Equal Opportunities Commission Action Against Discrimination in Pay Systems:
A Preliminary Evaluation of the Close The Pay Gap Campaign in Wales
Paul Chaney A Report Commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Government, the Equal Opportunities Commission Wales, and the Wales TUC.
Equal Opportunities Commission, Windsor House, Windsor Lane, Cardiff, CF10 3GE Tel: 029 2034 3552 Fax: 029 2064 1079 E-mail:
[email protected] Website: www.eoc.org.uk
ISBN: 1-84206-098-8
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ISBN 1-84206-098 - 8
Hawlfraint 2003. Cedwir pob hawl. Ni ellir atgynhyrchu unrhyw ran ran o'r cyhoeddiad hwn na'I gadw mewn cyfundrefn adferadwy na'I drosgwyddo mewn unrhyw ddull na thrwy gyfrwng trydanol, electorostadig, tâp magnetig, mecanyddol, llungopïo, recordio, cryno ddisg, nac fel arall, hen ganiatâd ymlaen llaw gan y awdur ac YMCHWIL GYFOES CYF.
Copyright 2003. Authorship is claimed by the author and YMCHWIL GYFOES CYF. and asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988. No part of this publication may be reproduced, republished, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without prior permission of the copyright holder. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication maybe liable to criminal prosecution.
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PAGE
CONTENTS List of figures and tables Cydnabyddiaethau / Acknowledgements
6 7
1.0
Introduction: Aims and Context 1.01 Aims of this study 1.02 The structure of this report 1.03 Why is there a gender pay gap? 1.04 The Welsh Campaign in the context of developments elsewhere in Great Britain and the European Union 1.05 Latest data on the pay gap in Wales and elsewhere in Great Britain
8
2.0
Executive Summary
17
3.0
Future tasks that are required to close the gender pay gap in Wales: Policy Recommendations
23
4.0
Research Methodology
29
5.0
Actions and Views of Selected Employers
29
5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10
Methodology Factors that led Employers to Address the Issue of Equal Pay The influence of the Equal Pay Campaign on employers' approach to closing the pay gap Employers' perceptions of the effectiveness of the media coverage of the Equal Pay Campaign Employers' views on the usefulness of the support material and guidance associated with the Equal Pay Campaign Employers' views of the positive and useful aspects about the Close the Pay Gap Campaign What aspects of the Close Pay Gap Campaign could have been improved? Employers' views Employers' views of the perceived benefits of undertaking an equal pay review Progress made towards achieving equal pay by the employers studied Employers' views of the identifiable strengths of undertaking and equal pay review
4
5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14
6.0
The Impact of the Close the Pay Gap Campaign on Trade Unions in Wales 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04
6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11
7.0
Transferable lessons from employers' actions to promote equal pay Employers' views on the general, prevailing willingness to pursue equal pay reviews in their organisations Other useful points on equal pay identified by employers Employers' views on the Close the Pay Gap Campaign CD-ROM
Methodology How significant has been the Close the Pay Gap Campaign in influencing trade unions' approach to equal pay Unions' views on the effectiveness of the media coverage of the Equal Pay Campaign? Union officials assessment of the usefulness of the support material and guidance provided by the Equal Pay Campaign Union officials' views on what was positive and useful about the Close the Pay Gap Campaign Ways in which the Close the Pay Gap could have been improved - union officials' suggestions Factors that have led the trade unions to place equal pay on the bargaining agenda Measures taken thus far by the unions surveyed to promote equal pay Transferable lessons from the trades unions' approach to equal pay Union officials' views on the general, prevailing 'political' will to pursue equal pay reforms Additional points identified by union officials as important to the successful promotion of equal pay
An Evaluation of the Close the Pay Gap Campaign Seminars for Senior Public Sector Professionals in Wales 7.01 7.02
45
56
Overall assessment Participants' assessment of the Close the Pay Gap seminar for health professionals
5
7.03 7.04 7.05 8.0
Participants' assessment of the Close the Pay Gap seminar for higher education professionals Participants' assessment of the Close the Pay Gap seminar for local government professionals Conclusions
Progress Made against the Joint Working Group's Action Plan: The Public Sector 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 8.11
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Overview Contract Compliance and the promotion of equal pay Awdurdod Cymwysterau, Cwricwlwm ac Asesu Cymru - ACCAC Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales - ESTYN Careers Wales The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales - HEFCW Education and Learning Wales - ELWa NHS Wales Local Government The Welsh Development Agency Summary: Selected initiatives to promote equal pay by public sector agencies in Wales
9.0
An assessment of the media coverage and publicity achieved by the Close the Pay Gap Campaign
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10.0
The effectiveness and value for money of the Close The Pay Gap Campaign
73
11.0
Conclusion
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Appendices App. 1. App. 2.
App. 3 App. 4
Selected comments from a telephone survey of employers who have carried out, or are planning, pay reviews. Selected comments from a telephone survey of trade union officials on their union's approach to equal pay and the Close the Pay Gap Campaign The views of members of the Joint Working Group on Equal Pay/ commissioning partners Joint Working Group On Equal Pay: Action Plan, October 2001
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6
App. 5
Chronology of Close the Pay Gap Campaign initiatives since the joint campaign was agreed in June 2001 ELWa's policies on equal pay, equal opportunities, and recruitment and selection policy and procedures Summary of the equal pay unit undertaken by the National Museums and Galleries of Wales / Amgueddfeydd ac Orielau Cenedlaethol Cymru
App. 6 App. 7
References
LIST OF TABLES 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04
National data on the gender pay gap in Wales, Scotland and England. Average gross weekly earnings (£'s), full time employees on adult rates Full-time and Part-time Earnings in Wales c.2001 (Average gross hourly earnings, excluding the effects of overtime, and weekly earnings of employees on adult rates) Individual Income 1999/2000 (Average gross weekly personal income of all people aged 16 or over).
8.01
Summary: Selected initiatives to promote equal pay by public sector agencies in Wales
9.01
Monthly Instances of Media Coverage of the Campaign in broadcast media & press 03/02- 04/03
10.01
The Principal Costs Of The Close the Pay Gap Campaign
LIST OF FIGURES 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04
Breakdown of responses to the question - 'How would you describe the factors that have led to your organisation undertaking – or planning – an equal pay review'? Summary of responses to the question: 'How significant has been the Welsh Campaign in influencing your organisation’s approach to equal pay'? Breakdown of responses to the question: 'How would you describe the effectiveness of the media coverage of the equal pay campaign'? Breakdown of responses to the question: 'How would you 7
5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09
6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05
describe the usefulness of the support material and guidance provided by the Close the Pay Gap Campaign?' Summary of responses to the question: 'In your view, what was positive and useful about the Close the Pay Gap Campaign by the Assembly Government and its partners? Breakdown of responses to the question: 'What could have been improved upon in the Close the Pay Gap Campaign by the Assembly Government and its partners?' Breakdown of responses to the question: 'What are the perceived benefits to your organisation of undertaking an equal pay review?' Breakdown of responses to the question: 'In terms of your organisation – can you please outline the measures that you have taken thus far to promote equal pay'? Breakdown of responses to the question: 'In your opinion what have been the identifiable strengths of the pay review process? i.e. what have been the beneficial aspects to your organization of conducting the review'? Breakdown of responses to the question: 'How significant has been the Close the Pay Gap Campaign in influencing your trade union's approach to equal pay?' Breakdown of responses to the question: 'How would you describe the effectiveness of the media coverage of the Close the Pay Gap Campaign?' Breakdown of responses to the question: 'In your view - what could have been improved on in the Close the Pay Gap Campaign by the Assembly Government and its partners'? Breakdown of responses to the question: 'Please outline the measures that you have taken thus far to promote equal pay? Participants' assessment of the usefulness Close the Pay Gap public sector seminars
Cydnabyddiaethau Mae awdur yn eisiau cydnabod cymorth gan yr aelodau y Grwp Cyd-weithio ar Cyflog Cyfartal, yr undebau, rheolwyr yn cwmniau - a sefydliadau yn y sector cyhoeddus, swyddogion Llywodraeth y Cynulliad - a phawb sy wedi cyfrannu tuag at yr adroddiad hyn. Diolch o'r galon. Acknowledgements The author would like to acknowledge the assistance of members of the Joint Working Group on Equal Pay, trades union officials, managers in the employer and public sector organisations surveyed, Welsh Assembly Government officials - and all who gave interviews and information that contributed to the compiling of this report. Thank-you.
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1.0 INTRODUCTION Disparity in the remuneration received by women and men for work of equal value is a problem that is evident in national economies of all European Union member states. This inequality applies both to part-time and full-time work. Different indices quantify the problem in contrasting ways. According to the OECD (2002) the gender pay gap (GPG) in European countries varies from less than 10 per cent to 20 per cent (OECD, 2002). Whilst SES (2002)i data suggest that it ranges from less than 15 per cent to more than 30 per cent. The latter information source shows that UK has one of the widest gender pay gaps; the United Kingdom was ranked 12 out of the 15 countries surveyed.ii Earnings figures for Great Britain show that the gender pay gap for full time employment widened during 2002 from 18 to 19 per cent. In Wales (c. October 2001) women’s full-time average hourly earnings were 13 per cent less than men. The corresponding gap for Welsh women in part-time work was 36 per cent. Closing the gender pay gap is a political priority for most tiers of contemporary governance. For example, at a supra-national level the European Commission’s Community Framework Strategy on Gender Equality (20012005) is aimed at tackling the problem. Whilst in April 2001, the UK Government commissioned Denise Kingsmill, Deputy Chair of the Competition Commission, to undertake an independent, in-depth review into women’s employment prospects and pay. She published her Report into UK Women’s Employment and Pay in December 2001. In Wales, a singular approach to the GPG can be traced back to December 1999 and early consultations between the Equal Opportunities Commission Wales and the Welsh Assembly Equality Committee. Following a presentation by the EOC, the Committee decided that it should act to end the gender pay gap. The Assembly’s statutory equality duty was cited in progressing this work; the official minutes affirm that, ‘the Assembly had a statutory duty to have due regard to equal opportunities. This meant, among other things, reviewing its own pay structure’.iii Foremost of subsequent Welsh Assembly Government initiatives was the Close The Pay Gap Campaign launched in 2001 and undertaken with EOC Wales and the Wales Trades Unions Congress. The Assembly Government Minister with responsibility for equality matters described how the Campaign would build on existing reforms of National Assembly pay practices in the following manner: ‘from this solid footing we are working to spread the best practice across Wales’.iv This report covers the twelve-month duration of the Campaign (March 2002- March 2003). It also includes material from the earlier planning stage of the Campaign and selected developments since March 2003. This report addresses the following aims -
1.01
Aims of this study
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The principal aim of this research proposal is to: •
Evaluate the effectiveness and value for money of the Close The Pay Gap campaign
Addressing the foregoing aim will also meet the following objectives, namely to: •
Compare Wales to the rest of GB in terms of government policy, employer and union activity to narrow the gender pay gap, particularly in relation to the public sector
•
Assess the impact of the Close The Pay Gap campaign on employers in the public and private sectors in Wales, identifying employers who have carried out pay reviews or are about to
•
Assess the impact of the Close the Pay Gap campaign on trade unions in Wales
•
Identify the tasks that are required to close the gender pay gap in Wales
1.02 The structure of this report The remainder of this introductory section (1.0) includes the latest data on the pay gap in Wales and beyond, and it places the Welsh Close the Pay Gap Campaign in to the context of initiatives to tackle gender pay disparities elsewhere in the European Union. In addition, a summary is presented of the principal causes of unequal pay for women and men. Following an executive summary of the principal research findings, the future tasks that are required to close the gender pay gap in Wales are listed in the form of policy recommendations (sections 2.0 and 3.0). The remainder of the report is structured around a discussion of:- the actions and views of selected employers (section 5.0), the impact of the Close the Pay Gap Campaign on trade unions in Wales (section 6.0), an evaluation of the Close the Pay Gap Campaign seminars for senior public sector professionals (section 7.0), a summary of the progress made in the public sector against the Joint Working Group's Action Plan (section 8.0), an assessment of the media coverage and publicity achieved by the Close the Pay Gap Campaign (section 9.0) and an examination of the Campaign's effectiveness and value for money. The main themes and findings - as well as future prospects for tackling this social priority - are addressed in the Conclusion (section 10.0). The full-length version of this report then includes a number of appendices. These provide detailed, anonymised extracts of the research transcripts grouped around key research questions - and a selection of documents relating to recent initiatives to tackle the pay gap. 10
1.03 Why is there a gender pay gap? Contemporary analysis offers a variety of explanations for the endurance of the gender pay gap. This extensive literature points to the fact that pay disparity between men and women is far from being a simple, or monocausal social problem. The main arguments may briefly be summarised under the following headings: •
Discrimination in pay systems. As Blackerby et al (2001) explain: 'discrimination can enter a pay system in a variety of ways. For example, it can occur when: jobs predominantly carried out by men are valued more highly than those predominantly carried out by women; additional payments related to experience, merit or performance are distributed to jobs mainly performed by men and not women; there is greater scope for discretion for individual managers in pay progression decisions; individualised starting salaries are negotiated or there is greater use of individualised performance awards. Where the payment system is transparent, it can be readily checked for fairness and consistency and the potential for pay discrimination is reduced'.v
•
Human capital differences: namely the effects of differences in educational attainment and work experience. Historical contrasts in the levels of qualifications held by men and women have contributed to the pay gap. Women are also more likely than men to have breaks from paid work to care for children and other dependants. These breaks impact on women's level of work experience, which in turn impacts on their pay rates.
•
Part-time working: the pay gap between women working part-time and men working full-time is particularly large. A large proportion of women hold part-time posts. This is a major contributor to the gender pay gap because part-time workers generally have lower levels of qualifications and less work experience. Moreover, part-time posts are often concentrated in less well-paid occupations.
•
Travel patterns: on average, women spend less time commuting than men. One reason for this is the time constraints that women face due to balancing work and caring responsibilities. This, and other factors, impact on women's pay in two ways. Firstly, they will have a smaller pool of jobs to choose from and they will face greater competition owing to more women wanting work in the same location (i.e. near to where they live), which in turn results in lower wages for those jobs.
•
Occupational segregation: women's employment is highly concentrated in certain occupations, with 60 per cent of working women work in just 10 occupations. The occupations that have a relatively high proportion
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of female workers often offer relatively low wages. Women tend to be under-represented in the higher paid jobs within occupations. •
Workplace segregation: at the level of individual workplaces, high concentrations of female employees are associated with relatively low rates of pay.
Further salient factors that affect the gender pay gap include job-grading practices, appraisal systems, reward systems and retention measures, wagesetting practices and sexual discrimination.vi One important study found that on entering the labour market from full time education, the earnings of men and women were very similar. However, for those who remained continually employed, there was no significant difference in the rate of earnings growth. The implication of this study is that the gender pay gap is not being driven by discrimination in promotion opportunities at the start of their careers but is strongly influenced by the impact of gaps in employment taken, for example, in relation to childcare responsibilities.vii A recent paper that highlighted shortcomings in equal pay legislation in the UK offered further explanation. Its authors set out set out the need for 'fourth generation' equality law that requires a proactive approach to equality of opportunity rather than concentrating on retrospective legal action in relation to cases of discrimination.viii Lastly, the established literature on the pay gap points to the decline of centralised collective wage bargaining as a further factor underpinning the endurance of the gender pay gap.ix
1.04 The gender pay gap: the Welsh Campaign in the context of developments elsewhere in Great Britain and the European Union As a country Wales possesses its own social, economic and cultural processes that are central to an understanding of contemporary patterns of inequality. The gender pay gap is but one social priority that reflects this fact. Here, for example, compared to England and Scotland, in addition to a distinctive economic structure and industrial history, factors such as lower levels of male earnings, a larger proportion of public sector employment and distinct patterns of inequality (e.g. higher levels of the EOC's caseload in Wales concerned with attempted illegal dismissal of employees related to pregnancy) all contribute to a social context in which a gender pay gap persists. However, the reality of multi-level governance in the UK and the single European market mean that the Welsh Close the Pay Gap Campaign must be understood and located within wider British and European contexts. Great Britain In response to the Kingsmill Report (see section 1.0 - above) the 'Accounting for People Taskforce' was announced by the UK government Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on 28 April 2003. As official sources note,
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'this 'came out of a recommendation in the Kingsmill Report that companies should report properly on human capital management – including information on women's employment and pay - in their annual reports. The aim is to get away from the lip service paid to the idea that "people are a company's most important asset" and instead encourage companies to account externally and to their stakeholders on how they are managing their workforce. Since January Kingsmill has been consulting individual organisations and a formal consultation is being launched on 20 May 2003. The consultation will close at the beginning of July and then Denise Kingsmill and the taskforce will formulate their response to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry by Autumn 2003 (likely to mean October 2003)'.x Prior to this development tangible actions had already begun to take shape. 'In December 2001, in response to the study conducted by Denise Kingsmill on women's employment and pay, and NIESR research showing that, on average in GB, women working full time still earn only 81% of full time male earnings, the UK government announced actions to cut the gender pay gap'. These initiatives included: •
A new measure to make it easier for women to get information from employers about whether they have equal pay problems.
•
Developing new reporting requirements for larger companies including 'human capital management' - for example how they train, invest and recruit staff - where relevant.
•
Encourage private and public sector organisations to conduct employment and pay reviews covering all aspects of women's employment.
•
Spreading best practice through 'fair pay champions'.
•
Recognising best practice through a new award for equal pay and equality, the 'Castle Awards', named after [the late] former Labour Employment Minister the Rt Hon Baroness Barbara Castle'.xi
In addition, and integral to the foregoing developments, a Draft Code Of Practice On Equal Pay was prepared by the Equal Opportunities Commission and laid before parliament by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on 8 July 2003. This is expected to have an official launch in December 2003. A central part of these initiatives is the new Equal Pay Questionnaire. The Draft Code explains that 'A woman is entitled to write to her employer asking for information that will help her establish whether she has received equal pay and if not, what the reasons for the pay difference are. There is a standard questionnaire form which can be used to do this. The focus of the questionnaire is on establishing whether she is receiving less 13
favourable pay and contractual terms and conditions than a colleague or colleagues of the opposite sex, and whether the employer agrees that she and her comparator are doing ‘equal work’. The woman can send the questionnaire to her employer either before she files her claim with the Employment Tribunal or within 21 days of doing so. Copies of the questionnaire can be obtained from the Women and Equality Unit website www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk'. Trades Unions in Britain have long campaigned for equal pay. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is currently facilitating a series of briefing and training sessions on the issue for union officers and senior representatives to look at new training materials - such as the EOC's Equal Pay Kit - in order to consider how these can assist the TUC in continuing to achieve the key priority of closing the gender pay gap. The Congress is conducting its first phase of equal pay partnership training whereby some major private sector companies and unions are embarking on joint gender pay reviews. Contemporary research has highlighted the fact training alone is unlikely to address pay disparities. A new study explains that the future of collective bargaining is central to role that trades unions can play in tackling gender pay disparities. It concludes that: 'Unions can improve conditions for working women but to do so involves extending the scope and range of collective bargaining. The recent historic pattern has been for the range of bargained subjects to narrow where collective bargaining survives and for a growing proportion of employers to eschew collective bargaining altogether. These trends will probably only be reversed if the state imposes an obligation or provides an incentive for employers to resume and broaden collective bargaining. If the positive effect of unions on women’s pay is to be strengthened then public policy should be directed at creating obligations and incentives of this kind'.xii To date government in the UK has not pursued the foregoing policy. However, following its election in 1997, the Labour Party in government has highlighted public sector reform as priority. The 1999 'Modernising Government' white paper asserted that 'the public service has a strong tradition of fairness. It is committed to achieving equality of opportunity'. This document continued: 'reforming outdated systems. Inflexible and inefficient practices in pay and conditions must be reformed so that pay can be tailored to the needs of the public service and provide suitable incentives for staff. This means challenging outdated assumptions about public sector pay'. Fair and equal pay is implicit in the aims of the Prime Minister's Office of Public Service Reform. The 2002 document, 'Reforming our Public Services: Principles into Practice' states that: 'Staff must be recognised for the contribution they make to the delivery of good public services, and have success rewarded fairly … we need
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to attract and keep more good staff, be they teachers, doctors, nurses, police officers, carers, cleaners, nursery workers'. Key ongoing individual public sector initiatives include the National Health Service's 'Agenda for Change'. This policy document asserts that in respect of the UK's state healthcare provider (and the largest employer in Wales): 'All parties agree to work in partnership to deliver a new NHS pay system which supports NHS service modernisation and meets the reasonable aspirations of staff. The signatories to this agreement will accordingly work together to meet the reasonable aspirations of all the parties to … meet equal pay for work of equal value criteria, recognising that pay constitutes any benefits in cash or conditions'.
The European Union At a European level of governance, parallel and complementary initiatives address the pay gap problem. As an official document explains: 'Article 141 of the Treaty of Amsterdam (previously Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome) requires Member States to ensure that the principle of equal pay for male and female workers for equal work or work of equal value is applied. The Equal Pay Directive explains the practical application of the principle of equal pay, namely the elimination of sex discrimination in pay systems. European law defines pay as: “The ordinary basic or minimum wage or salary and any other consideration, whether in cash or kind, which the worker receives directly or indirectly, in respect of his employer or employment.” Pensions are treated as pay'. In furtherance of this objective the UK is part of the '5th Action Programme’s Community Framework Strategy on Gender Equality (2001-2005) and deals with gender wage differences. It is funded by the European Commission and is led by Norway; other partner countries are Austria, Greece, Iceland, Denmark and the UK. The objective of the project is to promote equal pay between men and women for equal work and work of equal value and to identify an efficient mix of tools and instruments for promoting equal pay in the context of each partner country in three target occupations: unskilled workers in the food processing industry; engineers; and secondary education teachers'.xiii
The Welsh Campaign The remainder of this report is concerned with the effectiveness of recent developments in Wales. Setting out the Assembly Government's determination to address the gender pay gap in 2001 Carwyn Jones AM stated that:
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'It is not only a statutory obligation; all Assembly Members recognise that we have a moral duty to work towards making Wales an inclusive society. Having taken our own moral stance, as a Government, it is then our task to be as effective as possible in taking the message to all sections of society. Our strategy is one of partnership. The ‘Close the Pay Gap’ Campaign, which was launched in partnership with the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Wales Trades Union Congress, not only aimed to raise awareness of equal pay issues, but has also developed constructive tools for the private and public sectors'.xiv
1.05 Latest data on the pay gap in Wales and elsewhere in Great Britain
The New Earnings Survey of 2001, published by the Office for National Statistics, revealed that the gender pay gap is lowest in Wales compared to the other countries in Great Britain (Table 1.01).
