positive role models from under-represented groups and provide information to support change.
We pledge to:
Publish diversity audits: We will audit the diversity of the commentators we feature. We will formalise this process and publish the results for future audits twice a year.
Promote role models: We will work to highlight leading lights from specific under-represented groups, starting in early 2018 with our new BME Leaders List.
Launch Inclusive Futures Bureau: We will work with the sector to compile a database of speakers, commentators and experts from under-represented groups. The bureau will be available to events organisers, media outlets and publications to support them to better represent the talent in the sector.
Take forward the Women in Housing Awards: Inside Housing has taken on these successful awards and will work to grow and develop them.
Convene Inclusive Futures Summit: Our new high-level event will support organisations to develop and implement strategies to become more diverse and inclusive.
THE INCLUSIVE FUTURES CHALLENGE
Inside Housing calls on organisations to sign up to an inclusive future by taking five steps:
Prioritise diversity and inclusion at the top: commitment and persistence from chief executives, directors and chairs in setting goals and monitoring progress.
Collect data on the diversity of your board, leadership and total workforce and publish annually with your annual report. Consider gender, ethnicity, disability, sexuality, age, and representation of tenants on the board.
Set aspirational targets for recruitment to the executive team, board and committees from under-represented groups.
Challenge recruiting staff and agencies to ensure that all shortlists include candidates from under-represented groups.
Make diversity and inclusion a core theme in your talent management strategy to ensure you support people from under-represented groups to progress their careers.