Country
% women's hourly % women's weekly earnings lower than earnings lower than men's men's
WALES
12.3
20.6
SCOTLAND
16.6
23.7
ENGLAND (regional 18.3 mean) (Provincial regions and London) NE England 16.1 NW England 17.4 Yorks & Humberside 14.1 E. Midlands 17.3 W. Midlands 18.8 SW England 19.3 East 18.7 London 21.8 SE England 21.2 Table 1.01 National data on the gender pay gap England.
25.6
23.9 25.2 22.7 25.2 26.2 26.2 26.0 27.6 27.5 in Wales, Scotland and
As Blackerby et al (2001:48) observe, 'women in Wales still earn significantly less than men, regardless of whether the comparison is made of hourly, weekly, or annual earnings'. The latest available data affirm this assessment (Tables 1.02-04).
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1999 2000 2001 2002 Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female 385.2 297.3 400.9 313.3 411.6 328.0 432.9 345.1 Wales 426.7 317.7 448.1 343.8 473.7 360.1 Scotland 412.5 307.1 471.0 348.3 498.3 371.4 521.3 388.0 England 450.3 331.7 Table 1.02 Average gross weekly earnings (£'s), full time employees on adult ratesxv
Hourly Earnings (£'s per Women Men Ratio of hour) earnings Full-time 8.77 9.98 88 Part-time 6.70 Part-time earnings as a 67 percentage of men's full-time earnings 412 79 Weekly Earnings (£'s per 327 week) Part-time 131 133 98 32 Part-time earnings as a 32 percentage of men's full-time earnings Table 1.03, Full-time and Part-time Earnings in Wales c.2001 (Average gross hourly earnings, excluding the effects of overtime, and weekly earnings of employees on adult rates).xvi
Earnings Selfemployment Occupational pension/ annuities Investment Benefit income (including state pension) Other TOTAL INCOME
WOMEN MEN £'s per week Total Income £'s per week Total Income 83 51 166 64 12 7 22 8 12
7
27
11
7 44
4 27
6 35
2 13
5 163
3 100
4 258
1 100
Table 1.04, Individual Income 1999/2000 (Average gross weekly personal income of all people aged 16 or over).xvii
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'In October 2001, when the Joint Action Plan was agreed, women’s full-time average hourly earnings in Wales were 13% less than men. This gap increased to 36% for women in part-time work. The gender pay gap is smaller in Wales than it is in England because of men's lower wages. In 2001, Welsh women working full-time earned 88% of the average hourly earnings of male workers and just 79% of the average weekly earnings of their male counterparts. Slightly more women work part-time in Wales (46%) than in the rest of Britain (43%). Job segregation means they work in a narrow range of low-paid occupations – some 60% of Welsh women live below the European poverty threshold.1 Pay gap statistics covering the full period of the campaign will not be available until 2004. It is worth noting that the GB pay gap widened during 2002 from 18% to 19%. Incomes Data Services attribute this to the pay increases received by the most highly paid men'.xviii The next set of official data on the pay gap in Wales will be published in October 2003.
2.0 Executive Summary Overall, the present evaluation shows that the Close The Pay Gap campaign has been effective in the initial reforms introduced by the Joint Working Group and that it has delivered value for money. It shows that a distinctive agenda is developing in Wales. One that contrasts from the approach adopted elsewhere in the UK in terms of government policy, and employer and union activity to narrow the gender pay gap, particularly in relation to the public sector. This study also identifies a significant number of employers, again, mainly based in the public sector, which are planning or have carried out equal pay reviews. The present evidence reveals how the Campaign has also led trades unions in Wales to place a renewed focus on discrimination in pay systems, notably through the provision of training for union managers and officials. The Views of Employers ¾ Just over one third of interviewees said that their organisations were engaged in equal pay reforms that predated the Campaign sponsored by the Assembly Government and its partners. Union pressure and compliance with equal pay legislation were the most cited motivators, or drivers, for addressing gender pay discrepancies in the private sector. Co-working with the EOC and compliance with equal pay legislation featured strongly in the reasons given in the public sector. Over two-thirds of those interviewed felt that the Close the Pay Gap Campaign had been influential and a significant boost to their efforts to promote pay parity between the sexes. ¾ Almost one half of interviewees gave a positive assessment of the media coverage achieved by the Campaign. Reflecting its modest level of funding, just over a third of interviewees felt either more could have 1
Source - 'Wales at the forefront of fight for Equal Pay', Equal Opportunities Review, May 2002
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been done in terms of coverage or that, in their opinion, the media campaign was generally ineffective. Further concerns were expressed that the coverage was rather limited in scope and tended to centre on engagement with human resource managers. ¾ Raising the overall awareness of the pay gap problem through a relatively high profile launch and the provision of useful support materials were the most cited responses amongst a range of answers given in by interviewees when questioned about the most positive and useful aspects of the Campaign. In all, two-thirds of interviewees gave a positive assessment of the support material provided by the Campaign partners. Several respondents singled out the CD-Rom for employers as being a particularly useful resource. ¾ Greater provision of detailed case studies documenting the experience of employers who have carried out equal pay reviews, more private sector involvement in the Campaign, and, in the case of the public sector, the allocation of Assembly Government funding to offset the costs of rectifying gender pay disparities were amongst the main areas for improvement in the Campaign identified by interviewees. ¾ The notion of equity - or fairness - was the most cited individual response given by employers when asked for their views on the perceived benefits of undertaking an equal pay review (comprising just over a quarter of all answers). Overall, a range of responses that comprise the business case for equal pay predominated (comprising approximately 50 per cent of replies). Such answers viewed the promotion of equal pay as a means to achieve a more contented workforce and a method to aid the recruitment and retention of staff. ¾ This research shows that a wide range of public sector bodies in Wales is addressing equal pay. Over 20 employers have completed pay reviews in the public sector. These organisations include Assembly Sponsored Public Bodies (ASPBs) and cross-border government agencies. Less progress is being made in respect of private sector employers. Nevertheless, the overwhelming majority of those interviewed said that their organisation was either currently planning or undertaking equal pay reforms. This will ultimately affect the pay of hundreds of thousands of employees in Wales. For example, employers with collective staff numbers in excess of 300,000 attended the Campaign's financial services seminar. ¾ Interviewees identified a range of transferable lessons from their own experience of promoting equal pay. These are likely to benefit others who are contemplating similar reforms. They are reproduced in this report and they include: the need for co-working with other agencies, sensitivity in handling reform, setting appropriate targets and timeframes, and the need for reliable statistical data.
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¾ Interviewees' comments revealed that amongst the majority of the organisations surveyed there was significant 'political' will to carry forward equal pay reviews and that top-level commitment from senior managers and co-working with trade unions were seen as important factors in underpinning such work. ¾ Managers from three public sector organisations that have yet to undertake reforms highlighted the need for the support of management, employees and trade unions to be matched by adequate funding to cover the additional costs of undertaking equal pay reviews. Others referred to the need to allay employee fears that they may lose out financially in any review of pay systems. To address this some employers have built in 'no-detriment' policies to their equal pay reviews. ¾ A telephone survey of a theoretical sample of 30 of the 500 private sector employers, headquartered in Wales, who received copies of the CD-Rom on the business case for promoting equal pay produced disappointing results. The purpose of this strand of the current research was to determine the effectiveness of this method of promoting the Close the Pay Gap Campaign. However, none of the managers interviewed were able to say with certainty that their organisation had received the CD-ROM, none recalled watching it and none had undertaken equal pay reforms as a result of receiving the CD-ROM.
The Views of Trades Unions
¾ This research reveals that the Close the Pay Gap Campaign has been a significant influence on the trades unions' approach to this issue. The majority of union managers felt that the Campaign had either initiated reform, or more commonly, that it had reinforced the union's preexisting approach to the gender pay gap. Accordingly, the Campaign has been a catalyst. It has helped to reprioritised the issue and accelerate progress in tackling discrimination in pay systems. ¾ A tangible example of the impact of the Campaign during its first phase include the attendance of over 500 trade union officials at equal pay briefings.xix ¾ Moreover, as part of the Campaign, the WTUC contacted all union representatives and full time officers on its database and offered them all the opportunity to attend a training course on the specific issue of equal pay. Accordingly, two equal pay training days were held for full time union officers. These were attended by a total of 20 - 25 regional officers.
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¾ Reflecting the practice at a UK level, equal pay has become one of the modules at stage two of Union Representatives' Professional Training Programme. The WTUC is also encouraging as many students as possible to complete a research project on equal pay as part of their professional training. ¾ The majority of union managers interviewed said that the Close the Pay Gap Campaign had been significant in influencing their union's approach to promoting equal pay. ¾ A third of interviewees questioned whether the media coverage achieved by the Campaign had had a significant impact beyond union officials, human resource managers, equality practitioners and 'the political classes'. The latter criticism must be balanced against two key factors, the modest level of funding for the Campaign and the well documented weakness of the 'reach' of indigenous Welsh broadcast and print media in the face of a predominant cross-border agencies that, in large measure, reflect a London-centric news/ social priorities agenda. ¾ EOC Wales officials report that approximately 30 employers and 4 individuals contacted the Close the Pay Campaign help line in the wake of the associated media and advertising campaign in order to request further information on ways to address gender pay disparities. The number of people contacting the help line is not an absolute measure of the level of awareness created by this initiative - many people will have seen and taken account of the Campaign advertising without contacting the helpline. ¾ When asked to identify positive and useful aspects about the Campaign the majority of the union officials' gave a positive assessment of the quality and utility of the support materials, the benefits of partnership working, and the importance of the political support, leadership and commitment of the Campaign partners. ¾ When questioned about ways in which the Close the Pay Gap could have been improved union officials' responses were evenly split on the need for greater access to appropriate information (e.g. accurate statistics and technical guidance) and more involvement by private sector organisations. Notably, in the opinion of almost a third of respondents the Campaign could not have been improved upon. ¾ When asked about the main factors that have led the trades unions to place equal pay on the bargaining agenda union officials identified the existence of individual equal pay cases and/ or anomalies and unfairness in employers' pay structures. However, as officials point out devolution and the Close the Pay Gap Campaign has made a difference to the promotion of equal pay in Wales. In particular, in enabling the development of partnership working within a Walesspecific locus for public policy development and implementation.
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¾ Interviews with union officials show that equal pay is being promoted by the trade unions in a variety of ways. Unions have targeted a wide range of employers in both the public and private sectors in order to seek a commitment to undertake pay systems reviews. ¾ To date, and linked to the Campaign, greater progress has been made in the public sector. This research details the measures to take gender pay disparities taken by fourteen public sector agencies in Wales. ¾ Just over a quarter of the unions studied have thus far mainstreamed equal pay as an issue covered in collective bargaining with employers, and a similar proportion have actually secured equal pay reviews by employers. ¾ Other significant actions resulting from the Campaign include the ongoing pressure placed on employers who have yet to address gender pay disparities, the production of publicity materials and delivery of staff training on the issue. ¾ Interviewees highlighted a range of transferable lessons that they had learned in promoting equal pay with their own unions, ones that they believed others might learn from in planning their own approach to tackling the gender pay gap. These centred on: the need for adequate training for union staff - and, putting in place adequate information systems, the benefits of partnership working between unions, employers and official agencies, the need to 'follow through' (i.e. adopted a sustained approach) and monitor equal pay reforms, the need for good communications, the necessity of educating employers about the problems of equal pay, and the need to follow a targeted approach to tackling the issue. ¾ When asked about the general, prevailing 'political' will on all sides to promote equal pay, union officials referred to mixed attitudes and prevailing apprehension. However, a significant number felt that there was an improving 'climate for reform'. ¾ In highlighting factors important to the successful future promotion of equal pay, union officials identified a number of areas. These included: the need for new legislation making it a mandatory requirement that employers undertake an equal pay review, the need to educate and end the prevailing attitude of some women trade union members that it is socially acceptable for men to earn more money for doing the same work as women, to encourage employees to discuss their pay with colleagues in order to raise awareness of anomalies and unfair pay, and the need to educate women about their basic legal rights in relation to the Equal Pay Act. ¾ In 2002-3 a successful series of seminars were held as part of the Campaign. These were designed to raise awareness and assist
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managers in the Health Service, higher education and local government in Wales. These events were an enabling context to develop top-level commitment to equal pay reform for they secured the participation of senior managers and chief executives. Analysis of feedback forms completed by those attending the seminars reveals that attendees rated their usefulness highly; two-thirds said the seminars were 'very useful'. ¾ The campaign has achieved broad media coverage in the English and Welsh languages. Campaign coverage has been on television, public and commercial radio stations, and in the local and the national Welsh press. In terms of the broadcast media, the campaign partners achieved repeated coverage (a total of 28 instances) in six of the thirteen months between March 2002 and April 2003. In print the Campaign secured a total of 63 published articles over the same period - a mean frequency of over one press article per week. ¾ Furthermore, bus adverts advised the public to contact the EOC Wales advice line for more information about equal pay. These adverts appeared on 62 buses in five towns and cities in Wales during February and March 2003. Advice leaflets were distributed to Citizen Advice Bureaux and public libraries encouraging people to find out more about their right to equal pay. At least thirty employers and four individuals contacted the advice line. ¾ The Close The Pay Gap Mobile Exhibition stands, leaflets, CDs and promotional materials have been present at trade and business exhibitions, Eisteddfodau and other public events. ¾ In May 2002 the EOC launched a student equal pay campaign in Wales to raise awareness amongst student of the 15% pay gap that opens between men and women within three years of graduation. This partnership campaign with NUS enabled student sabbatical officers to distribute publicity materials around student union premises and careers fairs. ¾ The Close the Pay Gap Campaign achieved good value for money. From a modest budget of £75,000 (boosted by some of the Campaign partner organisations with modest financial supplements and the provision of significant time and human resource contributions) the pay gap issue received significant and sustained media coverage for the duration of the first phase of the Campaign. In addition, this initiative was successful in its provision of quality support materials and securing a partnership approach between agencies, raising the issue of gender pay disparities up the social agenda. ¾ The Campaign partners have not achieved all of the objectives set out in the original Joint Action Plan. Instead they have adopted a targeted approach to promoting equal pay. Given the modest size of the available budget they have prioritised action in the public sector
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implicitly acknowledging that a different order of resources will be necessary to achieve all of the Campaign's original aims - notably in relation to the private sector and in raising public awareness of the issue.
3.0 Future tasks that are required to close the gender pay gap in Wales: Policy Recommendations Medium Term Campaign Necessary RECOMMENDATION A sustained second phase of the Campaign is required over the medium term in order to have a realistic chance of addressing gender pay disparities in Wales. The endurance of the gender pay gap thirty years after the Equal Pay Act was introduced is testament to the need for a sustained, adequately resourced and carefully co-ordinated campaign. It is clear that this social problem cannot be resolved by a limited, 'quick fix' campaign. Indeed the GB chair of the EOC has noted that: 'it could take at least another 30 years to close the 20% gap between women's and men's average earnings, at the current rate of progress'.xx Existing Assembly Government policy planning acknowledges this general principle in setting out action on socio-economic issues (Better Wales and successor strategic plans identify the need for sustained medium - to - long term approaches - ten years in the case of Better Wales). The second phase of the Campaign should be planned over a minimum period of 5-7 years in order to achieve the elimination of - or at the very least, a major reduction in - the gender pay gap.
Campaign Structure RECOMMENDATION The cross-party approach of the Joint Working Group should be continued. The Joint Working Group should be continued as this adds considerable weight to the Campaign and removes the sometimes-adversarial party politics that can arise over issues. RECOMMENDATION Senior private sector figure to join the Joint Working Group on Equal Pay. A prominent equal pay 'champion' from the private sector should be a member of the Joint Working Party to allay any potential mistrust over the issue of equal pay, press forward the business argument for equal pay, and further partnership working on the issue.
RECOMMENDATION
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A dedicated member of staff should be employed in the Assembly Government Civil Service to liase with/ serve the Campaign. Some interviewees identified understaffing of the Campaign as an issue. They stated the need for a dedicated member of staff to take forward equal pay issues within the Assembly Government bureaucracy. RECOMMENDATION Target setting. As a focus to a second phase of the Campaign consideration could be given to setting specific targets on closing the pay gap in Wales, targets that apply to a prescribed timeframe.
Reinforcing Phase One Initiatives RECOMMENDATION Follow-up equal pay seminars. Follow-up equal pay seminars to those already held as part of the Close the Pay Gap Campaign 2002-03 (for health, local government, and higher education professionals) could be held to reinforce the earlier sessions. RECOMMENDATION Revised measures to promote the equal pay CD-Rom. The present research revealed that mail shots to employers of the Close the Pay Gap Campaign CD-ROMs were ineffective. Whilst the quality or usefulness of the CD-ROM is not questioned it appears that they fell victim to the saturation achieved by other marketing mail shots and often failed to reach managers with the responsibility to affect a review of equal pay. It would therefore be more effective to first have a trained and competent bilingual individual to telephone human resource/ pay systems managers within employer organisations, explain the issues (particularly the business case for conducting equal pay reviews), arrange to mail to them the CD-ROM - and then follow-up the initial telephone call offering help and advice on implementing equal pay reviews. RECOMMENDATION Making key use of new tools to promote equal pay. The second phase of the Equal Pay Campaign in Wales should make every effort to promote the official Equal Pay Code of Practice and associated Equal Pay Questionnaire (due for publication in late 2003). In addition, every effort should be made to work with employer associations to reach private sector employers and encourage them to carry out an equal pay review using EOC Equal Pay Review Kits that are designed for use by large and small private sector businesses. RECOMMENDATION The Campaign Partners should continue to provide support and expertise to the public and private sectors. The Campaign partners should continue to assist the public sector by advising on equal pay in the Assembly Sponsored Bodies and by supporting NHS Wales, higher education
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institutions and Local Government to implement job evaluation schemes and tackle job segregation. Where private sector employers have begun to tackle equal pay the Campaign partners should continue to offer their support and expertise. The 'sectoral' approach developed during first phase of the Campaign has been successful and should be developed in the future, particularly in relation to the Finance Sector. RECOMMENDATION. Develop targeted support for individual employers. The second phase of the campaign could publicise the availability of close support and the provision of expert technical advice and back-up from the EOC - and its partners - for employers that are considering undertaking equal pay reviews . RECOMMENDATION Publicise case studies of employers who have carried out equal pay reforms. Further to the comments of a number of interviewees, greater ongoing use could be made of detailed case studies of employers who had carried out equal pay reforms in Wales. A cost effective method of disseminating this practical information might be to interview practitioners in the public, private and voluntary sectors and produce a CD-Rom and written support materials. RECOMMENDATION The development a strategy whereby the Assembly Government becomes an exemplar organisation demonstrating best practice in the promotion of equal pay through public procurement, contract compliance and other measures. Equal pay should be built into the forthcoming reviews of Assembly Government procurement practice (taking place in the second half of 2003). This presents a 'window of opportunity' whereby the existing 800 suppliers that have signed-up to the Assembly Government's code of practice - together with future signatories - may be encouraged to examine the issue of equal pay for their employees. The National Assembly has further work to do on pay reviews for its own staff and for its sponsored and funded bodies, particularly in relation to the provision of gender related statistics and work life flexibility. RECOMMENDATION European structural funds. WAG could ask WEFO for an update on progress made towards equal pay in relation to Objective One and other European economic aid programmes.
New Initiatives RECOMMENDATION Second phase of the Campaign should address specific issues around BME women and Equal Pay. In the future the Campaign should ensure the involvement of voluntary sector bodies and other organisations working for/with women from an ethnic minority background. RECOMMENDATION 26
Develop co-working and a partnership approach. In order to promote equal pay greater use could be made of the three innovative partnership councils (local government - including a range of public sector agencies outside of unitary authorities; the voluntary sector; and business organisations -) set out in the Government of Wales Act. Thus far, limited use has been made of these forumsxxi. They present a good opportunity to advance equal pay for employees in organisations such as: police authorities, national parks, and the voluntary sector. RECOMMENDATION Targeting women home workers in Wales. According to the National Group on Home Workers, the south Wales valleys have are the 'home working heartlands of Great Britain'. These workers are particularly vulnerable in that they are non-unionised and based in an area where many earn less than the national minimum wage. The second phase of the Campaign should develop a strategy - likely to be part of an Assembly Government social inclusion or economic aid initiative - in order to ensure that these individuals receive gender pay parity and at least the national minimum wage, as well as information on how to receive support and advice from Assembly and UK government agencies - and trades unions. RECOMMENDATION Greater involvement of the voluntary sector. The first phase of the campaign concentrated on the public and private sectors. Seldom was the voluntary sector mentioned. The second phase of the Campaign will need to involve the voluntary sector. RECOMMENDATION The second phase of the Campaign should develop a strategy that addresses the need of parents and carers. Research shows that family and caring responsibilities contribute to the gender pay gap. With the Assembly Government as the lead organisation, the Campaign partners could give strategic direction on childcare and other care provision to support parents and carers. In particular, the Campaign could commission research in order to establish the effectiveness of the twenty-two childcare partnerships in Wales. Should the research prove affirmative, these arrangements could be expanded across Wales.
RECOMMENDATION Victims of domestic violence suffer detriments to their pay as a result of poor career development and absenteeism. Accordingly, the second phase of the Campaign needs to engage with existing Assembly Government initiatives on domestic violence. RECOMMENDATION Trades union equal pay champions. Some trade unions officials have identified the need to nominate an equal pay champion for unions. Their role would be to encourage and work with workplace representatives in order to
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offer help and advice - and to make sure that equal pay is given a higher priority and always features on the bargaining agenda. RECOMMENDATION Promote equal pay in the curriculum. The campaign should continue to address discrimination in pay systems but should also work with education, careers and training agencies to encourage non-traditional career choices and address skills gaps. Furthermore, A 'know your (legal) rights -based' approach could be pursued in the school curriculum raising awareness of the Equal Pay Act (this could also extend to Section 120 of the Government of Wales Act telling pupils that they have a legally enforceable right to expect the Welsh Assembly Government to promote equality in the exercise of all its functions) as part of education on citizenship
Better Information RECOMMENDATION Wales-wide inquiry on equal pay. Although the Welsh Assembly Government lacks ultimate control over cross-border government agencies and some ASPBs (e.g. those set up by Royal Charter) it does have powers to summon representatives to appear at committees/ give evidence - the Welsh Assembly Government could therefore sponsor a study/ inquiry into equal pay across the whole of the public sector in Wales, including cross border agencies (e.g. Inland Revenue, Employment Service, Social Security etc.) and Royal Charter Bodies (e.g. BBC). This is particularly salient following the UK Government/ Treasury directive that all Whitehall departments produce an action plan to close the pay gap by spring 2004. RECOMMENDATION Greater and more transparent reporting on equal pay reforms by public sector managers. Representatives of health organisations, local authorities and other ASPBs should be required to give an annual (or bi-annual) update to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Equality of Opportunity setting out the ongoing progress that they have made towards securing equal pay.
RECOMMENDATION Developing a research-led campaign and promoting evidence-based policymaking on equal pay. The second phase of the Campaign should make greater use of research data to make the case for equal pay, raise general awareness of the issue and inform the Assembly Government's policymaking.
Publicity Campaign RECOMMENDATION Creating a greater public profile for the Campaign/ greater engagement with the general public. Greater levels of funding for the second phase of 28
the Campaign should be sought in order to broaden the focus of the Campaign from targeted employers and trades unions in order to secure greater awareness raising amongst the general public. The latter would be achieved through advertising and stalls at major public events such as conferences, shows, eisteddfodau and the like. RECOMMENDATION End the secrecy surrounding individuals' pay and conditions. A second phase of the Close the Pay Gap Campaign could develop a public advertising campaign in order to encourage employees to discuss openly their pay and conditions with colleagues. In this manner pay disparity problems do not remain hidden but become an issue for all in the workplace. RECOMMENDATION Harness existing information dissemination methods in the future promotion of equal pay. Greater use should be made of employer organisations' existing e-mail lists and magazines/ newsletters in order to publicise the pay gap issue. For example, one private sector organisation advised that they have an electronic magazine with a reach of 3000 people. Similarly, e-mail lists across public, private and voluntary sectors could be used to this end. Furthermore, organisations could be encouraged to put web links on their own sites to the EOC's equal pay web pages. RECOMMENDATION Shareholders to engage in promoting equal pay. Individual shareholders might be encouraged - through a publicity campaign - to exercise their rights at company meetings and ask managers about their company's policy on equal pay, and the steps that the company's management and directors have taken to ensure that their organisation complies with the statutory requirements of the Equal Pay Act.
Working With Westminster and Government Departments RECOMMENDATION 'Extending the geographical reach of the Campaign'. Greater cross-border co-working (and sharing of resources) between the UK and Welsh Assembly governments, government agencies (such as the EOC) and public sector bodies will be central to progressing the Close the Pay Gap Campaign. This follows because the focus adopted by the Campaign to date, namely targeting private sector companies with headquarters located in Wales and the Assembly-subordinate public sector, has failed to reach the many Welshbased employees that work for organisations with headquarters in England or Scotland2. Whilst the core aim of the Campaign has been to promote equal pay for all workers in Wales the reality is that many employers' human 2
Recent statistics reveal that there are just 60 private sector employers headquartered in Wales with 500 or more employees.
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resource strategies are determined outside of Wales. Accordingly, greater cross-border co-operation by government and official agencies will enable the targeting organisations with headquarters beyond Wales in order to promote equal pay for their Welsh-based employees. This approach offers the potential for added impetus to promoting equal pay in the rest of the UK.
RECOMMENDATION Explore agreements with Whitehall departments to see how greater emphasis can be placed on tacking the pay gap. The Welsh Assembly Government could revisit its concordats with Whitehall departments to see how cross-border agencies in Wales can be encouraged to conduct/ promote equal pay reviews. RECOMMENDATION Developing a strategy to secure legislation for mandatory equal pay reviews. During the second phase the Campaign partners should develop a strategy and encourage the Welsh and Scottish Governments asking them to make representations to the UK government and the European Commission calling for the introduction of new legislation/ EC directives requiring employers to undertake mandatory equal pay reviews. Importantly, such legislation should also be linked to measures to tackle associated social priorities such as the level of the National Minimum Wage, low pay, the provision of childcare, flexible working practices, and valuing women's jobs. . RECOMMENDATION Assembly Government to sponsor equal pay bill. Post- devolution Wales has established its credentials regarding best practice in promoting equality of opportunity. Although mandatory equal pay reviews are a reserved area (i.e. primary legislative responsibility for this matter - at present - remains at Westminster) the Assembly Government is able to sponsor Parliamentary Bills at Westminster. WAG could petition the UK Government for a UK-wide Act on mandatory equal pay reviews. It is salient to note that Section 22, Schedule 2 of the Government of Wales Act notes that (item 4.) 'economic development' is an area of the Assembly Government's governmental responsibilities, one that is covered by section 120 of the same Act that legally requires WAG to promote equality of opportunity for all people in Wales. RECOMMENDATION Promotion of equal pay in tax collection. The Welsh Assembly Government could work with the Inland Revenue so that taxpayers in Wales receive their annual P60s (and similar correspondence) in an envelope that has brief - but prominent (and bilingual) details of the Equal Pay Act - and an EOC helpline number. RECOMMENDATION Equal pay as part of public information remit of state broadcasters. The Assembly Government could investigate the feasibility of requiring public sector broadcasters in Wales (BBC, S4C, Channel 4) to publicise equal pay rights.
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4.0 Research Methodology This study is informed by contemporary theory and practice in the evaluation public policy.xxii The findings of this report are based on a variety of data sources and research techniques. Each section is prefaced by a brief summary of the methods used. Whilst mostly qualitative methods have been applied here, an attempt has been made to reflect the overall balance of the views present in the data set. Readers interested in the extended research transcripts are directed to the extracts set out in the appendices.
5.0
Actions and Views of Selected Employers
5.01 Methodology A series of in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 employers who have carried out, or are planning, pay reviews. These organisations span the public (15) and private (10) sectors. One public sector cross border agency refused to take part in the study citing sensitivity of current negotiations over equal pay with a trade union. The commissioning partners identified all the employers interviewed.xxiii The research interviews were transcribed and analyzed. The key themes identified and related findings now follow.
5.02 Factors that led Employers to Address the Issue of Equal Pay It is clear that in a significant number of cases the Close The Pay Gap Campaign in Wales complemented and added to pre-existing initiatives undertaken by public and private sector employers. When asked to describe the factors that had led their organisation to undertake or plan an equal pay review, interviewees referred to a number of drivers. For example, some Universities were already involved in a Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) initiative, whilst local government organisations referred to the influence of the Equality Standard currently being introduced for Welsh unitary authorities. Cross-border public sector agencies referred to the influence of the EOC commissioned Equal Pay Task Force Report as well as directives and policy initiatives from Whitehall departments (- such as Agenda for Change in the National Health Service). Other interviewees identified vulnerability to legal challenges by employees under equal pay legislation as prompting their review of equal pay. Significantly, several employers cited the business case for promoting equal pay: ‘It really boils down to the productivity issue and the things that it can actually do for business, the benefits that business can derive from demonstrating that sort of thing to their staff … this translates into recruitment and retention of staff which is a huge issue in this area’. 31
'we want to ensure that our pay structures are operating in a very fair and appropriate way and that there are no hidden barriers to recruiting, and retaining our existing employees'. Analysis of all the reasons for addressing the equal pay issue given by interviewees (Fig 5.01- below) reveals that over one third said that their organisations were engaged in equal pay reforms that predated the Campaign. This analysis also identifies union pressure and compliance with equal pay legislation as the most cited motivators in the private sector. Coworking with the EOC and compliance with equal pay legislation featured strongly in the reasons given for conducting a review of discrimination in pay systems. Overall, such comments showed that the Close the Pay Gap Campaign had been a significant boost to the progress being made by a number of existing equal pay initiatives in the public sector and beyond.
Cited reasons for conducting an equal pay review Other Trade union pressure / co-working with unions Welsh Assembly's equalit y dut y Business case f or equal pay Inf luence of / co-working with EOC Part of general review of pay syst ems Equal Pay Campaign in Wales Aware of potent ial for - or existence - of problem Pre-existing equal pay initiat ive Compliance with equal pay legislation
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
% of all responses.
Fig 5.01 Breakdown of responses to the question - 'How would you describe the factors that have led to your organisation undertaking – or planning – an equal pay review'? xxiv
5.03 The influence of the Equal Pay Campaign on employers' approach to closing the pay gap The majority of interviewees said that the Close the Pay Gap Campaign had influenced their organisation's approach towards the issue. For a minority the Campaign had itself initiated reform (see section 5.01 - above), though for the
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majority, however, it was influential in complementing other, on-going initiatives (see Fig 5.02 - below). Examples of the affirmative comments include:
‘I think that the whole issue has been driven forward by the Close the Pay Gap Campaign I think that there are so many tools and so much experience out there now that its far easier for people to actually get information on equal pay and how to do equal pay audits now – than there ever has been. So I mean my recommendation is first of all speak to the EOC because we found them of great assistance in starting out our equal pay audits – as I say, we’ve got a great partnership with them'. 'In terms of shaping the employer’s pay practices the EOC has been quite high actually – because we’ve been to a couple of their seminars – and I’ve been in touch with the EOC following their seminars about equal pay audits and how we could use the Equal Pay Toolkit. Their influence has been quite high'. ‘I think that it has had an impact in that it has raised the profile, its pushed the issue, and the seminar that was arranged for the local government about January [2003] was very useful, because it was practical – it gave a practical example of how a local authority has undertaken this through job evaluations. So I think people walked away thinking, “oh, it can be done"'.
Extent to which Welsh Campaign influenced organization's approach Other not significant Welsh campaign influential The Welsh Campaign reinforced pre-existing approach Already tackling issue
0
10
20
30
40
50
% of all responses
Fig 5.02. Summary of responses to the question: 'How significant has been the Welsh Campaign in influencing your organisation’s approach to equal pay'?
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5.04 Employers' perceptions of the effectiveness of the media coverage of the Equal Pay Campaign Almost one half of interviewees gave a positive assessment of the media coverage achieved by the Campaign (see Fig 5.03 - below). Reflecting the modest funding of the first phase of the Campaign, just over a third felt either that more could have been done in terms of media coverage - or stated that, in their opinion, the media campaign was ineffective. Significant concerns were expressed that the coverage was rather limited in scope and tended to centre on engagement with human resource managers. The following is typical of such responses:
‘As far as the general public goes – probably more could be done – because in the Western Mail – I can’t recall having seen a lot in the media, and if I had seen it I’d have picked up – because its my area of work – but I’m sure if I asked my mother “were you aware of it – she’d probably say ‘no’” – In terms of those that work in the field I think that the publicity has been effective – but in the wider public – maybe not’. More positive assessments included the following:
‘Well, the Campaign was good because it did hammer home to all concerned “stop ducking away, stop playing lip service – get on with it because there are good commercial as well as good ethical reasons for this”’. 'The press coverage at the time of the launch helped to heighten awareness of key pay issues in Wales'. ‘In terms of it being in the press and the on websites – its being pushed at every opportunity. In my opinion, its hard to be objective, but appears to be advertised quite well’.
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Views on effectiveness of the media campaign Other More could have been done Not effective Only reached HR professionals Positive assessment
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
% of all views
Fig 5.03. Breakdown of responses to the question: 'How would you describe the effectiveness of the media coverage of the equal pay campaign'?
5.05 Employers' views on the usefulness of the support material and guidance associated with the Equal Pay Campaign Two-thirds of interviewees gave a positive assessment of the support material provided by the Campaign partners. Several respondents identified the CDRom for employers as a particularly useful resource. A number did highlight areas for future improvement (see section 5.07 - below). Examples of positive assessments include the following statements: 'The workshop that they held - I thought that was really, really useful. In terms of the information that’s gone out, for example the CD ROMs, they’ve been useful in explaining to people what is equal pay – and what are the expectations on organisations'. ‘From a learning point of view they have issued some useful documents, toolkits and those sorts of things - and also the CD ROM'. 'I think that it was good publicity material and it was good information and may have been persuasive amongst other employers that perhaps were not taking the kind of view that we were’. 'The practical help that was offered to employers was by far the most important point'. 'The free CD-ROM is an effective means of providing more detailed information and links for employers in Wales'.
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Usefulness of support material Other
Not very useful
Positive assessment
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
% of all responses
Fig 5.04. Breakdown of responses to the question: 'How would you describe the usefulness of the support material and guidance provided by the Close the Pay Gap Campaign?'
5.06 Employers' views of the positive and useful aspects about the Close the Pay Gap Campaign Raising the overall awareness of the pay gap problem through a relatively high profile campaign launch and, again, the provision of useful support materials were the most cited responses amongst a range of answers given in by interviewees when questioned about the most positive and useful aspects of the Campaign (see Fig 5.05 - below). Specific comments included the following:
‘The one area that the Assembly Government were very, very good on, was the fact that they realized very early on that it was going to cost and they built that into their programme and I think that they should be hugely applauded for that’. 'The statistics are always very useful. Again, they are the acid test. It is all very well saying, "yes, we have a commitment to equal opportunities".' 'The campaign provided factual support for the need to address the pay gap and made practical suggestions on how that could be done. The Assembly demonstrated leadership on this issue'.
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Positive aspects of the Campaign other Funded remedial action Provided leadership on the issue Provision of statistics Support material Useful - not specific High profile Campaign launch
0
5
10
15
20
25
% of all responses
Fig 5.05 Summary of responses to the question: 'In your view, what was positive and useful about the Close the Pay Gap Campaign by the Assembly Government and its partners?
5.07 What aspects of the Close Pay Gap Campaign could have been improved? Employers' views Greater provision of detailed case studies setting out the experience of employers who have carried out equal pay reviews, more private sector involvement in the Campaign, and, in the case of the public sector, the allocation of Assembly Government funding to offset the costs of rectifying gender pay disparities were amongst the main areas for improvement identified by interviewees (see Fig 5.06 - below). Specific responses to the question: 'what could have been improved on in the Close the Pay Gap Campaign by the Assembly Government and its partners?' included:
‘I wonder whether there are opportunities being missed in terms of using membership publications'. ‘Well, the nicest thing would have been if they had offered cash to go with it to be honest, because obviously it is going to be an expensive exercise and I think that councils are strapped for cash anyway and so I don’t think that it’s a lack of willingness to do these things its just the fear that its going to cost a lot of money and, again, its going to affect services’.
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'More case studies of organisations (private and public) that have carried out reviews, and the problems they encountered, along with practical advice on how to overcome them'. ‘I think it would have been really good if they had been able more large public sector organisations involved'.
Aspects that could have been improved upon other Could not be improved Using organizations' e-mail lists to distribute info Greater targeting of private sector employers Involvement of more large public sector bodies Provision of financial support Greater focus on future agenda More publicity Provision of detailed case studies
0
5
10
15
20
25
Percentage of all responses
Fig 5.06. Breakdown of responses to the question: 'What could have been improved upon in the Close the Pay Gap Campaign by the Assembly Government and its partners?'
5.08 Employers' views of the perceived benefits of undertaking an equal pay review Legal factors were not the most common response given by employers in response to the question: 'what are the perceived benefits to your organisation of undertaking an equal pay review'? Rather the notion of equity or fairness was the most cited individual response (comprising just over a quarter of all answers). However, a range of responses that collectively comprise the business case for equal pay predominated (totalling approximately 50 per cent of all replies). These replies included: 'achieving a more contented workforce' and 'aiding recruitment and retention of staff'. A breakdown of the responses is given in Fig 5.07 below. Specific comments include the following: 'In very general terms – a more contented and stable workforce. No Equal Pay Review can be expected to iron out all real and perceived problems of unequal treatment in pay, but if staff recognize that the
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organisation they work for is making a genuine effort to close pay gaps and treat everyone fairly, it can make all the difference ‘Motivation of staff, clearly'. 'There’s a key business case there right at the outset which is associated with how an organisation is managed, how its run, how its pay structures are allocated and how fairness is delivered'. 'Clearly we wish to be an employer of choice and we wish to treat all our employees fairly. We are looking to remove any inequalities'. 'Well the benefits are clear. Having selected the right people for the job you can actually keep them'. Perceived benefits of equal pay reviews Improve staff motivation The business case To avoid legal claims To be an exemplar employer Contented stable w ork force Fairness/ pay people their w orth Helps staff retention / recruitment
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
% of all responses
Fig 5.07. Breakdown of responses to the question: 'What are the perceived benefits to your organisation of undertaking an equal pay review?'
5.09 Progress made towards achieving equal pay by the employers studied This research evidence shows that a wide range of public sector bodies in Wales is addressing equal pay. Over 20 employers have completed pay reviews in the public sector.xxv These organisations mostly include Assembly Sponsored Public Bodies (ASPBs). Although a limited number of cross-border government agencies based in Wales have also addressed the pay gap issue much greater levels of inter-governmental cooperation between Cardiff and London will be necessary before the majority of cross-border agencies have undertaken reviews. Less progress is being made in respect of private sector 39
employers. Nevertheless, the overwhelming majority of those interviewed said that their organisation was either currently planning or implementing a review of discrimination in their pay systems. Equal pay reforms by the organisations surveyed will ultimately affect hundreds of thousands of employees in Wales. For example, employers with collective UK staff numbers in excess of 300,000 attended the Campaign's financial services seminar alone.xxvi One major private sector employer is planning to mirror the approach adopted by the National Assembly and broaden its pay gap analysis to encompass potential pay disparities faced by employees from ethnic 'minority' communities, and disabled people. An overview of the progress made by those surveyed is provided in Fig 5.08 (below). Selected descriptions of the approach adopted by various employers are given in the quotations reproduced below (and a further summary of the actions taken in the Welsh public sector is presented in Section 8.11 and a full account of the progress made by the all of the employers surveyed is given in Appendix One): 'Reforms have now been going for 4-5 months. We have established a Fair Chance Forum – an equal opportunities steering group. Everyone has been given the opportunity to enter it and put their views across … everyone [all staff] have been made aware of it. People in the selection committee [i.e. the Forum] represent a varied view they don’t just represent the view of head office … they do represent an overall view of everybody. A new staff appraisal system has been put in place. In terms of what’s left to be done – both of the foregoing measures need a considerable amount of tweaking before they find their feet really. We now have mandatory rolling basis pay appraisals held every three months. This will go to 6-month intervals. The first appraisals have been done for all 550 staff'. (Manager, private sector employer).
'We have completed our (pay) grading exercise – there had been a back log of under grading – we also had a very messy pay and grading system -we had about 37 different grades – some of them overlapped – some were identical – we had a big equal-pay-for-equal-value issue. So they streamed the grades down to a total of nine. Rationalized the system for extra hours (working)– and opened it up to everybody. Now all staff are on the same rates whatever point in the (pay) scale that they are on. Also we did a review of incremental scales in 2003 – when evaluations first began there was something like a 29% gap between the sexes – that’s narrowed now to a 12% gap – and I think that we will close that as people go up through the increment scales. We do ad hoc reviews of the equal pay situation now – it's not a routinised part of staff appraisals. A "no detriment principal" is applied to all the equal pay reforms so that employees’ pay was not undermined by the reviews'. (Manager, ASPB). 'Target rates for individual grades of staff in the organisation introduced as part of the current multi-year pay deal have helped to narrow gender
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gaps and gaps between long-serving staff and newer recruits. Equality principles applied to recruitment, appraisal and promotion have also helped to narrow gaps in areas such as disability, part-time workers and ethnic origin. There is still progress to be made in all these areas, and also in the continuing male/female imbalance at senior manager level'. (Manager, cross-border public sector agency).
Current progress on equal pay Awaiting management agreement No action taken/ planned Planning pilot review Pilot scheme ongoing Equal pay review ongoing
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
% of all responses
Fig 5.08. Breakdown of responses to the question: 'In terms of your organisation – can you please outline the measures that you have taken thus far to promote equal pay'?
5.10 Employers' views of the identifiable strengths of undertaking and equal pay review Employers identified a number of business arguments, such as greater staff retention as well as greater fairness, openness and transparency - and the promotion of equality, as the tangible benefits associated with their review of equal pay. An overview of the responses to the question: 'in your opinion what have been the identifiable strengths of the pay review process'? i.e. what have been the beneficial aspects to your organisation of conducting the review'? is given in Fig 5.09 (below). Examples of individual responses include the following: ‘I think its basically going to definitely promote equal opportunities and I think that there have been pay issues in the past and people have made applications for their pay to be reviewed, so I think that it will iron out a lot of the potential disputes that might occur to make it a fair and open system really – this will come in line with the new appraisal 41
system so it will help performance management as well’. (Manager, ASPB ). ‘Its transparency, we can put our hand on our heart and tell our staff we not just an equal opportunities employer by default but because we vigorously want to be one and that means that everybody knows that their pay is fair and balanced and equitable – which I think is valuable. We pride ourselves in being a good employer’. (Manager, Private Sector Employer). 'I think that it has an effect on recruitment and retention, we’re able to offer better money so we are getting better people in, I think that we are losing fewer people'. (Manager, ASPB).
Identifiable strengths of equal pay reviews Greater openness & transparency Helped recruitment and retention Rectified historical anomalies Boost w orker contentment Promote equality and fairness Offset potential legal claims
0
5
10
15
20
25
% of all responses
Fig 5.09. Breakdown of responses to the question: 'In your opinion what have been the identifiable strengths of the pay review process? i.e. what have been the beneficial aspects to your organisation of conducting the review'?
5.11 pay
Transferable lessons from employers' actions to promote equal
Interviewees identified a variety of transferable lessons from their own experience of promoting equal pay, lessons that may benefit others who are contemplating similar reforms. These included: the need for co-working with other agencies, sensitivity in handling reform, setting appropriate targets and timeframes, and the need for accurate statistical data. Reproduced below is a range of interviewees' answers to the question: 'how would you describe any problems that you’ve encountered in relation to your own organisation’s approach to equal pay reforms? - Are there transferable lessons here that you think others may draw upon'?
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'Employers need to develop a universal job evaluation template that has built-in comparability i.e. it allows gender pay disparities to be investigated between different types/ levels of employees in the organisation i.e. senior management, senior academics, junior academics, admin staff, and technicians.' (HR manager, university). ‘There are a whole number of ways that this (i.e. equal pay reviews) can be done …so I would say a little bit more management in terms of the timescales, three months is a little ambitious on the [pay evaluations] timescales’. (HR Manager, university). ‘Things like communication I guess, communicating what’s going on to people, working with the unions was also a major plus – excellent, excellent co-working with the unions, I mean that was really valuable to us. They worked with us on developing the staff grading system and the pay ranges; it was really helpful to us. (Manager, ASPB). 'It is important that the Trade Union side and staff themselves are fully involved in the process so that it is not just seen as a management tool Targets should be clear, unambiguous and measurable rather than vague statements of intent'. (Manager, cross border public sector agency). ‘Management have got to be totally committed to it – you have to have a reasonable number of staff released from their duties to learn about and exercise job evaluation. And they have to interview all the staff as well, as part of the evaluation process. So on that side I think that you need total commitment – that’s one of the lessons that we learned’. (HR Manager, private sector). ‘People had better work out, it’s the same with any job evaluation system, at a point in time some people will either believe that they have been downgraded or they will believe that they haven’t been upgraded and should have been. No matter which result you come up with – even if you give everyone a 30% pay rise – you still end up with a relativities issue – that’s got to handled sensitively and its got to be open and fair’. (Manager, ASPB). ‘We are actually having a problem with data collection, I have been going through – preparing for the different steps in the equal pay review and finding out what our systems are capable of – and we have a bit of a problem in data collection’. (Manager, public sector organisation in Wales). ‘I think that the basic one is to keep equal pay at the heart of all your decision making – not just pay because there are many other factors that influence pay - at the end of the day that you’ve really got to keep equality in mind in all policy decisions in personnel matters – including recruitment'. (Manager, Government body in Wales).
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‘I think one of the lessons is getting your data specification sorted out right at the beginning and to keep it fairly simple to get an overall view rather than trying to sort of pin everything down, every sort of specific inequality whether it is related to some fringe benefit here, or some sort of pensions contribution level there – you know, you can become very purist in this whole thing from an analytical point of view – one of our difficulties has been standing back from that and getting grips on it in way that makes some kind of management sense’. (HR manager, University).
5.12 Employers' views on the general, prevailing willingness to pursue equal pay reviews in their organisations Interviewees' comments revealed that amongst the majority of the organisations surveyed there was significant 'political' will to carry forward equal pay reviews and that top-level commitment from senior managers and co-working with trade unions were seen as important factors in underpinning such action. Managers from three public sector organisations that have yet to undertake reforms highlighted the need for the willingness of management, employees and trade unions to be matched by adequate funding to cover the additional costs of undertaking equal pay reviews. Others referred to the need to allay employee fears that they may lose out financially, viz. that equal pay reviews may reveal that individuals are being paid more than the market rate for their duties and that, in consequence, they may actually receive a pay cut. To address this some employers have put in place 'no-detriment' policies as part of their examination of discrimination in pay systems. The following are examples of the comments made in response to the question: 'how would you describe the “political” will - i.e. the extent to which the institutional culture – managers, all tiers of staff, unions – embraced the equal pay reforms'?
'At Board level if there were any issues we would be looking to solve them, to work in partnership with the trade unions, to resolve those'. (Manager, ASPB).
'In respect of staff in unitary authorities - ‘Until we can get some answers from the Assembly (Government) in terms of the costs of job evaluation I don’t think that people are actually thinking round equal pay issues in that much detail’. (HR manager, local authority). ‘thankfully the job evaluation has got support from senior management from the top and the unions are highly supportive of it – but obviously, I think that the biggest struggle is going to be interviewing employees
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themselves, I mean people are afraid of change, I mean they’re afraid that if this job evaluation means that there’s going to be a change – does it mean that their standing is going to go down – so to counteract that I think that we are going to be "red circling" salaries – so that the salaries do not drop … but I think that people are afraid of change – especially with regard to appraisal systems because they’ve never been appraised correctly in the past – so I think that there is a lot of fear there – that’s why we need the senior management support and the support of the unions basically’. (Manager, private sector).
5.13
Other useful points on equal pay identified by employers
Interviewees in the higher education sector referred to existing cross-border disparities in the funding made available by government for universities to tackle the equal pay issue. Interviewees highlighted the greater financial resources allocated in England compared to the situation in Wales. A number of interviewees highlighted that equal pay was related to a broad range of equality issues. For example, one public sector manager emphasised that equal pay was not a discrete issue but was related to the wider promotion of equality in the organisation, noting that: 'whilst you are obviously talking about equal pay we are not solely doing this with regard to equal pay but as part of the whole equalities issue, its global … across the board really'. Another manager with an employers' organisation stated that in his view: ‘the central issue is how do you get businesses to believe that it (equal pay reform) is a staff retention, staff development tool – rather than get it driven by legislation and fear of non compliance. I think that is the key to getting this further up the agenda'.
5.14 Employers' views on the Close the Pay Gap Campaign CD-ROM A telephone survey of a theoretical sample of 30 of the 500 private sector employers, headquartered in Wales, who received copies of the CD-Rom on the business case for promoting equal pay produced disappointing results. The purpose of this strand of the current research was to determine the effectiveness of this method of promoting the Close the Pay Gap Campaign. However, none of the managers interviewed were able to say with certainty that their organisation had received the CD-ROM, none recalled watching it and none had undertaken equal pay reforms as a result of receiving the CDROM (see Section 3.0 - Recommendations - above).
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6.0 The Impact of the Close the Pay Gap Campaign on Trade Unions in Wales During the first phase of the Close the Pay Gap Campaign over 500 trades union officials in Wales attended briefings on the subject. The WTUC contacted all union representatives and full time officers on its database and offered them all the opportunity to attend a training course on the specific issues of equal pay. Two equal pay training days were held for full time union officers. These were attended by a total of 20 - 25 regional officers. Reflecting the practice at a UK level, equal pay has become one of the modules at stage two of union representatives' professional training. The WTUC is also encouraging as many students as possible to complete a research project on equal pay as part of stage two of the their professional training.
6.01 Methodology A series of in-depth semi-structured interviews with managers and representatives was undertaken with seven major trades unions that have been involved in promoting equal pay in Wales. In addition to the following analysis, further detail from these data is set out in the appendices to this report.
6.02 How significant has been the Close the Pay Gap Campaign in influencing trades unions' approach to equal pay? The research interviews reveal that the Close the Pay Gap Campaign has been a significant influence on the trades unions' approach to this issue. It has been a catalyst and has accelerated progress towards addressing genderbased pay disparities affecting union members. The majority of union managers felt that the Campaign had either been significant in its own right and/or that it had reinforced their union's pre-existing approach to the gender pay gap (see Fig 6.01 - below). Individual comments included the following examples: 'I would say that it is groundbreaking. I mean I think the one thing the Welsh Assembly has achieved is bringing interested parties together people who have very similar agendas on equality and getting them to work together and I would say that it is producing results. I think that the cooperation and partnership in place in Wales seemingly now has become a model of best practice for other parts of the country to follow'. 'We certainly felt that the Campaign, the joint Campaign between the Assembly Government, EOC and WTUC was a big boost to our campaign. And obviously with the creation of the Assembly and its duty under its founding legislation in relation to equalities it has given a
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positive boost but we are still left with the major problem of how to fund the introduction of equal pay in local government'. 'I think that the position of the Assembly in particular is very important indeed because they can and have led by example as well as running public campaigns and so forth - and they have put their own house in order in terms of equal pay - which I think for us with [union] members that work there is clearly very important - because my union … mainly represents people in the public sector'.
Not significant already addressing issue 14%
reinforced preexisting approach 29%
significant/ useful 57%
Fig 6.01. Breakdown of responses to the question: 'How significant has been the Close the Pay Gap Campaign in influencing your trade union's approach to equal pay?'
6.03 Unions' views on the effectiveness of the media coverage of the Equal Pay Campaign? Almost a half of the union managers interviewed said that the media coverage achieved by Close the Pay Gap Campaign had been significant and/or useful (see Fig 6.02 - below). Although a third of interviewees questioned whether the media coverage had made a significant impact beyond union officials, human resource managers, equality practitioners and 'the political classes'.
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However, arguably, whilst the latter criticism may be seen as fair comment it must also be balanced against two key factors, the modest level of funding for the Campaign and the well documented weakness of the 'reach' of indigenous Welsh broadcast and print media in the face of a predominant cross-border agencies that, in large measure, reflect a London-centric news/ social priorities agenda. Specific comments by interviewees include the following 'I think it has certainly been helpful because it has created a public climate in which such things are accepted as things that need to be dealt with'. 'I think amongst the "political classes" if I can use that term? And those people that have to be engaged with the Assembly because of its position as the government for Wales it has raised considerably I think understanding of these issues and the need for something to be done 'I would say very successful [in raising awareness] in human resource terms [i.e. amongst HR practitioners] and the people involved in that kind of work - but less successful in terms of ordinary members and staff - because they did not know that the information was there'.
Could have been better 17%
Mixed 17%
Other 17%
significant / useful 49%
Fig 6.02. Breakdown of responses to the question: 'How would you describe the effectiveness of the media coverage of the Close the Pay Gap Campaign?' 48
6.04 Union officials assessment of the usefulness of the support material and guidance provided by the Equal Pay Campaign All of the union officials that were interviewed made a positive assessment of the support materials associated with the Close the Pay Gap Campaign. Examples of their responses include the following:
'The support material that was produced both by the WTUC and EOC Wales was second to none - I mean in the UK in my opinion. I know that the TUC's was a general campaign but with the EOC they actually went one stage further and produced SME support material, so in that sense it sort of gave them (employers) less of an excuse not to do the audit'. 'I think that it was useful in that lots of our members here - we had the kind of "begrudger attitude" - its taken me 15 years to get to where I am now (on the issue of equal pay) - how come these will get it done after four years or whatever! And I think that the Campaign made it clear as to why things were happening'.
6.05 Union officials' views on what was positive and useful about the Close the Pay Gap Campaign When asked what was positive and useful about the Close the Pay Gap Campaign the majority of the union officials' gave a positive assessment and referred to the quality and utility of the support materials, the benefits of partnership working, and the importance of the political support, leadership and commitment of the Campaign partners. Many responses focused on two areas as typified in the following quotations: 'I think that the publicity materials were absolutely excellent'. 'I actually think that it was a very good campaign. Certainly put together very, very well. The fact that it was a tripartite campaign with the three organisations coming together gave it tremendous credence out there in the outside world'.
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6.06 Ways in which the Close the Pay Gap could have been improved union officials' suggestions When asked about ways in which the Close the Pay Gap could have been improved union officials' responses were evenly split between the need for greater access to appropriate information (e.g. statistics and technical advice) and more involvement in the Campaign by private sector organisations (see Fig 6.03 - below). In the opinion of almost a third of respondents the Campaign could not have been improved upon. Specific examples of union officials' comments include the following:
'The only criticism that I would make was that on one or two occasions the lines got crossed about what was happening in England and what was happening in Wales. Especially at the TUC level, where the British TUC were running courses on equal pay for equal value and they were, or they did not really seem to be clued into the fact that we had this Welsh initiative carrying on here. But that isn't unusual because I think that a lot of institutions, what I would call UK institutions, have not yet got used to devolution and the way in which devolution is unfolding and sometimes in their head offices in London they are still thinking in old fashioned ways'.
'I go back to what I said about the private sector not being fully engaged. There has been a big focus on the public sector. But I don't think that the private sector have engaged in ways that people would have liked them to have been … Its difficult to highlight any weaknesses because this is so innovative. And, it is still in the early stages I would say. Undoubtedly there is a momentum in Wales now to tackle this in a way that, perhaps, we had never looked at before. And Wales is undoubtedly leading the way on this I would say'.
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Greater cross border coworking 14%
Couldn't be improved 30%
Targeting of nonunionised labour 14%
Greater involvement of private sector 14%
Not sure 14% Provide more info 14%
Fig. 6.03. Breakdown of responses to the question: 'In your view - what could have been improved on in the Close the Pay Gap Campaign by the Assembly Government and its partners'?
6.07 Factors that have led the trade unions to place equal pay on the bargaining agenda When asked about the factors that have led individual trades unions to place equal pay on the bargaining agenda officials identified the existence of equal pay cases and/ or anomalies and unfairness in employers' pay structures as the main factors underpinning their attempts to address the problem. However, as the words of interviewees reveal, officials also point to the difference that devolution and the Close the Pay Gap Campaign has made to the promotion of equal pay in Wales. In particular, in enabling the development of partnership working within a Wales-specific locus for public policy development and implementation. Examples of such comments include: 'Well, equal pay has been on our agenda for much longer than devolution. The difference was, I think, with devolution we have partners in power who were also prepared to do something about it. Previous to the National Assembly coming into being we were dealing with Whitehall politicians and Whitehall civil servants who when it came to rhetoric were all in favour of equality [of opportunity] but in practice they paid lip service to it. So that was the big change for us - having a 51
gender balance in the National Assembly has helped enormously because there was more focus on equality than there had ever been and equal pay was quite rightly one of their priority issues'. 'And we benefited from the fact that the politicians acknowledge that if they are going on an equal pay campaign they have to get their own house in order. And, as a result of that, it led to the [union name] signing a whole array of pay deals with the National Assembly first and following on from that - with National Assembly funded quangos. Now we think that we have pay systems which are delivering on our equality objective whereas previously we undoubtedly had schemes that were probably unlawful... I think that we would say that we have been signed up to the equal pay agenda for many, many years - but the momentum that devolution has brought that has managed to take us forward. I think undoubtedly, as well, the [Close the Pay Gap] Campaign has rubbed off on us because there is much more focus now on the part played by union our full time officers and indeed our lay officials, you know ordinary reps in the work place'. 'I think that there is much more understanding of pay inequalities and also how to go about dealing with pay inequalities when they exist. So its almost as if - this has always been on the agenda - but it has come to the forefront now … undoubtedly the work that the National Assembly has been doing and the Campaign, the tripartite campaign, has rubbed off on these Welsh based organisations … [their] management locally were picking up on some of the issues that the Assembly were doing and the Campaigning and so on and that was having an influence as well. So, undoubtedly, the Assembly are hitting the mark outside of their own terrain if you like, in other parts of the public sector'.
6.08 pay
Measures taken thus far by the unions surveyed to promote equal
Interviews with union officials show that the trades unions in a variety of ways are promoting equal pay. Unions have targeted a wide range of employers in both the public and private sectors in order to secure a commitment to undertake equal pay reviews. To date, and linked to the Close the Pay Gap Campaign, greater progress has been made in the public sector. A summary of the initiatives undertaken by public agencies is given in Section 8.11 below. The comments of union officials underlined the contrasting levels of progress made towards securing equal pay outcomes across the public sector. One interviewee observed that: 'there are some Welsh public sector organisations which are probably further ahead than the National Assembly is in its equality focus.
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ACCAC3 for example, are just about to provide a guide on work life balance that probably goes further than what the National Assembly currently has'. The present research reveals that just over a quarter of unions studied have thus far mainstreamed equal pay as an issue covered in collective bargaining with employers, and a similar proportion have actually secured equal pay reviews by employers. Other significant actions undertaken include putting ongoing pressure on employers who have yet to address gender pay disparities, the production of publicity materials and delivery of staff training on the issue. Examples of union's officials' comments include the following: 'On the issue of equal pay for equal value consideration … in the national agreement, what's commonly referred to as the Green Book, the provision as been in existence since 1997. Ok, we had local government reorganisation in Wales on 1st April 1996, that was disruptive, it took time for people to settle but you know, here we are 2003 and not one authority has implemented the equal pay for equal value scheme. Some authorities, a small number, have indicated that they anticipate being able to implement the job evaluation scheme by April 1st 2004. But I would imagine that most authorities will be way behind that [delivering] in 2005, 2006 and 2007'. 'The first thing that we felt was important was to train our officers and our representatives on equal pay. And so a lot of our officers have been through training organized by the TUC so that was the first stage. When we felt that they were sufficiently knowledgeable to take the issue forward our General Secretary wrote last October [2002] to all chief executives of the companies that we deal with and said that we wanted them to carry out an equal pay audit jointly with us. We've had a mixed response'. 'We have negotiated in Wales with the Assembly Government - and this is for a couple of years ago now - a pay system designed to overcome their own internal equal pay issues - and I was looking at last year's audit and its working - the pay gap in the Assembly is closing - it was not as bad in some places - but anyway its closing - and we have also negotiated pay arrangements with the other public sector employers that we negotiate in Wales … all very much modelled on the Assembly model in order to deal with equal pay issues in all of those employers'. 'We have been doing lots of presentations to representatives. Holding meetings with employers etcetera. And we have had two tacks: one, trying to mainstream equal pay into collective bargaining with the 3
Awdurdod Cymwysterau, Cwricwlwm ac Asesu Cymru (Education Qualifications, Curriculum and Assessment Authority for Wales)
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negotiating officers but also we are trying to raise the awareness of equal pay with our members'. 'What we have done is provide training to our reps… we raised through training - in conjunction with the EOC I have to say - and very good it was too, awareness of pay discrimination between men and women and the majority of the people who were in the room who were union representatives were men. And it was quite fascinating - certainly by the time that the morning session was finished the number of middleaged representatives that were saying "wow, I didn't realize that". And the tangible thing was that they all said "we are going back to try and sort something out"'.
Produced publicity material 17%
Staff training 11% Asked employers to conduct review s 17%
Mainstreamed in collective bargaining 28% Secured review s 27%
Fig. 6.04. Breakdown of responses to the question: 'Please outline the measures that you have taken thus far to promote equal pay?
6.09 Transferable lessons from the trades unions' approach to equal pay Interviewees highlighted a range of transferable lessons that they had learned in promoting equal pay with their own unions, ones that they believed others might learn from in planning their own approach to tackling the gender pay gap. These centred on: the need for adequate training of union staff; putting in place suitable information systems; the benefits of partnership working between unions, employers and official agencies; the need to follow through 54
and monitor equal pay reforms; the need for good communication; the necessity of educating employers about the problems of equal pay; and the need to follow a targeted approach to tackling the issue. Individual responses included the following points:
'I think of the key things that we did that others did not do was that we trained our officers and representatives first and then we launched the [Equal Pay] Campaign. And I know other unions did not do that. And then when they found that the employer wanted to talk about equal pay their representatives and negotiators were not sufficiently experienced to do it. So, it is key that the training is done first before equal pay reform is launched and that really did work'. 'There are big problems with the information systems. There is an assumption that they [employers] do monitor - well most of the finance companies don't seem to have very good statistics on disability or race - so actually the experience of actually getting the statistics - there are problems getting statistics out of the companies, they are very reluctant to share information on pay and they are very secretive on pay and that does not help either. If they are not transparent about pay then you cannot see where the problems are and try to work with them'. 'The thing that I've learned from is the benefit of operating closely with the EOC Wales … I personally have found that terrifically useful - so I personally would use the EOC but also other partners in carrying out campaigning as well'. 'It is absolutely essential to make sure that the employer really does grasp the issues involved … one would have thought that in this day and age you could assume a level of understanding generally speaking but I do not think that that has always been true … I think one should always never underestimate the fact that employers - half of the time simply do not know - its not malice - its genuine ignorance and it is important to find ways to genuinely find ways of communicating what the issues are so that employers do have a better understanding of them'. 'I think one thing about - what's interesting is that a lot of attention is being focused on Wales and what people are doing in Wales - because it is different to what is happening in England - particularly in local government terms. And the commitment to partnership working which the Welsh Assembly Government had is, I think, a very, very strong lesson to be learned from this exercise … I think what we can learn from this exercise is that if we sit down examine the problems and difficulties and try and work in partnership to overcome them we've got a much better chance than the confrontational approach'. 'Careful planning. Selected targets - and not a scattergun approach. And follow-up!'
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6.10 Union officials' views on the general, prevailing 'political' will to pursue equal pay reforms Union officials cited mixed attitudes, apprehension, and an improving 'climate for reform' when asked about the general, prevailing 'political' will on all sides to promote equal pay. Specific examples of these comments include:
'It’s a mixed bag. I mean if it’s a trade union that's approaching them [employers] to do it - they approach it with some fear as if, "how are they going to catch us out this time". As if we are somehow going to fix the figures - which of course we cannot do. But there is a certain amount of distrust there - let's put it that way'. 'It has been mixed - [a major financial institution] have done an audit, another [major financial institution] - have actually refused point blank saying that they don't have a problem with equal pay but they can't know that until they have actually done an audit. We may have to take the tack that to take this issue forward we may have to take some equal pay cases to tribunal - to put more pressure on the companies to do audits - but even the ones that have done it there are problems obtaining the information and there are problems with "well we've done the audit - what do we do now?" attitudes and then them having an action plan and taking it forward'. 'It has changed. Certainly, within our own organisation people get used to how things are done - and part of what we were trying to do, certainly last year, was to educate our own people about what pay discrimination was and I have to say that the attitude is a lot different to what it was two years ago. So that has improved'.
6.11 Additional points identified by union officials as important to the successful promotion of equal pay When asked if there were other areas that they felt were important to highlight in relation to the promotion of equal pay, union officials identified a number of areas. These included: the need for new legislation making it a mandatory requirement that employers undertake equal pay reviews; the need to educate and end the prevailing attitude of some women trade union members that it is socially acceptable for men to earn more money for doing the same work as women; to encourage employees to discuss their pay with colleagues in order to raise awareness of anomalies and unfair pay; and the need to educate women about their basic legal rights in relation to the Equal Pay Act.
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Individual responses included the following comments: 'I think that women need to be helped to understand what their rights are and how it works and what they can do about it. This is particularly important because some of these differences in pay seem to be accepted even now - that I find quite extraordinary coming from a background of equal pay. Sisters have got to do it for themselves… [we currently have] women's reluctance to "upset the apple cart" and do anything about it'. 'It is surprising how many women - I am not talking about women of 50+ or anything - I'm talking about even young women who think that its actually ok for men to be paid a higher wage than women - even women who are single parents … there is still this "valleys mentality" and the Valleys mentality is not just in south Wales, I've come across it in north Wales as well - well if you can't sell it [equal pay] to your own I'm talking about trades union members now - if there are some members that cannot see the justice of it - it is very worrying - I am not saying there's thousands but there is a significant number to make me worry about it'. 'We very much feel that the pay audits should be compulsory - at the moment they are voluntary. And we believe that until they are compulsory a lot of employers are just not going to do them'. 'Well, one thing I would like to see more of is people discussing salaries more. It should not be such a secretive matter. I know that that is probably very difficult. But if people know what [pay] other people are on then they can identify when there is a discrepancy and we can sort it out'.
7.0 An Evaluation of the Close the Pay Gap Campaign Seminars for Senior Public Sector Professionals in Wales 7.01 Overall assessment In 2002-3 a series of seminars were held as part of the Close the Pay Gap Campaign. These were designed to raise awareness and assist managers in the Health Service, higher education and local government in Wales. The Campaign partners successfully enlisted the support of the Welsh Assembly Government minister with responsibility for equality of opportunity. Ministerial invites to the seminars provided the context for potential top-level commitment to equal pay reform by ensuring the participation of senior managers and chief executives. Analysis of feedback forms completed by those attending the seminars reveals that managers rated their usefulness highly. Broadly, a third
57
said they were 'useful' and two-thirds said the seminars were 'very useful'. There was a consistency in the positive assessment made by attendees at each of the three themed seminars (see Fig. 6.05 below).
NHS Wales
Quite useful
Local Government
Useful Very useful
Higher Education
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Fig 6.05 Participants' assessment of the usefulness Close the Pay Gap public sector seminars. Delegates at each of the seminars were requested to note on evaluation forms their response to the following question: 'as a result of the seminar, what have you decided upon as your action point for change?' The resulting responses reveal the significant and wide-ranging potential outcomes associated with this part of the Close the Pay Gap Campaign (see Sections 7.02 - 7.04).
7.02 Participant's assessment of the Close the Pay Gap seminar for health professionals Health Service professions identified a number of key points for action following the seminar. These centred on: linking equal pay to the restructuring of the NHS in Wales, the implementation of the NHS strategy 'Agenda for Change', and the need to raise awareness of the equal pay issue amongst colleagues. Specific comments included the following: 'to target equal pay in performance review systems', 'the need to gather more information', 'continue working in partnership', 'brief colleagues and discuss the implications for Payroll in particular', 'to promote Agenda for Change as part of the 'equality' agenda - and not forgetting other discriminatory elements that contribute to gender inequality', 'to 58
find further information on local pay in order to prepare for Agenda for Change and implement practices/ changes that will reduce [equal pay] problems', 'to discuss key issues with other managers at the strategy meetings', 'press the Welsh Assembly Government for action on Agenda for Change', 'formation of implementation teams', 'research Agenda for Change and try and identify the key issues affecting NHS Wales restructuring and with primary care', 'to review local progress and knowledge regarding Agenda for Change - in particular how Local Health Board structures take account of equal pay strategies', 'need to take up issue with non-NHS membership', 'to encourage greater awareness amongst colleagues. Ensure that equal pay issues are addressed in the Joint Trust Pay Strategy', and 'to start raising awareness in my organisation'.
7.03 Participant's assessment of the Close the Pay Gap seminar for higher education professionals Delegates that attended the Close the Pay Campaign's higher education seminar in January 2002 noted the need to put the issue before senior managers, to consider the resource implications of future reforms, and the need to engage in the work of HERA. Specific comments included the following: 'To continue with work on the HERA based project within Wales', 'to progress arrangements regarding the Equal Pay Review Study', 'I will be working closely with ELWa to move the [equal pay] audit forward as quickly as possible', 'too soon to say but I now have a better steer in terms of how and where should sit in the HR strategy', 'to highlight the issue to senior management and make it a key point in our HR strategy', 'confirmed what I already thought necessary', 'sustain my encouragement of sector to do equal pay reviews', 'I will report back', 'consider equal pay toolkit provided by UCEA', 'to arrange a meeting of relevant managers and trades union within next week to place firmly as current urgent agenda item', 'to find out more with regard to HERA and how valuable a toolkit it could be', 'to consider an equal pay audit', and 'to ensure that our senior management are aware of the importance of this issue'.
7.04 Participant's assessment of the Close the Pay Gap seminar for local government professionals Local Government professions attending the Campaign's seminar identified a range of points of action prompted by the day's discussions. These included: the need to raise awareness of the issue amongst colleagues and elected members, and to continue preparatory work for job evaluations. Selected comments included:
59
'Push employer harder', 'to take issues back to elected members and corporate directors', 'to work closely with WAG and the EOC on this issue', 'initially, to draw attention to overall argument', 'to continue to push through the Job Evaluation user group', 'feedback the key learning points to my colleagues', 'to identify the issues', 'to examine the simplest of stages and to recommend and develop recommended stages and put to employers', 'discuss with other Chief Executives', 'to continue with job evaluations', 'keep up the pace', and 'get on with it!'.
8.0 Progress Made against the Joint Working Group's Action Plan 8.01 Overview The Campaign's Joint Action Plan set out seven headings for action in promoting equal pay. Of these, greatest progress has been made in relation to 'raising awareness and understanding of the issue', and 'ensuring that employers and unions know how to implement equal pay'. Particular emphasis has been placed on reform in the public sector. As the Campaign partners observed in spring 2003: 'a significant number of tasks have been completed and the Campaign is within its original budget. However, a considerable amount of work is yet to be done. This is not surprising considering the breadth of the Joint Action Plan and the tight timescale of one year'.xxvii Less progress has been made in relation to the remaining objectives set out in the Joint Action Plan. These are: action to reform equal pay legislation, enhance transparency and accountability, amend social and labour market policy to compliment equal pay resources, address issues of the unequal impact of women’s family responsibilities and job segregation. Indeed, a number of the foregoing objectives will require cross-border co-working between agencies and the co-operation of the UK government and its Whitehall departments. It is likely that these issues will be driven forward in the second phase of the Welsh Close the Pay Gap Campaign and that the new emphasis on partnership working achieved since June 2001 will provide a strong basis for future reform in a manner that will have more of an impact on the private sector (see section 3.0, 'Future tasks that are required to close the gender pay gap in Wales: Policy Recommendations'). In order to apply key elements set out in the Joint Action Plan to the public sector the 2001 pay remit guidance to Assembly Sponsored Bodies stated that:
60
'The Assembly has already stated our intent to take the lead on promoting equal pay through its own arrangements and those of its funded bodies. We are committed to meeting the recommendations of the Equal Pay Task Force whose report was presented to the Equal Opportunities Committee in February 2001. For this year’s pay round all bodies will be expected to undertake a full equality audit in advance of formal pay negotiations, the terms of reference will be jointly agreed with the trade unions'.xxviii Set against the targeted approach applied by the Campaign partners to the Joint Action Plan, the following summary sets out the impact of the Campaign on the public sector.
8.02
Contract Compliance and the promotion of equal pay
Existing Assembly Government policy documents and the Joint Working Group's Action Plan suggest that greater future use might be made of contract compliance in order to promote equality in the employment practices of suppliers to the Assembly Government and the Welsh public sector. Official papers conclude that: 'The Assembly’s purchasing procedures in relation to promoting the principle of equality of opportunity are covered under the heading ‘Statutory Obligations’ which reads: ‘The Contractor shall comply with its statutory obligations for the time being in force including, but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, those relating to health, safety and hygiene and those under legislation in respect of employment, race relations and sexual discrimination. The Contractor shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that observance of these provisions by all employees or agents of the Contractor and all subcontractors employed in the execution of the Contract. The Contractor shall indemnify the Client and the Crown against all actions, claims, losses, demands, costs and expenses which the Client may suffer or incur as a result of or in connection with any breach of these conditions'.xxix However, despite the issuing of this general equality guidance to contractors, much further work remains to be done in order to promote the specific matter of equal pay. The Welsh Assembly Government Procurement Unit will shortly be undertaking their first review of key contractors listed amongst the 875 organisations that have signed up to the Winning Our Business voluntary code of practice.4 The Unit will ask signatories, inter alia, the steps that they have taken with regard to promoting equality of opportunity. The precise monitoring questions have yet to be decided upon. Accordingly, this fact and the review of the Welsh Assembly Government's procurement policyxxx that is 4
See www.winningourbusiness.com
61
scheduled to take place in late 2003, both present a 'window of opportunity'. They can be used to set out more prescriptive guidance on the specific issue of equal pay, by, for example, asking employers what they have done to ensure that they comply with the terms of the Equal Pay Act. This action is necessary because it is clear that, to date, the promotion of equal pay for employees of suppliers to the Welsh public sector has not happened in the manner consistent with some early policy documents. One example dates back to January 2001 and it states that: ‘primary care is delivered by a large number of independent contractors who employ their own staff. The National Assembly will encourage them to adhere to good employment practice. This should include …equality of opportunity for all staff … by March 2002, all health organisations will have similarly scrutinised existing and future contracts with the private sector. All health organisations will be held accountable for progress in these areas annually’ (Improving Health In Wales: A Plan for the NHS with its partners, Jan. 2001, p.52). There is much scope to improve upon the existing and highly generalised guidance issued to contractors and grant recipients on the subject of equality of opportunity by making clear reference to equal pay. An example of the current approach is provided by Finance Wales, the body that administers state enterprise grants. It makes but one non-specific reference to equality of opportunity in its eligibility guidelines, entitled 'Who May Apply': 'you may apply to Finance Wales if: You are a small to medium-sized business (SME) with fewer than 250 employees, Your annual turnover does not exceed EURO 40 million (£25 million) and your balance sheet total does not exceed EURO 27 million (£17 million). In addition, you will improve your chance of success if you are able to demonstrate that… you have considered equal opportunity, environmental and Information Communication Technology issues'.xxxi
8.03 Awdurdod Cymwysterau, Cwricwlwm ac Asesu Cymru - ACCAC The Joint Working Group's Action Plan made a number of suggestions in relation to promoting equal pay and tackling job segregation in the schools' curriculum. Progress is being made in this area. Awdurdod Cymwysterau, Cwricwlwm ac Asesu Cymru (Education Qualifications, Curriculum and Assessment Authority for Wales) ACCAC has produced a number of key publications that give guidance to schools on promoting equality and overcoming sex stereotyping.xxxii One such document states that: 'effective careers education and guidance, linked with other areas of the curriculum, should now play a key role in helping all young people develop the skills they will need in the jobs market, in challenging their preconceptions and stereotypes, raising their ambitions, and making them fully aware of the opportunities available in education and work' (ACCAC, 2001, p.1).
62
One example where equal pay now features in curriculum guidance is amongst the suggested 'selected examples of other opportunities to contribute to equal Opportunities' in ACCAC's 'Equal opportunities and diversity in the school curriculum in Wales'. This states that for 'Key Stage 3 and the teaching of English Oracy: '1.1 talk for a range of purposes, including: argument, debate, prediction and persuasion e.g. class debate about stereotypical views of gender roles in society focus on role of education, job choices, equal pay or other aspect' (ACCAC, 2001, Appendix 1, p.62).
8.04 Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales ESTYN 'Estyn’s corporate strategy 2002-2005 states that: 'Estyn’s mission is: the achievement of excellence for all in education and training in Wales. We will do this by providing an independent, high quality inspection and advice service that will be distinctive to and meets the needs of Wales. Equality of opportunity, diversity and continuous improvement will be at the heart of what we seek both to promote and achieve'. The agency's Annual Plan 2002-2003 notes that: 'In 2002-2003 in particular, we will specifically review our corporate health by undertaking an assessment using the Business Excellence Model. In addition, we will complete a review of the performance management system in Estyn. This follows on from an equal pay audit and consequential pay re-structuring undertaken in 2001-2002' (p. 4). It continues: 'During 2001-2002, Estyn carried out an Equal Pay Audit in line with National Assembly guidance and radically re-structured its pay system for officers below the Senior Civil Service. A review of the performance and appraisal system will be completed during 2002-2003' (p.18).
8.05 Careers Wales The eight careers companies across Wales that form part of Careers Wales are implementing the all-Wales Quality Standard that sets out the attainments that schools have to meet in their provision of careers advice. Schools are currently in the process of signing up to the Quality Standard Awards. For these, future assessment will in part be based upon schools meeting the
63
outcomes in ACCAC's career guidance framework including the equality guidance. Further work in this area might be developed to further the Joint Working Group's aims although any decision to produce more prescriptive careers guidance (presently, such matters are not a mandatory requirement for schools) that includes reference to equal pay would need to be balanced against the current administrative burden faced by education practitioners. Careers Wales's guidance entitled 'Choices 14+ A Guide for Parents and Guardians 2002-2003' (2002) emphasises the need to overcome sex stereotyping when young people make career choices. This publication states that: 'It is important to encourage young people to explore career options that have previously been stereotyped. For example it is no longer true that car mechanics is a male occupation nor is hairdressing simply a choice for females' (p.6).
8.06 The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales - HEFCW The Assembly Government's strategic document for higher education in Wales, 'Reaching Higher' (2002) refers to the report entitled 'New Directions for Higher Education Funding Universities' published by the UK Funding Options Review Group (2001). The former document notes that any future funding mechanism will need to 'meet the statutory requirements on equal pay' (p.83). Moreover, the Assembly Government's policy document 'The Learning Country: A Paving Document - A Comprehensive Education and Lifelong Learning Programme to 2010 in Wales' (2001) states that: 'higher education institutions will be encouraged to undertake pilot equal pay reviews in this financial year, following EOC guidelines' (p.38). HEFCW has funded a pilot equal pay audit involving Bangor University, University of Glamorgan and NEWI. A report will produced in late 2003. In her 2003 remit letter to the Chair of Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) the Assembly Government Education Minister states that: 'It is important that HEIs meet their obligations as employers and that HEFCW reflects statutory obligations in implementing Assembly policy. I would refer you to their statutory obligations in terms of equal opportunities, including equal pay, race equality and disability discrimination'.xxxiii The minister's letter continues: 'I am pleased that the sector and the Council have begun to tackle the issue of equal pay. This remains a key area of concern to me. I await the outcome of the equal pay audits and the job evaluation exercises, which will colour my future approach. It is essential that institutions acknowledge, and respond to, their statutory obligations in this field. I
64
have previously announced the inclusion in the Council’s budget of £10 million to support work to take forward the Bett report'.
8.07 Education and Learning Wales - ELWa ELWa, or 'Education and Learning Wales', is an ASPB. It has undertaken a number of reforms to promote equal pay, and equality of opportunity more generally. Key policy statements include the following examples: '1. Commitment to Equal Opportunities - 1.1 The National Council/Higher Education Council is committed to a policy of providing equal opportunities for all. [and …] 3. Equal Opportunities Legislation: 3.1 All personnel policies and procedures will comply with the requirements of the following Acts: Sex Discrimination Act 1975, Equal Pay Act 1970'' (ELWa Equal Opportunities Policy and Procedure).xxxiv 'Demonstrating best practice as an equal opportunities employer, and working with our learning providers to ensure that they also recognise the benefits of diversity in the workforce' (ELWA Corporate Strategy, March 2002, p.14). 'We set out to create a new type of organisation to meet the diverse and changing needs of modern Wales …this has been facilitated by …introducing common terms and conditions of service for staff, including equal pay'… 'To address the legacy of six inherited sets of terms and conditions, a substantial review of job sizing, market positioning and reward structures was undertaken. As a result, single and coherent policies have been established, incorporating the requirements of the Welsh Assembly Government for equal pay. Policy development was underway on key themes, such as diversity and work-life balance' (The National Council - ELWa, 'Learning Works' Annual Report 2001-02, p.10 and p.35). ELWa put a new three-year pay scales system in place in early 2001; this will be revised in late 2003. The Close the Pay Gap Campaign's Joint Working Group Action Plan stated that 'ELWa could: ensure that recruitment and promotion procedures encourage women and men apply and secure jobs in non-traditional areas, and develop measures to overcome job segregation and assist the career development of part-time workers'. In relation to these areas, ELWa has introduced job sizing in order to promote equal pay such that before any post is advertised, a job-sizing panel considers relevant details. Panellists use the new pay grading system (introduced in April 2001) to determine the salary for the post in a process that is 'blind' to the sex of the future appointee. ELWa has also recently introduced a Flexible Work Policy (summer 2003) in order that members of staff can, for example, request to work solely during (schools') term time. In addition, the organisation's current policy is to promote
65
flexibility in part-time working such that work patterns may, by arrangement, vary from week to week. Extracts from ELWa's policies on equal pay, equal opportunities, and staff recruitment and selection policy are included in Appendix 6.
8.08
NHS Wales
Agenda for Change (c. March 2003)xxxv is a UK government policy that will impact on pay practices in NHS Wales. It proposes co-working in which 'parties agree to work in partnership to deliver a new NHS pay system which supports NHS service … [and delivers] equal pay for work of equal value criteria' (p.5). According to the Welsh Assembly Government's (p.46) 'Improving Health in Wales: A Plan for the NHS and its Partners' (2001) these reforms will be introduced in 'early 2004' (p.46). The Assembly Government Minister for Open Government has urged Wales’ largest employer of women to take the lead on equal pay and gender stereotyping. He said that 'the NHS is experiencing severe staff shortages and therefore it is critically important for us to increase the pool of talent from which we recruit. If the service does not breakdown the stereotypes and the service does not offer equal pay for work of equal value, the service will not be able to recruit more women into the service… it is one of those self-evident truths that all workers deserve to be paid the rate for the job. Unfortunately, the reality is very different'.xxxvi In addition, NHS Wales has been targeted in Assembly Government policies on contract compliance (see Section 8.02).
8.09 Local Government The Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) sets out the way in which the forthcoming Equality Standard for unitary authorities will promote equal pay: 'The Equality Standard for Local Government requires that equal pay reviews be undertaken, and the expectation is that the system followed would be that published by the Equal Opportunities Commission. As the model was developed for inclusion in the new Employment code of practice, it is recommended that, in principle, it be followed. Issues concerning the relationships between single status Job Evaluation reviews, the Equal Pay Review model and the levels of the Standard are being worked upon at the moment by a cross-Equal Opportunities working group and it intends to offer formal advice that takes the different perspectives into account. This should be available from the employers' organisation's website from September 2003 onwards'.xxxvii The Welsh Local Government Association's minutes of the Equalities Bodies Partnership Meeting held on 22 April 2003 reveal that these plans are in their early stages. This fact supports the observations of some professionals
66
interviewed in the course of this research that it will be 2005-7 before the majority of councils have fully addressed equal pay issues. The minutes note that, 'the [WLGA Equalities] Unit is aware that 21 of the authorities were working towards its adoption or implementation and most were working towards completing Level 1, or had combined Levels 1 and 2, by April to September 2004.5 Whilst many were taking a strategic approach, there was still a need to make links to existing initiatives and plans and ensure that the structure the Standard develops is embedded across the functions and policies of the authority' (Item 4.1). These Minutes made direct reference to the timetable for achieving equal pay, which was described as a 'huge institutional change', in the following terms: 'In terms of equal pay, the EOC noted the need for authorities to take up the challenge and start the process. An authority had raised with the EOC their wish for a strategic approach across Welsh local government and …The Committee had said they planned to invite the WLGA back in 6 months or so for a further update, and it was felt that little progress could realistically be achieved in that time. However, it was suggested that a further analysis could be conducted … The EOC would also consider the matter and contact the WLGA to discuss the subject further' (Item 8.2).
8.10 The Welsh Development Agency A summary of the Welsh Development Agency's actions in relation to equal pay is provided in its Corporate Plan 2003-2006 entitled '‘Creating Success Together'. This document states that: 'Importantly, as an organisation committed to improving staff conditions, a major element of our request for additional costs arises from the need to ensure that the Agency fully meets with the Assembly’s pay remit and that the equal pay and the job evaluation exercise recently completed can be implemented without delay' (p.21). The Plan continues: 'Employee Relations: ■ Establishment of a new pay structure which is understandable, fair and robust, and reflects our business needs. ■ Development of closer links with the Trade Unions to deal with key issues such as the management of change and alternative methods of dispute resolution. 5
Level 1. of the Equality Standard for Local Government in Wales requires: Councils to 'Make a corporate commitment to a fair employment and equal pay policy' (para 1.1.5). Level 2. states: 'Develop fair employment and equal pay policy element of the Corporate Equality Plan - Checklist item - Has work on the equal pay review started? - Is the data on pay sufficient to enable an equal pay review to be carried out? If not, are plans in hand to ensure that data is (sic) being collected?' (para 2.4.1).
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In addition we will monitor the human resource outputs from ‘Creating Success Together’ which will include: ■
More effective and efficient decision making.
■
Equality of pay and opportunity.
■
Improvement in staff satisfaction.
■
Increase in management skills.
■
Better measurement and analysis of our performance' (p. 25).
In addition to the foregoing, the WDA SME Equality Project has undertaken a raft of initiatives to promote equal pay, including the publication of 'Equal Pay, Fair Pay: A Small Business Guide to Effective Pay Practices' (March 2003).
8.11 Summary: Selected initiatives to promote equal pay by public sector agencies in Wales A number of Assembly Sponsored Public Bodies restructured their pay systems in order to close any gender pay gaps during 2001. In many cases these reforms were introduced as part of multi-year pay deals. These deals are due to be reviewed in anticipation of the 2004 Welsh public sector pay round when it will be necessary to check whether more needs to be done to close the pay gap. There may be a need to address issues of equal value and job segregation more thoroughly in this context of these reviews. An overview of the progress made across the public sector in Wales is set out in Table 8.01 below.
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Public Sector Agency
Action on Equal Pay
Welsh Development Agency
Completed equal pay and job evaluation exercise. Requested additional funding from the Welsh Assembly Government in order to address pay disparities. NMGW completed a review and streamlining of its pay and grading system - as well as a review of incremental pay scales in 2003. When evaluations first began there was approximately a 29% gap between the sexes – this has narrowed now to a 12% gap. Ad hoc reviews of the equal pay situation are now undertaken. A 'no detriment principal' was applied to the NMGW's equal pay reforms so that employees’ pay was not undermined by the review. A summary of the NMGW's equal pay audit and the conclusions that led to the aforementioned reforms are provided in Appendix 7. HEFCW has funded a pilot equal pay audit involving Bangor University, University of Glamorgan and NEWI. A report will produced in late 2003. The Assembly Government's education policy documents 'The Learning Country: A Paving Document A Comprehensive Education and Lifelong Learning Programme to 2010 in Wales' (2001) and 'Reaching Higher' (2002) both address the issue of equal pay. The former states that: 'higher education institutions will be encouraged to undertake pilot equal pay reviews in this financial year, following EOC guidelines' (p.38). During 2001-2002, Estyn carried out an Equal Pay Audit in line with National Assembly guidance and radically re-structured its pay system for officers below the Senior Civil Service level. ELWa's Annual report (2003) states: 'a substantial review of job sizing, market positioning and reward structures was undertaken. As a result, single and coherent policies have been established, incorporating the requirements of the Welsh Assembly Government for equal pay. Policy development was underway on key themes, such as diversity and work-life balance' (p.35). The Welsh Assembly Government's 'Improving Health in Wales: A Plan for the NHS and its Partners' (2001) refers to the implementation in 2004 of the UK government policy Agenda for Change (March 2003) with its requirement for new pay structures that promote equal pay.
National Museums and Galleries of Wales
Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) / Universities
Estyn - H.M. Inspectorate of Schools in Wales ELWa
NHS Wales / subordinate organisations
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The Countryside Council for Wales reviewed and Countryside Council for revised pay bands in order to promote equal pay. Rectifications were made in light of pay disparities. Wales This was done through co-working with a trade union. Ongoing annual monitoring of equal pay now takes place for 550 members of staff. Awdurdod ACCAC has produced a number of key publications Cymwysterau, that give guidance to schools on promoting equality Cwricwlwm ac and overcoming sex stereotyping Asesu Cymru (Education Qualifications, Curriculum and Assessment Authority for Wales) ACCAC Careers In future Careers Wales will be responsible for Wales monitoring schools' responses to ACCAC's career guidance framework including the equality guidance. Careers Wales have introduced some guidance criteria in their publications aimed at ending sex stereotyping. Finance States to potential economic grant applicants that: 'you Wales will improve your chance of success if you are able to demonstrate that… you have considered equal opportunities' Welsh Local Unitary authorities are making varied progress in Government preparation for the introduction of The Equality Standard for Local Government. This requires equal pay reviews. Environment The Assembly Government Minister's remit letter to the Agency Wales Environment Agency does not make specific reference to equal pay. It does refer to the general requirement to promote equality of opportunity and it states 'I expect the Agency to continue to be committed to the Assembly’s underlying themes of equality of opportunity and social inclusion in everything it does'.xxxviii The National Library's Quinquennial Review (June National 2002)xxxix states that 'the pursuit of equal opportunities Library of Wales within the Library is evidenced by the good level of internal communications now established and will be furthered when pay band issues are tackled in line with recommendation 7 of the Stage I report (p. 38, para 4.18). The Report continues: 'In addition the Library should be requested to put forward their plans for implementation of a new pay structure for consideration by the Welsh Assembly Government, aimed at creating an environment where the anomalies 70
identified in the equal pay audit could be dealt with on an ongoing basis, and within which new staff would not be deterred by available starting salaries. (p.77). The Patent The Patent Office is a Welsh based cross-border Office agency. Although not an ASPB it has developed good links with the National Assembly. Its Annual Report 2001- 02 states that: 'The Patent Office is bound by the principles of the Equal Opportunities Commission’s Code of Practice on Equal Pay, and we conducted our first pay equality review in May 2001. During 2001, we revised our pay system to take account of equal pay legislation, but also low pay issues and the Office’s commitment to the government’s modernising agenda. The new pay system establishes a unified pay system for all staff (p.18). Table 8.01 Summary: Selected initiatives to promote equal pay by public sector agencies in Wales
9.0 An assessment of the media coverage and publicity achieved by the Close the Pay Gap Campaign In terms of general awareness the campaign has achieved broad media coverage in the English and Welsh languages. Campaign coverage has been on television, public and commercial radio stations, and in the local and the national Welsh print-medium press. In terms of the broadcast media, the campaign partners achieved repeated coverage (28 instances) in six of the thirteen months between March 2002 and April 2003 - albeit with a gap of no recorded coverage between July and October 2002. Records show that the Campaign secured 63 articles in print over the same period - a mean frequency of over one press article per week (see Table 9.01 - below). In addition, on Friday 8th March 2002 the Welsh Daily newspaper 'The Western Mail' published a bilingual 12-page supplement entitled 'The Welsh Femail' that presented detailed coverage of the Close the Pay Gap Campaign. This sustained coverage is a significant achievement given what is often seen as a general reluctance to cover social issues in the face of the media and press concern with human interest/ personality stories and sports reportage - and the general weakness of an indigenous Welsh-focused news agenda from titles whose editorial priorities are set over the border in London. Moreover, whilst sometimes skilfully developing a human interest 'hook', media coverage also reported the underlying, research-based underpinnings of the gender pay gap in stories that also explained the wider statistical context to pay disparities between men and women. In addition, bus adverts advised the public to contact the EOC Wales advice line for more information about equal pay. These adverts appeared on 62 71
buses in five towns and cities in Wales during February and March 2003. Advice leaflets were also distributed to Citizen Advice Bureaux and public libraries in Wales encouraging people to find out more about their right to equal pay. EOC Wales officials report that approximately 30 employers and 4 individuals contacted the Close the Pay Campaign help line in the wake of the associated media and advertising campaign in order to request further information on ways to address gender pay disparities. The number of people contacting the help line is not an absolute measure of the level of awareness created by this initiative - many people will have seen and taken account of the Campaign advertising without contacting the helpline. The Close The Pay Gap Mobile Exhibition stands, leaflets, CDs and promotional materials have been present at trade and business exhibitions, Eisteddfodau and other public events. In May 2002 the EOC launched a student equal pay campaign in Wales to raise awareness amongst student of the 15% pay gap that opens between men and women within three years of graduation. This partnership campaign with NUS Wales enabled student sabbatical officers to distribute publicity materials in student unions and at careers fairs.
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Broadcast Media Month/ Media Outlet 0 3 / 0 2 The Western Mail newspaper The South Wales Echo Swansea Evening Post Daily Post Y Cymro News of the World Wales South Wales Evening Post The Welsh Daily Mirror Specialist publications e.g. Equal Opportunities Review Misc publications Commercial radio stations 1 (e.g. Red Dragon Radio/ Real Radio) BBC Radio Cymru 1 BBC Radio Wales 4 BBC Wales TV 0 ITV Wales TV 0 S4C 1/ 2, TV 0 6 TOTALS
T O T A L S
0 4 / 0 2 -
0 5 / 0 2 -
0 6 / 0 2 -
0 7 / 0 2 -
0 8 / 0 2 -
0 9 / 0 2 -
1 0 / 0 2 -
1 1 / 0 2 -
1 2 / 0 2 -
0 1 / 0 3 -
0 2 / 0 3 -
0 3 / 0 3 -
0 4 / 0 3 -
0
2
-
-
0
0
0
1
3
-
2
0
1
-
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 1 0
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
1 0 0 0 0
1 1 1 1 1
0 0 0 0 0
0 1 0 2 1
0 0 0 0 0
1 1 0 0 0
4
0
4
0
0
0
0
0
2
8
0
5
0
3
28
Table 9.01a, Monthly Instances of Media Coverage of the Campaign in Broadcast Media 03/02- 04/03.
-
10
7 1 4 2
Press coverage Month/ Media Outlet 0 3 / 0 2 The Western Mail newspaper 7 The South Wales Echo 2 Swansea Evening Post 1 Daily Post 2 Y Cymro 1 News of the World Wales 0 South Wales Evening Post 1 The Welsh Daily Mirror 1 Specialist publications e.g. 3 Equal Opportunities Review Misc publications 0 Commercial radio stations (e.g. Red Dragon Radio/ Real Radio) BBC Radio Cymru BBC Radio Wales BBC Wales TV ITV Wales TV S4C 1/ 2, TV 1 TOTALS 8
T O T A L S
0 3 / 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 4 / 0 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
0 -
0 -
1 -
7
-
-
-
-
-
5
1
0
5
63
0 4 / 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 5 / 0 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
0 6 / 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 7 / 0 2 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 8 / 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
0 9 / 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
1 0 / 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 1 / 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
1 2 / 0 2 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 1 / 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3
0 2 / 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 -
0 -
0 -
0 -
0 -
4
0 -
1 -
1 -
0 -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0
6
0
6
6
6
0
4
6
Table 9.01b, Monthly Instances of Media Coverage of the Campaign in the Press 03/02- 04/03.
74
29 4 2 2 1 0 1 3 14
-
10.0 The effectiveness and value for money of the Close The Pay Gap Campaign The Close the Pay Gap Campaign achieved good value for money. From a modest budget of £75,000 (boosted by some of the Campaign partner organisations with modest financial supplements and the provision of significant time and human resource contributions) the pay gap issue received significant and sustained media coverage for the duration of the first phase of the Campaign. In addition, the Campaign was successful in its provision of quality support materials and in securing a partnership approach between agencies. This had the effect of raising the issue of gender pay disparities up the social and political agenda. In terms of the public sector: it engaged with, improved the inter-sectoral communications between, and secured a commitment from, many senior public sector managers on the issue of equal pay. Whereas the Campaign partners have not achieved all of the objectives set out in the original Joint Action Plan they have adopted a targeted approach to eliminating gender pay disparities. Given the limited size of the available budget action was prioritised in the public sector implicitly acknowledging that a different order of resources will be necessary to achieve all of the Campaign's original aims - notably in relation to the private sector and in raising the general public's awareness of the issue. A summary of some of the principal costs of the Campaign is provided in Table 10.01 (below).
Costs Production of Equal Pay Leaflet (20,000) Production of Equal Pay Briefing packs Production of Equal Pay Posters Production of Equal Pay CD-Rom Production of Equal Pay Web pages Funding of Mobile Equal Pay Exhibition Correspondence/ mailshots Press launch Evaluation research Total
£'s 2,000 2,000 1,000 15,000 1,000 5,000 1,000 1,000 9,000 37,000
Table 10.01, The Principal Costs Of The Close the Pay Gap Campaign
11.0 Conclusion 75
Achievements Overall, the present evaluation shows that the initial reforms introduced by the Close The Pay Gap Campaign partners and overseen by the Joint Working Group have largely been effective in developing a new strategic approach to tackling discrimination in pay systems - and the wider issue of the gender pay gap (the main study findings are summarise in section 2.0 - 'executive summary' - above). In terms of understanding the process of change in relation to social issues such as the pay gap, the Campaign marks a shift towards a more pro-active stance on the part of the state by undertaking, in conjunction with social partners such as the trade unions, a more joined-up approach to the issue. This change is underpinned by the political aims of government and the evident failure of earlier attempts to end discrimination in pay systems. Importantly, in a practical sense, the Campaign has made good use of its limited resources and has delivered value for money. Overall, the first phase of the Close the Campaign in Wales has been well received by those that it sought to engage in the trades unions and public sector. These developments show that a distinctive agenda is developing in Wales, one that often contrasts from the approach adopted elsewhere in the UK in terms of government policy, and employer and union activity to narrow the gender pay gap. The reasons behind these developments include three factors that were difficult to achieve prior to devolution in 1999: namely, the enabling effects of inter-agency partnership working within a Wales-specific locus for public policy development; scope for largely independent all-Wales initiatives leading to the political reprioritisation of key social issues; and cross-party support for reform such as seen in the Joint Working Group. By building on pre-existing UK initiatives, and initiating new Welsh-based reforms, the evidence outlined in this study details the way in which the Campaign has signalled a new era in the promotion of equal pay. In terms of tangible outcomes, whilst it is plainly too early to expect a significant and statistically measurable impact on the gender pay gap, one major outcome has been the number of employers - over twenty in the case of in the public sector - that have carried out equal pay reviews. The present study shows that many more are planning action to end this form of sex discrimination. A further measure of the success of the Campaign is that it has influenced the practices of some non-devolved cross-border agencies in Wales. All these are noteworthy achievements, ones that have proven elusive under successive administrations throughout the thirty years since the Equal Pay Act was enacted. In addition, the Campaign is an example of the application of the contemporary government aim of promoting equality and diversity in public sector management. It has delivered widespread awareness amongst senior public sector managers in Wales that tackling gender pay disparities is a now pressing political priority for public agencies, one that will be energetically and determinedly pursued by Assembly Government ministers and the Campaign partners; something that is evidenced in a range of Assembly Government policy documents and directives. It is likely that, given continued political support and resources, these issues will be driven forward in the second phase of the Welsh Close the Pay Gap Campaign and that the new emphasis on partnership working achieved since June 2001 will provide a strong basis for future reform that will have more of an impact on the private sector. This assertion is based 76
on a clear future strategy for continuing and developing the Campaign (see section 3.0 - above). The evidence presented in this report reveals that the Close the Pay Gap Campaign satisfies the main vindication criteria as set out in the academic literature on public policy evaluation.xl These may be briefly summarised as follows. The equal pay policy goal does have an instrumental and contributive value for society for, as the various business arguments advanced by interviewees attest, it adds to economic well-being, and arguably, more importantly in a nation with a GDP per capita is below the UK average, it contributes to the wider policy objectives of social justice, equal opportunities and social inclusion. In addition, the evidence of the Campaign's first phase shows that this policy goal (and its normative assumptions) of equal pay for work of equal value does not result in unanticipated problems with important societal consequences. Lastly in this area, the commitment to this policy goal will ultimately lead to consequences (e.g. benefits and costs) that are judged to be equitably distributed - for, on the eventual elimination of gender pay disparities, all women will achieve equal remuneration for work of equal value to men. Challenges The Campaign's Joint Action Plan set out seven headings for action in promoting equal pay. Of these, greatest progress has been made in relation to 'raising awareness and understanding of the issue', and 'ensuring that employers and unions know how to implement equal pay'. This report shows how the Campaign partners have targeted these areas through measures that include the provision of technical support materials, holding equal pay seminars, a media publicity campaign, and an increased emphasis on training and expert advice. The modest level of available funding and human resources, other priorities on the contemporary equality of opportunity agenda in Wales, the newness of the post-devolution system of governance, and the comparatively short duration of the first phase of the Campaign have meant that the Campaign partners have, necessarily, concentrated on the foregoing areas of reform. Less progress has been made in relation to the remaining objectives set out in the Joint Action Plan. These are: 'action to reform equal pay legislation, enhance transparency and accountability, amend social and labour market policy to compliment equal pay resources, address issues of the unequal impact of women’s family responsibilities and job segregation'. Indeed, a number of the latter objectives will require crossborder co-working between agencies and the co-operation of the UK government and its Whitehall departments. All this means that much further work is required over a sustained period (of at least five years). Key future tasks for the Campaign include: putting in place measures to raise awareness of gender pay disparities amongst the general public, ensuring that all working women are aware of their legal right to equal pay, and the effective use of an increasing array of legal and technical instruments to promote gender pay parity - including the forthcoming Code of Practice on Equal Pay and the Equal Pay Questionnaire. This research has highlighted additional challenges. For example, a number of public sector managers interviewed in the course of this study have raised concerns about finding adequate financial resources from existing budgets in order to fund equal pay reviews and the associated costs of revising pay systems and making rectifications in staff salaries. 77
These views have been particularly prominent in relation to local government and the higher education sector. Moreover, a number of the organisations studied are yet to be fully attuned to the realities of constitutional reform and the development of a Welsh agenda on issues such as equal pay. Rather they remain wedded to an agenda set elsewhere. The second phase of the Campaign will need to achieve greater engagement with such organisations. In short, greater crossborder co-working (and sharing of resources) between the UK and Welsh Assembly governments, government agencies (such as the EOC) and public sector bodies will be central to progressing the Close the Pay Gap Campaign. This follows because the focus adopted by the Campaign to date, namely targeting private sector companies with headquarters located in Wales and the Assembly Government subordinate public sector, has failed to reach the many Welsh-based employees that work for organisations with headquarters in England or Scotland. Whilst the core aim of the Campaign has been to promote equal pay for all workers in Wales the reality is that many employers' human resource strategies are determined outside of Wales. Accordingly, greater cross-border cooperation by government and official agencies will enable the targeting organisations with headquarters beyond Wales in order to promote equal pay for their Welsh-based employees. This approach offers the potential for added impetus to promoting equal pay in the rest of the UK. It is also of fundamental importance that the second phase of the Campaign achieves greater engagement with the voluntary and private sectors. In the former case, relatively effective patterns of co-working with Assembly Government agencies - and the existence of Welsh Voluntary Sector Partnership Council - mean that this is an achievable goal. However, it remains to be seen whether, in the absence of legislation requiring mandatory equal pay reviews (- a reserved matter for the UK government, one untouched by the Welsh and Scottish devolution settlements), major progress can be achieved in eliminating discrimination in pay systems in the private sector.
_____________________________________
APPENDICES Appendix One Selected comments from a telephone survey of employers who have carried out, or are planning, pay reviews. 78
1. RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION: 'HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE FACTORS THAT HAVE LED TO YOUR ORGANISATION UNDERTAKING – OR PLANNING – AN EQUAL PAY REVIEW? WHAT WERE THE DRIVERS OR MOTIVATIONS FOR DOING SUCH A REVIEW'?
"We are involved in an equal pay pilot scheme with WAG, and [list of organisations' names] (not sure when this will be reported on). Currently undertaking equal pay evaluations in [organisation name], the report on this will be available in November 2003". "Legislative issues – future Employment Act and rights of employees to look at comparators; staff retention issue; general awareness of the gender pay gap issue". "Existing job evaluation scheme in [organisation name] main motivation – an internal agenda from senior management in [organisation name]. New appointee brought in to introduce a new job evaluation scheme to ‘iron out the [gender pay] disparities". "Our understanding that we had some issues in unequal and low pay terms – we recognized that some years ago before we did the equal pay audit – I was taken on about four years ago – to kick off a pay and grading project’. ‘The third one which is that we had a two tier [pay] system for our 'front of house staff’. This looked at overtime payments, premium payments [ie bank holidays etc] and for weekends. Lots of historical anomalies that led to a grievous system that exacerbated gender pay disparities. Almost 2/3 of new employees were women and their terms and conditions did not compare with older employees and this exacerbated the gender pay gap". "The [organisation name] completed its first Equal Pay Review in May 2001 – the main driver for this was a commitment given by the Office as part of the final pay offer for 2000 to carry out an equality audit as well as a review of the pay system. This itself was driven by wider Government initiatives on equality, notably the Equal Pay Task Force Report which put forward a two-part model with a broad review to establish whether pay inequalities existed and a more detailed action plan to close pay gaps. We applied this model and took advice from the EOC in completing the 2001 review and a follow-up review in 2002. We will carry out a further review in 2003 which will examine the outcomes of the final year of our present multi-year pay deal and also provide data to drive the next pay remit to be agreed in 2004". "Three aspects spring to mind. The Equal Pay Campaign in Wales – I think that this has been a factor – the fact that its had that profile both from the Assembly and the EOC and not that’s its just a campaign but it wanted tangible outcomes and that’s been clear from the Campaign. The other part is the Equality Standard. Because the Equality Standard has equal pay at Level One – and subsequent levels. To complete Level One they need to commit to have an equal pay review and have an equal pay policy in place. So that’s a driver in that they have to have done that to complete Level One. And most authorities are hoping to have completed 79
Level One by April 2004. And the third driver where we are expecting that it will be addressed is the job evaluation process. Equal pay should be looked at as part of the evaluations". "Equal pay – is driven by Agenda for Change [UK health policy]. It certainly raised the profile, but whether it raised the profile - I certainly wasn’t given the impression that I should be coming back and talking to my [name of health trust] Board about this issue – perhaps it wasn’t on the agenda before and it was afterwards – but no more than that I think". "What originally required us to look at equal pay was a claim from our staff - they felt that there was some degree of inequality in one or two posts and that concerned us because we certainly didn’t want to give that impression and we decided that if we were going to address it we should look across the board and do it openly and properly so we approached [organisation name] – they then worked with us to set up a job evaluation committee run by the staff themselves. They helped advise and train the staff who devised and implemented the evaluation system – subsequent to that the [Assembly] Government initiative came about and seemed to model what we’d already done really, since then we’ve worked with the EOC and [organisation name] to be a bit of a model employer really". "One was good management. The other, of course, was the law". "Its a key part of employment legislation which affects every one of our members - the issue has the potential to place significant costs and administrative burdens on our members equally, there is some best practice to be spread which will be to the benefit of our businesses. The [organisation name]'s aim is to get the best practice spread around whilst minimizing the costs and administrative side effects of that". "My secondment to the EOC". "I would say that from the point of view of small businesses you’ve got something like – I’ve got this from the Assembly – 54% are self employed but you’ve then got 25.3% employing less than four people - and you’ve then got 95% employing less than nine people. And most of the businesses I have found are people that have community values … a lot of these businesses tend to start off employing members of the family, relatives or friends – so I don’t think that there has ever been as such any real problem in differentiating between the sexes – you know, everybody’s paid the same. I don’t think that there has been the great difference between the salaries as there has been in industry". "It really boils down to the productivity issue and the things that it can actually do for business, the benefits that business can derive from demonstrating that sort of thing to their staff … this translates into recruitment and retention of staff which is a huge issue in this area". "In terms of us as an organisation we are extremely focused on equality issues and we want to ensure that our pay structures are operating in a very fair and appropriate way and that there are no so of hidden barriers to recruiting, and retaining our existing employees… we have an equal opportunities working party and we have been to a number of seminars organized by the EOC and we were very aware obviously that there are these equal pay questionnaires coming out". 80
"Basically, the first driver for us was the Just Pay report of the Equal Pay Task Force July 2001. Although there were strong recommendations made in that for all companies to conduct an annual equal pay audit that was actually not taken up – but certainly within the [named UK government ministry] it was expected that within three years that all public bodies had reviewed their pay systems in terms of equality. Many systems that were inherent from the [named UK government ministry] and given pay bargaining to organisations – people were moving forward in their own way as determined by local markets basically. There were recent industrial tribunals that had also acted to trigger people’s movement and especially given that a lot of our pay systems were based on length of service – which was not the best – so – going back to what you asked, we looked a number of years back at our pay reward system and that was our first point of call basically - and what we wanted to do with that – and we felt there were four categories to that – there was equality, fair and equitable pay system, - that provides fair and equitable pay between genders, ethnicity, etc. in similar jobs, a grading structure to meet our organisation’s needs on flexibility and competence, market competitiveness – so that we can recruit retain and motivate – and performance related bonus arrangements – to improve productivity and motivation. So that was our force behind the drivers to move us forward". "There are several reasons for us doing it. One, the Equality Committee in the Assembly actually requires us to produce evidence of what we are doing because of the Government of Wales Act – we have an obligation to look at equality and keep it at the core of our business; obviously union pressure for pay negotiations and things, we used the opportunity to address what we knew were inequalities in the system during pay negotiations, I think that it is fair to say that that came from both management and union sides, and because of very public cases of inequality in other government organisations – I think these were the main factors’. ‘I think that the whole issue has been driven forward by the Close the Pay Gap Campaign I think that there are so many tools and so much experience out there now that its far easier for people to actually get information on equal pay and to – how to do equal pay audits now – than there ever has been". "I think that there are two major considerations behind this. One, is from within our own HR Strategic Plan we identified equal pay as one of the issues that we wanted to look at in the context of the development of pay structures and so on and so forth so I think I think that we already had it on our agenda as one of those sort of key issues. The second one is the Welsh Assembly Government and [name of Welsh public sector body] – some time ago – back in 2001 actually, invited a number of institutions in Wales to sign up an equal pay audit on a collaborative basis. And, we were very keen to get involved in that right from the outset. Our problem has been because it has been collaborative its been quite difficult to bring our other partners along at the same sort of speed – there’s been quite a lot of delays in getting the whole exercise off the ground. And we have only very recently got the exercise off the ground and received confirmation from [name of Welsh public sector body] that funding would be available – you know – there were kind of delays to do with the kind of bureaucracy of awarding the contract and so on – I won’t go into the details but – you know – but the whole thing got much more delayed than it needed to have been and my own personal view is had funding been 81
made available to institutions to separately conduct equal pay audits then we would have wrapped one up twelve months ago … lack of commitment, lack of clarity and the sheer pressure of trying to do something collaboratively as opposed to institutionally puts a kind of break on the whole thing’. ‘I think that the Welsh commitment is an important commitment I think that we are very fortunate in some respects that the Welsh Assembly Government has as part of its formal remit the whole kind of equality issues because that gives a different sort of drive here – but equally they are in the fortunate position of being able to cream off funds to address any kind of problem immediately – so they’ve got a pay gap in the Assembly so how do you deal with it you top-slice the income that you get – you know you resolve it that way – they are in a fortunate position to be able to do that whereas the rest of us downstream of the allocation can only work within the allocations that you get". "Louise Kingsmill met with our Chief Executive in 2001 so there was a commitment from the Chief Executive that we would undertake an equal pay audit... and [name of trade union] were pushing for something to be done following the TUC’s response to the [Kingsmill] report’... we do our very best on these issues … to have exemplary employment policies". "We’ve always thought that we were in the forefront in that we have never discriminated on pay, but we wanted to formalize that really and to be in the vanguard and show that we mean what we say and say what we mean’. 'I am just horrified that in today's society we have to have a campaign because some sectors of industry and some managers are just so far behind the real world, it is a sad comment on our society really". "Well really it’s a result of the partnering agreement set up last November [2002] and it is something that we did want to look at. It is something that we felt was good to have an independent look at it. Partly because we over many years - we've rewarded people for going on long term training and it has distorted our salaries and things really rather than looking job by job - so its been individuals really. Not only male-female, but you know, same sex as well". "One of the main motivators is that equal pay has been on the agenda since the very beginning of the latest traunch of the equalities movement since 1970. So it's been on the agenda for a very long time. I think that in many ways it is the kind of acid test in terms of putting your money where your mouth is. So we can talk about all the social implications of achieving equality between men and women, disabled people - able bodied people, people from minority ethnic groups- people not from minority ethnic groups, but ultimately one of the final sort of tests of commitment is in terms of social standing and income". "Very significant. The [organisation name] based it’s approach on the EOC’s equal pay toolkit from the moment it started work on the review back in September 2003. The [organisation name] gave a presentation at an EOC event in June 2003, detailing how it used the EOC approach in order to audit its pay system. A member of the EOC visited [organisation name] to speak to senior operational managers and this helped to raise the profile of equal pay in our organisation". 82
"[Organisation name] has been actively involved in equal pay audits for some time. During his time in [organisation name], [individual's name] was instrumental in setting up the equal pay task force with the EOC. The [organisation name] team has made a commitment to ensure [organisation name] applies equality in its pay practices for all grades and the lines of business are working to ensure this happens. We are also working closely with recognized trades unions to ensure equal pay audits are carried out and any gaps identified and a plan put in place to close them".
2. RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION: [IF NOT COVERED IN FOREGOING] … 'HOW SIGNIFICANT HAS BEEN THE JOINT ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT/ EOC/ WALES TUC CAMPAIGN ON EQUAL PAY IN INFLUENCING YOUR ORGANISATION’S APPROACH TO EQUAL PAY?
"We were involved in an equal pay pilot scheme with WAG, [and other organisations' names]. Also the impact of WAG policies – e.g. The Learning Country and Reaching Higher". "In terms of shaping the employers' pay practices the EOC has been quite high actually – because we’ve been to a couple of their seminars – and I’ve been in touch with the EOC following their seminars about equal pay audits and how we could use the equal pay toolkit. Their influence has been quite high”. "We’ve had lots of info from the EOC and we are going to use their equal pay toolkit. The EOC’s information is heavily used… it will be the basis of the equal review". "Well the two came together because we’d recognized the problem and at more or less the same time the Assembly then made it a priority so it was their in our pay remit and this gave us an opportunity to do something about it. The one thing that we found was that there was a very big funding issue. We have a very low staff turnover here, and although we recognized that there was a problem we realized that we couldn’t do anything about it without any significant increases in funding. So it was the Assembly recognition of the problem and the willingness to fund the solution that really helped inestimably – without the Assembly agreeing to fund the whole exercise we simply could not have done it’". "The EOC has played a significant supporting/advisory role (and will continue to do so in forthcoming pay rounds). The 83
Assembly/EOC/WTUC Campaign itself has only provided a background of general awareness on pay issues in Wales". "I think that it has had an impact in that it has raised the profile, its pushed the issue, and the seminar that was arranged for the [- type of public sector agencies] about January [2003] was very useful, because it was practical – it gave a practical example of how a [type of public sector agency] has undertaken this through job evaluations so I think people walked away thinking “oh, it can be done”. But I think that the difficulty has been, and where the stumbling block is actually the cost – so its not – we’re not saying the cost of undertaking an equal pay review – but because that could not be undertaken until there was job evaluation and that the cost of the job evaluation is holding up – if you like – its one of the barriers – to [type of public sector agency] then undertaking that – which is then holding up the equal pay review as part of the process. So I would say that is been effective in terms of raising awareness – but it hasn’t necessarily been effective in getting the outcome [Q. this is the resource issue?] – yes. In [named type of public sector agencies] what we are assuming is that because of the structures that [type of public sector agencies] have had, apart from some of the bonuses for some of the blue collar workers – it may not be such a huge issue – so you are not talking about a huge financial resource there but you cannot really do equal pay until you know that you’ve got all jobs standardized – so the job evaluation has to happen first – and that’s the resource cost that we’re anticipating is going to be much higher". "Hopefully I think that it has been [significant] – and of course the new legal changes where staff can request for a form to be completed also puts a focus on the nee for employers to get it right now rather than wait until their challenged". "We were ahead of them and we were quoted as an exemplar when we were moving this forward". "Very insignificant... I question were I not doing the job of manager with [organisation name] - I question whether I would have known that it had gone on. I don’t think that it has been terribly high profile. I think that largely the Assembly does not have many powers in this area – it doesn’t have any powers in this area". "Well I’m in a unique position because this was all to do with my working with [named staff] at EOC Wales and learning about equal pay there. So its impossible to put myself in the shoes as if I hadn’t have been on my secondment as to whether it would have had a strong impact on me". "I don’t think that its been all that successful. If you are an ordinary person in Wales, the odds are that you take the Daily Post or the Western Mail [newspapers]– and they really haven’t been pushing it. I have noticed it because I am involved in communications and in business … Looking at it from the perspective of the small business proprietor who, if you like, works 10- 12 hours a day and does his accounts on the kitchen table, there’s not much communication that gets through to him. And this is a problem that I think that we have 84
in a lot of areas, how do you get the small guys that work all the hours that god sends, to keep his business going, how do you get him to know the changes that there are in legislation"? ‘"It been fairly significant. I know that our president was involved with an EOC Equal Pay Toolkit seminar. But as to how significant it has been in raising awareness amongst out general membership … perhaps its that it has not raised the issue strongly enough". "I think in terms of actually promoting it [equal pay] they have held quite a lot of workshops … I think its more difficult – in the public sector we obviously appreciate the importance of such things – but I think it should actually be extended across the board so that you have private sector organisations who obviously operating in a more profit- focused way but you know at the same time unless its actually applied equally across all service areas – there is a danger that the public sector will be the only area where this is actually implemented". "It [the Equal Pay Campaign] has been useful for me because I have been trying to get the [type of public sector agency] to adopt an equal pay evaluation for some time now and because of the issues of the resources required in doing such an exercise and also the outcome – which could be very expensive the [type of public sector agency] has drawn back and the usefulness of the Welsh Assembly [Government’s] initiative has been pushing that forward and saying 'look! the Welsh Assembly are doing it, they are going to be encouraging all employers in Wales to be doing it in the future so its something that we really have got to look at seriously' – so they are an example in a way and an example of the way that things should be done and the problems that we’ve got with equal pay". "I think that we had the platitudes coming from the Assembly Government that were on the backend of the [UK] government – I think that was it Hart – she was the main mover in pushing that forward. Before that we had seminars around the country in Wales about equal pay and the results of the gender pay gap – we also had the EOC down the road in Cardiff and they were obviously moving forward on this and going out – and do their seminars to raise the awareness". [Q. So, was it useful?] "yes, I think that some of the points about doing an equal pay audit were quite useful – certainly some of the factors on that – and the fact that, if you wanted to you could contact them for some advice". "yes it has been. I think that it is fair to say that we work very closely with the EOC anyway, we helped pilot and test their Tool kit that they were selling to various companies to test and to help them to do equal pay audits so we got involved with the testing of that – at a very early stage. We attend quite a lot of meetings with the EOC and the Close the Pay Gap Campaign so its been very worthwhile we consider it a partnership that we have with the EOC here and we work very closely with them and they are very good in putting us on to other people that may be able to help us in work that we are doing". "I don’t think that it has been directly influential on it because that 85
publicity material that was available – I mean we did send someone to a briefing in Llandudno - I think it was – one of my team went to that – I think we were aware of the context and were committed to it anyway". "I would not say that they have been influential for the main reason that we were already well underway. We knew exactly where we were going and what we were doing … I cannot honestly say that there has been anything there which I’ve seen that they have altered anything. I think though that having that [the Close the Pay Gap Campaign] as a forum to see what other people have done has been useful to see that what you have done is broadly in line with what other people are doing". "I think the Campaign is very relevant and has been quite effective – but within the company here it has made absolutely no difference at all because we have always had equal pay. So in practical terms it's made no difference here". "I don't feel personally that it has been contributory really. We are doing an independent assessment anyway. But it is not really as a result of the [Campaign's] Joint Working Group". "I mean it is difficult to say just on its own how important it has been. Certainly it has been 'in there' and for we as somebody within a public organisation who is pressing for recognition of best practice it is certainly, if nothing else, very useful to refer to these types of campaigns that are being run and sponsored by the statutory organisations. The extent to which you can draw a direct line of cause and effect, as always with these things, is quite questionable, it is up for debate". "It has not influenced our approach to equal pay. It has complimented our approach. [organisation name] is aware of the National Assembly's activities and has contributed to activities at which the Assembly promoted its approach e.g. Edwina Hart's launch of the equal pay strategy".
3. SELECTED RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION: 'AND CONNECTED WITH THIS HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE EQUAL PAY CAMPAIGN'?
“pretty good is the answer” "Not really sure". "As we were required by [named UK government ministry] to carry out an equal pay review, and had already built up strong links with the EOC, the media coverage was not hugely important in affecting our approach". "The Equal Pay Campaign’s info and advice was possibly less 86
useful for us because we were already working that way". "The campaign has not been a major driver for us; as a Government Agency we are more directly driven by initiatives and policies from central government: [names of Whitehall departments]". "As far as the general public goes – probably more could be done – because in the Western Mail – I can’t recall having seen a lot in the media, and if I had seen it I’d have picked up – because its my area of work – but I’m sure if I asked my mother - 'were you aware of it'? – She’d probably say ‘no’ – In terms of those that work in the field I think that the publicity has been effective – but in the wider public? – Maybe not". "Well, the Campaign was good because it did hammer home to all concerned 'stop ducking away, stop playing lip service – get on with it because there are good commercial as well as good ethical reasons for this”’. "In terms of it being in the press and the on websites – its being pushed at every opportunity. In my opinion, it's hard to be objective, but appears to be advertised quite well". "I think that it was actually very good and certainly I was aware of it. Maybe, - I mean there is always more that you can do – but in terms of publicity and marketing it has to be what’s reasonable in terms of cost etc. doesn’t it? They obviously have quite limited resources in terms of people being able to go out there and sort of get the message across. But, er, I certainly thought it was useful, I thought that it was very good". "I don’t think that it has had a great deal of attention to be honest". "I would have thought that it was pretty effective - I think that anyone who reads the papers, watched the television or listened to the radio must have been aware that the campaign was on I would have thought". "Again, what they have managed to do is, for instance, press some of the larger public organisations to actually move on this so for instance we have the development that happened within the Welsh Assembly Government which is enormously influential. I mean it sends out a very strong and positive message certainly, if nothing else, to all the Assembly Sponsored Public Bodies to say: 'look, this is now seriously on the agenda, please let's do something about this'. In a way, as with drink driving, as these things become less and less socially acceptable, you know we will actually see a substantial kind of development and move forward in this area". "Again much of the work within [organisation name] was begun before any real media coverage".
4. SELECTED RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION: 'HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE USEFULNESS OF THE SUPPORT 87
MATERIAL AND GUIDANCE PROVIDED BY THE JOINT WORKING GROUP ON EQUAL PAY/ EQUAL PAY CAMPAIGN'?
"The awareness that they [Equal Pay Campaign] that they’ve given to it and … the EOC have been in [to this organisation] and they’ve given talks and advice - all free of charge, I think that’s were they’ve had the most influence". "Not really sure". "The Equal Pay Campaign’s info and advice was possibly less useful for us because we were already working that way". "We have not used this support material so cannot comment on its effectiveness, but the information on the [EOC] website appears to be well presented and informative". "Well, it doesn’t hurt to raise the legislative background… so that kind of approach was useful. But also the practical element – so the workshop that they held I thought that was really, really useful. In terms of the information that’s gone out for example the CD ROMs they’ve been useful in explaining to people what is equal pay – and what are the expectations on organisations. In terms of the wider publicity – the legal element and the practical element because I don’t think that anyone disagrees with the concept". "We have had a tremendous amount of support from EOC Wales and the people working there, and of course I have worked with the then [Assembly Government] minister responsible for the funding of it – Edwina Hart – and both of us work with the WTUC so we were hardly in a position to where either of us could say “no we’re not doing it”’. [Q. So it failed to raise awareness?] – "yes - that may sound like a big criticism of the EOC, its not meant to be, it is phenomenally difficult to get businesses interested in this when there are masses of other things which are more pressing. We actually ran an event with the EOC to tackle the issue of equal pay through equal pay audits. And the level of member disinterest [sic] was startling. I am afraid to say. We ran it and we had a pretty poor attendance – and we worked pretty hard to get a pretty poor attendance, it just isn’t something that – there are dozens of changes going on to employment legislation over the last years, most of which are mandatory, underpinned by legislation and businesses are struggling frankly to keep up with all of those, so with something that, and I hate to say this because it sounds like a perfect argument for more legislation, which is not what the [organisation name] wants, but something like this which isn’t underpinned – certainly the equal pay audits side of things – it isn’t underpinned by strict legislation so its going to take second place … If someone is paying a women much less than a man working in the same job, well, you know, they ought to know better and I expect my members to know that is, erm, that’s going to give them big problems and make them fall foul of the law and quite rightly, it’s the systemic almost built in – whether by accident or design – and nine times out 88
of ten its by accident – systemic problems built into [pay] structures and [job] gradings – job descriptions is a big problem and I think that members aren’t really up to speed with that at all’. "I think what it did highlight over the years because of the traditional family values and the way in which in the social element you could see how the actual [pay] gap has widened and it hasn’t necessarily been a conscious thing but it has just happened as a matter of fact really. That was quite enlightening for us really to say, gosh, you can see how things like bonuses and the fact that there are more women returners now, and the fact that they [women] traditionally work part-time has made quite a – you know – a significant [pay] gap which we will do our utmost to bring together really … Its about putting forward the business case for it and I think the information that they are giving [i.e. the Campaign] is to the HR profession where we are very aware of those types of issues maybe, actually focusing more on the managing directors and the senior management teams within organisations to actually, maybe, sell the business case as opposed to saying its legislation and this is why it needs to be done". "From a learning point of view they have issued some useful documents, toolkits and those sorts of things and also the CD ROM, I have also been in touch with the EOC and a chap called [name]– he very kindly came along to a meeting in [venue]– to discuss the issues with a few senior [figures]". "I think that it was good publicity material and it was good information and may have been persuasive amongst other employers that perhaps were not taking the kind of view that we were". "The practical help that was offered to employers was by far the most important point". "[organisation name] was one of a number of organisations and institutions who worked closely with the EOC to develop this support material. Its usefulness was therefore guaranteed".
5. SELECTED RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION: 'IN YOUR VIEW, WHAT WAS POSITIVE AND USEFUL ABOUT THE CLOSE THE PAY GAP CAMPAIGN BY THE ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT AND ITS PARTNERS'?
"High profile launch by WAG and the EOC Wales". “No, I think that its been a pretty good campaign … my own personal perception is that its been pretty good". 89
"Not really sure". "The press coverage at the time of the launch helped to heighten awareness of key pay issues in Wales; the free CD-ROM is an effective means of providing more detailed information and links for employers in Wales". "The one area that the Assembly Government were very, very good on, was the fact that they realized very early on that it was going to cost and they built that into their programme and I think that they should be hugely applauded for that". "The statistics are always very useful. Again, they are the acid test. It is all very well saying: 'yes we have a commitment to equal opportunities' - well let's have a look and see how much it is costing you! I mean my view is quite strongly that women and people from excluded groups underpin the majority position - the patriarchy of men generally. So for instance it would not be possible for society and large and small organisations to operate in the way that they do without women being placed in a sort of subordinate financial situation". "[Organisation name] was pleased to participate in that campaign as a private sector company. The campaign provided factual support for the need to address the pay gap and made practical suggestions on how that could be done. The Assembly demonstrated leadership on this issue".
6. SELECTED RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION: 'LASTLY, ON THIS AREA - IN YOUR VIEW - WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN IMPROVED ON IN THE CLOSE THE PAY GAP CAMPAIGN BY THE ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT AND ITS PARTNERS'?
"More case studies of organisations (- private and public - ) that have carried out reviews, and the problems they encountered, along with practical advice on how to overcome them". "Nothing". 'Having highlighted the problems and suggested an approach it would be useful to know how much has actually been achieved over the last year. Best practice case studies would also be useful "Not really sure". "As mentioned, we have only been aware of the campaign as one of a wide range of initiatives on equality, so we cannot make specific suggestions for improvements. Possibly awareness of the existence of the campaign could have been heightened at the time of the launch by contacting employers directly (with subsequent follow-up of press releases etc)". 90
"It’s the sustainability of it really. Because, you know, say the Campaign ends now, and say in [type of public sector agency] from an official point of view – equal pay may not happen for another couple of years – well, the impact of the Campaign may have been lost by that stage – terms of saying that there are people like the Assembly Government, like the EOC, keeping an eye on us, keeping an eye on how we are progressing this, so if that’s not maintained, although we’ll continue to push it, they may not that there are such external drivers for them to do that – so I would say sustainability in terms of how they can keep this at the forefront – but probably, not then taking away some of the other gender issues that need to be addressed as well". "The Assembly Government took the lead and undertook their own equal pay review and then paid the costs - that hasn’t necessarily been a driver because people from a [type of public sector agency] point of view its been - 'well of course that can do that because they hold the purse strings". [Q. it’s the resources issue?] "Yes, particularly in terms of [type of public sector agency] … I think after all the discussions that we’ve had I would say that people don’t disagree with equal pay … until we are at a stage where we have the resources we can’t got to all the discussions and debates around equal pay". "I think it would have been really good if they had been able more large public sector organisations. Now I know that’s a bit impossible, but when I think of the [equal pay] CD ROM I know that they had [large private sector organisation name] talking and the WAG were used as an example and they had smaller organisations – but I think if they could have used a public sector organisation – be it fire service, ambulance, NHS, a council or a police force – then other [similar] organisations would have thought - 'well hang on, well if they can do it, you know, we can', and of course those organisations are huge employers of vast numbers of people. So when we finally sort out our own equal pay review I think that other [type of public sector agency] will think “if they can do it why can’t we?” – so that’s not a big criticism but it would have been a help". "I think it’s the need to get the message through to employers". "I wonder whether there are opportunities being missed in terms of using membership publications. I mean we have a membership magazine, perhaps not only us but people like the [names of organisations] etc. - perhaps there are existing vehicles in those organisations that could be used to highlight the issue more widely… Getting the Equal Pay Toolkit more widely publicized would be key because we looked at that and we thought that was a really effective tool – but that’s one thing that can be demonstrated to small businesses in particular, that there are benefits to it its not just a cost issue and I think that that’s the key in these sorts of things in convincing small businesses to take the issues … We do e-mail members, we have got a website, but our main vehicle is a dot com magazine with a 3,000 reach". "Well, the nicest thing would have been if they had offered cash to 91
go with it to be honest, because obviously it is going to be an expensive exercise and I think that [type of public sector agency] are strapped for cash anyway and so I don’t think that it’s a lack of willingness to do these things its just the fear that its going to cost a lot of money and, again, its going to affect services". "I think that its difficult to say because unless your board is on board as they were it doesn’t matter what they say, I mean its more to say that we were trying to as an organisation be fair, be equitable to all our employees. We realized in the transitional period when we were trying to change our pay systems that there were anomalies in that – some caused by our own making, some caused by the legacy of the earlier pay systems". "My only slight criticism of the Close the Pay Gap Campaign would be that the forums [i.e. the seminars] were predominantly union – based … there one or two employers there - but predominantly it was union – based … we need more representation of employers there". "More case studies of organisations (private and public) that have carried out reviews, and the problems they encountered, along with practical advice on how to overcome them".
7. SELECTED RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION: 'NEXT A GENERAL QUESTION, WHAT ARE THE PERCEIVED BENEFITS TO YOUR ORGANISATION OF UNDERTAKING AN EQUAL PAY REVIEW?
"We started job evaluation reviews. An evaluation template is used that is submitted to the [type of public sector body] directorate. Primarily targeted at new staff recruitment. Attempt to identify equal pay initiative in the recruitment process". "A whole range of things, the majority is that people feel that they are being paid their worth rather than some subjective figure that we are pulling out of the air … that also helps staff retention". "Not really sure". "In very general terms – a more contented and stable workforce. No Equal Pay Review can be expected to iron-out all real and perceived problems of unequal treatment in pay, but if staff recognize that the organisation they work for is making a genuine effort to close pay gaps and treat everyone fairly, it can make all the difference. Staff needs to see that action is being taken and that the organisation is not just paying lip service to the idea of equal pay. Undertaking an Equal Pay Review is an important step in identifying areas of concern and committing to specific action points". "Motivation of staff clearly, and the general approach to us being reasonable employers. It's helped us with [staff] retention and it has allowed better relationships to be built up". 92
"Just so that the staff realize that we’ve taken equal pay seriously and that we want men and women to be paid equally for work of equal value because there are issues in relation to [type of public sector employees] who retire and then taking support staff jobs so there are issues there. But its just another way in which our employees would perceive that we are trying to be a fair and equitable employer". "What we want to do is to focus on our pay structures to ensure that they are actually appropriate and that they are giving us a competitive edge in the jobs market. Because we are mindful that there is a war for talent in the job sector really’. ‘Equality and diversity are core values for the [organisation name] and from our perspective its ensuring that our staff are actually treated fairly and we can actually be held up as an exemplar organisation really in terms of promoting equality in everything that we do and pay is one of those areas where, very often it is thought that it is too difficult to actually look at, but we are reviewing it as part of a much broader review of our conditions of employment". "Well obviously there is the threat of equal pay claims which I think is very realistic. And if they were to happen it could be very expensive to [type of public sector agency]. I mean we still have got employees earning bonuses and usually where you have bonuses they all go to men and apply to male dominated occupations but the women’s occupations traditionally, like cooks and cleaners – never seem to get bonuses. I think that there is the potential there for very big pay claims. There is also of course the fact that you would have a fair pay system where people would feel that they were valued more – if they felt that they were getting fair pay for what they were doing. I mean we have never used scientific evaluation systems in [type of public sector agency] and I think that there are a lot of people being paid less than I think that they should be – also perhaps, people being paid more than they should be, so I think from an equal pay equal value point of view – you know its very important really". "I mean obviously we try and lead the field as much as possible we would keep it at the heart of all the decision making and as a result we do not have the problems of claims going before tribunals. I think it benefits us when we are doing pay negotiations if we are actually giving a reason why we are taking certain actions and if that’s to address either poor pay, low pay – inequalities then staff know that that’s the particular reason why we’re taking that particular issue forward. I think that its general contentment amongst staff that they feel that there is equality within the organisation. That they don’t feel that someone is benefiting underhandedly in their pay because of inequalities in the system". "Oh, it’s the business case for it, I approach it from the point of view that we have pay systems which we know are inherently discriminatory because of the length of the pay spines and so on – we in common with other institutions in Wales are applying discretionary pay policies which cannot fundamentally be underpinned by objective considerations – I suspect. You know, 93
there’s a key business case there right at the outset which is associated with how an organisation is managed, how its run, how its pay structures are allocated and how fairness is delivered, I think there is a kind of wider issue of the development of those pay structures on a national arena moving from the rather traditional and outmoded structures to a sort of more modernized and streamlined pay structure, so that’s a big motivator as well… I suppose - if I may add one other point – I mean there is the compliance issue – you know it is no small consideration that there could be a whole range of equal pay claims – just sitting out there waiting to happen and when you are close to the decision making you realize how at risk institutions are from time to time – with the best will in the world – but sometimes we don’t get it right". "Clearly we wish to be an employer of choice and we wish to treat all our employees fairly. We are looking to remove any inequalities. The thing that was interesting from my perspective – as I guess many other people – initially you think well this is perhaps going to be a bit of a pointless exercise – all our jobs are evaluated and we have the same pay scales for men and women – it is just a pay scale – but inevitably, because of the way things are managed over time you can get discrepancies – so its more a structural thing which has happened by default really rather than any deliberate intention – I think that it is long service issues that have tended to contribute to higher levels of pay amongst men". "I think one of the benefits is that we have a particular problem in attracting female staff because of the nature of this job, I think the fact that there is full emphasis and recognition does help us in attracting more females in [to the company] because we are gradually becoming more competitive with some of the other jobs that are successful in attracting female labour like working in shops for example … Having unequal pay is potentially very divisive in the workforce and would lead to dissatisfaction, poor production, poor quality of work - anyone who thinks that it [having unequal pay] is under a sad delusion because exactly the opposite is true. You lose the motivation of the workforce and the output. It is a selfdestructive policy having anything other than [gender pay] equalization in my view". "Probably to be more consistent than we have been in the past with regard to rewarding people for the role that they do and also for helping to retain staff that are important to us". "Well the benefits are clear. Having selected the right people for the job you can actually keep them. Pay, bizarrely enough, I think is not a very good motivator - however, it is a very large de-motivator. And there is research that actually backs that up and says people are not necessarily motivated by more pay as much as one might assume. However, unfairness in pay systems can be an enormous de-motivator. That goes across the public and private sectors, organisations large and small. The work that we have done on the [named public sector initiative] - we have actually, even with the small number of organisations with who we have done equal pay audits and gone through the process of righting the imbalances. The companies involved were already identifying an enormous benefit. 94
One of whom has managed to retain a member of staff, a valued member of staff, whom they did not even realize that the were going to lose until after they had actually approached her and said 'look there is this discrepancy and we have now righted it'. And she kind of, cut a long story short, she said 'oh well, ok, I'll stay'". "Reduction in the risks of a successful equal pay claim being brought against us… A clear and transparent pay system …Increase in the awareness of equal pay and its associated issues in the organisation …Motivated workforce …Improvement in the development of staff'.
8. SELECTED RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION: 'IN TERMS OF YOUR ORGANISATION – CAN YOU PLEASE OUTLINE THE MEASURES THAT YOU HAVE TAKEN THUS FAR TO PROMOTE EQUAL PAY? AND – HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE PROGRESS THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN MADE? AND, IN YOUR VIEW WHAT REMAINS TO BE DONE'?
"Involved in an equal pay pilot scheme with WAG, and [organisation name]". "Reforms have now been going 4-5 months. Established a Fair Chance Forum – an equal opportunities steering group… Everyone has been given the opportunity to enter it and put their views across … everyone [all staff] have been made aware of it… People in the selection committee represent a varied view they don’t just represent the view of head office … they do represent an overall view of everybody... A new staff appraisal system has been put in place. In terms of what’s left to be done – both of the foregoing measures need a considerable amount of tweaking before they find their feet really. Mandatory rolling basis every three months pay appraisals. Will go to 6-month intervals. The first appraisals have been done for all 550 staff". "It still has got quite a bit to go to be honest. I’m going to be launching a pilot scheme in the next couple of weeks [i.e. job evaluation – including equal pay aspects]. This is going to take at least three or four months. The final [organisation name] evaluation scheme will happen but by the time that’s done will be at least 18 months. Then job evaluation will happen as a matter of course as recruitment happens. So for entire completion I would say at least 18 months…. [this review will be] an evaluation for every single member of staff. The pilot will involve at least 50 people, taking jobs across the company – all different jobs – and comparing male and females in the same type of post … there’s going to be a job evaluation panel and once the information has been collected and the data analyzed they’ll decide where certain jobs go on the grading system, initially, and then the proper [organisation name] scheme will interview every single member of staff … the information from that will be compared to the pilot scheme’. The [organisation name] has approx 250 staff. The pilot evaluation will use a very detailed questionnaire using different factors, generic factors which will be applied in all the interviews, 95
we’re looking at 8 or 9 factors and they cover a wide range of things like – knowledge and skills to do with the job, work environment, supervision, people management, lots of different factors – and people will be assessed on those and asked where they think that they lie – but within the different levels within those factors what they require to do their job. Then their line-manager will read through the questionnaire to see where they think that the grading should be – then the final results will go to a panel, who will decide where the fine line should be basically. I mean we are hoping that there will not be a lot of difference between employees’ own grading [i.e. self assessment] and line managers’ grading but obviously they will occur, so the panel is needed to iron any of those out. The panel will then approve any subsequent adjustment in pay. This, initially, will take 18 months to put in place then it will be on a rolling basis. When a new post is created – of when someone feels that a job has changed then the post will be evaluated. There will be a strong relationship between these appraisals and annual work appraisals". "We completed our grading exercise – there had been a back log of under grading – we also had a very messy pay and grading system we had about 37 different grades – some of them overlapped – some were identical – we had a big equal pay for equal value issue – so they streamed the grades down to a total of nine. Rationalized the system for extra hours – opened it up to everybody. Now all staff are on the same rates whatever point in the scale that they are on. Also we did a review of incremental scales 2003 – when evaluations first began there was something like a 29% gap between the sexes – that’s narrowed now to a 12% gap – and I think that we will close that as people go up through the increment scales. We do ad hoc reviews of the equal pay situation now – it's not a routinised part of staff appraisals. We apply a 'no detriment' principal to all the equal pay reforms so that employees’ pay was not undermined by the review". "Target rates for individual grades of staff in the organisation introduced as part of the current multi-year pay deal have helped to narrow gender gaps - and gaps between long-serving staff and newer recruits. Equality principles applied to recruitment, appraisal and promotion have also helped to narrow gaps in areas such as disability, part-time workers and ethnic origin. There is still progress to be made in all these areas, and also in the continuing male/female imbalance at senior manager level (in this particular organisation, the problem is most noticeable within senior Examiner grades, which have long been male dominated)".
"For the [organisation name] as an organisation – i.e. Not [a generic type of public organisation] – we had a job evaluation last April – last May [2003] and I am not sure that there was an equal pay review specifically conducted – but I do know that the person that was conducting the job evaluations used an evaluation review that had been agreed by the EOC in terms of the equality aspects with equal pay review issues as part of it. This applied to all [organisation name]'s staff [35-40 people]. There are plans for future appraisals we don’t have an appraisal system at the moment – we are in the process of introducing one – so that’s something that will happen in 96
the longer term … We’ve just had an Investors in People [IIP] assessment and we’re just having a corporate governance review as well – so there’s a lot of different structures that are starting to be put in place, and it is something that we’ll come back to in the future. In terms of equal pay with [a generic type of public organisation] as distinct from the [organisation name] – this has been led by another officer in the [organisation name] who has had discussions with the Society of Chief Personnel Officers – but the main challenge first is the job evaluation process – so now have moved on job evaluation, and some have done costings – and some have costed it at between £3 and 4 million in terms of job evaluation [and costs of and rectifications of gender pay gap] – so given that [a generic type of public organisation] at the moment are under-resourced that is one of the main stumbling blocks".
"Within the [organisation name] we haven’t undertaken our own equal pay review and we haven’t had any pressure from trade unions around cases of equal pay for work of equal value – but I’m not sure why we haven’t – because there would have been some issues there certainly’. ‘It is expected that [a UK Government policy initiative] will not only deal with any existing problems but will have mechanisms to avoid any issues arising in the future. It is difficult to see any [a generic type of public organisation] in Wales taking forward this issue until [named UK government policy initiative] is fully implemented which is October 2004. [Organisation name] is preparing for [named UK government policy initiative]. We have to start preparing [July 2003] in terms of looking at job descriptions, modellings and pay aspects, the terms and conditions aspects, so that preparation has already started, but we must be ready to go at October 2004". "We’ve been doing it for about three years now – job evaluations – probably four years – we did it specifically from the point of view of ensuring equal opportunities – that was the difference really – we made sure that it was entirely free of bias in terms of gender and every time we do a pay review we take that opportunity to look very, very vigorously at our pay to make sure that no other anomalies have crept in – because obviously, pay does change so – we take the opportunity of at least once a year of radically reviewing the whole of our pay structures as well as maintaining the job evaluations’. [this affects 150 staff in their Welsh operation]". "Two things remain to be done in the future, one is that we have to finish in financial terms, I think we did it over a three or four year period simply to phase it in, clearly that has not yet finished. The second is that we keep a review of the allocation of jobs to grades and make sure that they are relevant… It wasn’t mandatory, we did it on a joint basis between the staff and their representatives – the trade union – [named union] – and our people, it was a completely joint exercise". "The [organisation name] is only four people… [as far as employees are concerned] … I think that we have quite a small proportion of members [as distinct from employees] at the larger end who are addressing the issue in a proactive manner and the majority I would 97
say do not have it as one of their top ten issues to be dealing with... For those relatively few members who I have discussed it with I would say its 60:40 driven by legislation compared to being driven by staff retention and the rest of it". "When I first spoke to [named individual at EOC Wales] about it [i.e. equal pay] they really did have the classic response we don’t need to do an equal pay review because we’ve got individual grades, people tend no to negotiate their salary, and its sort of set by the national body in London, who agrees the pay rises and so on. Basically by talking to [named individual at EOC Wales] it became apparent to me that even if that was the case there was still a good reason to undertake an equal pay review, um, and just from an initial look at our pay scale I realized that we had a large variation a number of pay scales, the bandings and things like that. So I recommended to our [senior managers] here that we ought to undertake the pay review and that we had nothing to worry about if we were confident that there was not a problem with it. So it really was really wanting to be a leader, if you like, in terms of equal pay reviews and potentially the first [public sector body of its type] in Wales and England to look at this and to take it seriously... Apart from the job evaluation scheme which we have had agreement from our union to move to a different form of job evaluation and that’s been done on a consultative approach, I mean the only tangible thing in relation to an equal pay review is having the agreement from the top level that one will be carried out. So we are still trying to get of the starting blocks really, which has been a bit tricky". "Well certainly what I have done, we have a bi-monthly magazine which is a north Wales magazine. And in this I will highlight the regulations that come in. And I have highlighted the one that came out, literally two days ago, and the equal pay questionnaire and I put the website address - www.EOC.org.uk - saying that you can look at this there’s an [equal pay] comparator and there’s a questionnaire to complete. I promote these things… there’s also a monthly UK [organisation name] magazine and that does publicize changes in the law… so these bits are in - its just if the members read them". "I think the main one was the launch of the EOC Equal Pay Toolkit. Getting our president involved in the launch in Cardiff and contributing comment to the press then. Other than that I’m not sure that we have done much else". "At the moment we have made a commitment to conduct the equal pay review and we have actually built that into our corporate plan so the senior management team have made a commitment but also we have a partnership at work group where we deal with business issues in conjunction with our trade union representatives – and there has been that join commitment to take the project forward which will be encompassed as an overall review of terms and conditions of employment". "We have equal opportunities policies and all our recruitment selection procedures are drawn up so to avoid any discrimination in sex, and those sort of things there – so we are starting from that point of view to get equal pay – and all senior jobs are fully open to women 98
as they are to men – but actual tangible things like equal pay job evaluations and those sorts of things we have not really tackled them". "We have an action plan as it were – we’re advanced certainly in terms of where we are [looks at document] … we are putting together an equal pay policy and that will be agreed by the trade unions – that will probably follow the EOC draft as a template – we were looking to closely monitor equal pay on an annual basis, we want to look more closely at aspects of discrimination in the pay system i.e. disability, ethnic minorities and age - , we don’t think that there is any but we certainly need to look at that, we need to look at our recruitment systems to make sure that there is no hidden discrimination in that ; there are some areas where we feel we are under represented in terms of where women are represented in some of the bands, we will be looking at that again; looking at our PDR system – our Performance Development Review System - to make sure that its not biased against women or part-timers – especially as women have career breaks; and also on the promotion system to make sure that there is not something that we haven’t spotted yet". "What’s been done is the issue of career breaks so that if people decide to take a career break they still would advance up the pay scale during the time that they are off. Because we found that the people who were taking career breaks were generally female who were taking them to raise a young family so we’ve addressed the issue of them losing out during career breaks. We have addressed the historical issue of [career] progression which is a problem that we had in [named organisation] – and there was very poor progression in the [named organisation]. They were the two main issues that we addressed during the three-year pay deal that we are in just now. We are currently reviewing term-time working – starting pay is an issue that we are currently looking to address just to make sure that we don’t bring in any inequalities from any other outside bodies that don’t do equal pay audits – so we are trying to address any problems in relation to starting salaries – to stop people negotiating salaries when they come into [named organisation] because the evidence that we were seeing tends to suggest that males are better negotiators than females – so that’s our next big one". "The most tangible measure that we have done is to actually embark on the equal pay audit, because the equal pay audit will identify pay gaps and it will identify a kind of action programme – I mean [organisation name] is the lead organisation in this collaborative effort involving [organisation names] – you know we get something out of it from that kind of status – one of my other responsibilities or duties has been sitting on the National Executive Committee of the [public sector body] – and I have been on it for about two years now and one of my roles there has been involved in the Development Team and I suppose that I was the key person involved in setting up a development day that was held last week in London on equal pay issues. I co-ordinated the presentations on that – we had some input from [named organisation]– being a national group of [type of profession] they provided two speakers talking about the legal aspects of equal pay and also the problems in implementing equal pay… that demonstrates our commitment here we haven’t 99
demonstrated it tangibly in terms of outputs yet but there has been quite a bit going on". "What we are doing at the moment is redesigning the pay system. We are going to give it a lot more structure. One of the problems is that when [organisation names] came together the pay bandings were widened to try and accommodate people – and obviously that has given more scope for differentials so we are going to do is probably narrow some of the pay bands to – and give more structure. The final details have yet to be agreed… and what we’ll try and do is limit people’s ability to keep getting pay rises in a particular job if they have been there for an extended period of time because that is tending to favour men at the higher grades – who are effectively getting 'long service awards'. The difficulty with that is that there are motivational aspects and what you don’t want to do is to be demotivating people – having them feel that they are some form of liability… it is quite a difficult balancing act really. … What we did was that we started using the TMS approach – to see if we could spot individual anomalies but the difficulty is that with the wide pay bandings potentially you have got thousands – because there is such a wide spread of salaries and to try and correct them individually was just impossible … we thought we cannot approach this through individual reviews and adjustments … another problem was that we don’t think that people out in the field understand equal pay sufficiently and we were not confident that we would get anything like consistent approaches – so in the end we thought 'no' this has got to be structural and we have got to redesign the pay systems so it will remove any of the anomalies – so that people who are low paid need to be brought up to the market rate much more quickly and in a much more structured way … and those who are continuing to get pay rises through long service they need to be capped. So we are doing through a purely structured approach through the pay system". "In terms of tangible things I mean what we've done is made it absolutely clear that we are an equal opportunities employer - and that applies across the board to pay and to all other terms and conditions. But in terms of practical things that we have had to do we haven't really had to do anything at all because we have always had equal pay - there has been no difference [between the sexes] and its quite interesting that - I mean we've obviously - [type of industry] tends to be a male bastion and we are breaking into that in all sorts of ways - now 25% of our management team in the last two years are women - I think that the fact that we do have this equality of treatment helps recruitment". [Q. You've undertaken an equal pay review?] "To be honest I don't know. I threw that at the finance and HR directors - I don't know where we are on that I can't answer that … I am sure that its not an issue because we have reviewed all the Company's agreements in the last four years, and there's absolutely no scope for inequality… We do staff appraisals and as I control all the agreements there is absolutely no way that it [stance on equal pay] will change". "We've actually got personnel consultants working with us now [July 2003] on equal pay… There was an attempt at a job evaluation some years ago but I don't think that it happened fully. And then I think that 100
the first part of our [gender pay gap] review is what we are doing now - and then I think that ultimately we will be looking at job evaluation in the future". [Q. So at the minute you're getting in HR consultants to take a preliminary look at the whole issue?] - "Yes, that's right. As an independent statistical way of looking at it really, a scientific look at it then somebody will look more at the detail afterwards". "Its very focused at the moment in that we have applied it as one of the core tools if you like to the [named public sector equality initiative] so we work on a company-by-company basis with small businesses in Wales so that an individual business adviser will go through the tool that we have developed - a CD ROM and what have you - with the individual company and enable them to interrogate their own pay processes and to come to a decision as to whether or not there is any discrepancy on the grounds of gender. We do encourage them to look beyond gender by the way as well. We are in the process of deciding upon a publicity campaign to take some of the lessons that we have learned out to the general public. If, when we look at the messages that we have had back from the participant companies, we decide that they are sufficiently strong we will actually use them for a publicity on the back of this work to persuade other organisations to adopt good practice in this area. So far we've done this process with about 22 SMEs, although from now on we will be looking to go through this process with 4 or 5 organisations a month. The reason that the number is limited at the moment is that due to a restructuring of the management structure within the project we have had to keep activity within the project at a very low level. So we have been working with very few companies over the last three months however we are rectifying that situation now and that will see a big increase in the number of organisations with who we work". "As mentioned earlier [organisation name] has been leading the way in equal pay and we believe we are a long way ahead of most other organisations in identifying and managing the pay gap… All lines of business within [organisation name] have conducted equal pay audits over the last two years and funds have been made available to begin to close the pay gap. To date over £1m has been spent in [division of named organisation] alone in the last 18 months… A new pay on promotion process has been introduced to remove pay bias on promotion. The introduction of a new non-management pay structure means jobs of equal value are now put together and jobs that were perhaps historically classed as female jobs (clerical) and those classed as male (engineering) are now shown together within one structure. We are currently working with the unions to conduct a [organisation name]-wide equal pay audit with agreed parameters that will be used across the business to ensure consistency. Initial audit work has been carried out by qualified internal auditors and the findings of that audit are now being discussed with unions and [organisation name] board".
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9. SELECTED RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION: 'WHAT HAVE BEEN THE IDENTIFIABLE STRENGTHS OF THE PAY REVIEW PROCESS IN YOUR VIEW? i.e. WHAT HAVE BEEN THE BENEFICIAL ASPECTS TO YOUR ORGANISATION OF CONDUCTING THE REVIEW'?
"Identified historical anomalies in the [named organisation]’s pay structure". "I think that the benefits are secondary really – it’s a general 'feel good factor' in terms of fairness and equity". "I think its basically going to definitely promote equal opportunities and I think that there have been pay issues in the past and people have made applications for their pay to be reviewed, so I think that it will iron-out a lot of the potential disputes that might occur to make it a fair and open system really – this will come in line with the new appraisal system so it will help performance management as well". "Well we’ve avoided trouble. We were vulnerable to equal pay claims. The system is now fairer, more equitable, we haven’t got badly underpaid staff any longer – I think that its helped motivation, we also got a number of people who are discontented with the outcome, we think a small number … but it’s the small number that make all the noise … I think that it has an effect on recruitment and retention, we’re able to offer better money so we are getting better people in, I think that we are losing fewer people – although to be honest we had a very low turnover anyway so it’s a bit difficult to get any meaningful samples". "The main benefit has been in providing a focus on specific areas of concern. There is a discipline imposed by having the Equal Pay Review process built in as part and parcel of the multi-year pay deal". "Its transparency, we can put our hand on our heart and tell our staff we not just an equal opportunities employer by default but because we vigorously want to be and that means that everybody knows that their pay is fair and balanced and equitable – which I think is valuable. We pride ourselves in being a good employer". "I think the credit that has been built up because it was completely open and completely joint". "You have a more contented workforce". "The reviews carried out to date have shown our people that [organisation name] has a real commitment to equal pay and is prepared to manage the issue in an open and honest way". "It has also helped [organisation name] position equal pay amongst its people and ensure they are aware of the impact on them. Where this understanding has led to people having false expectations these have been managed through education". 102
10. SELECTED RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION: 'AGAIN, IN RELATION TO YOUR OWN ORGANISATION’S APPROACH TO EQUAL PAY REFORMS HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE ANY PROBLEMS THAT YOU’VE ENCOUNTERED? ARE THERE TRANSFERABLE LESSONS HERE THAT YOU THINK OTHERS MAY DRAW UPON'?
"The costs of conducting an equal pay review in the [type of public sector agency] – perceived disparity – there is greater funding allocated for this in England. We need to develop a universal job evaluation template that has built-in comparability i.e. it allows gender pay disparities to be investigated between different types/ levels of employees in the organisation". "There have been a few … there are a whole number of ways that this can be done … a little bit more management in terms of the timescales, three months is a little ambitious on the [pay evaluations] timescales… There are a whole host of ways of doing this appraisal system and everyone has a different viewpoint – its not all converged at the moment and that’s a problem – but after time everyone will converge on a common appraisal". "Things like communication I guess, communicating what’s going on to people, working with the unions was also a major plus – excellent, excellent co-working with the unions, I mean that was really valuable to us. They worked with us on developing the grading system, the pay ranges, it was really helpful to us". "It is important that the Trade Union side and staff themselves are fully involved in the process so that it is not just seen as a management tool (again, the danger of being seen to be paying lip service to the notion of equal pay). Targets should be clear, unambiguous and measurable rather than vague statements of intent". "Two things. Fitting in job evaluation is difficult – one which is genuinely fair and unbiased is hard work. ACAS were very good in providing support but we did have problems – all the way down the line from the staff being trained, understanding the concept of it, from it being accepted as fair by other members of staff, time needed – it requires a lot of time and work goes into it so you’ve got to feel that its worth it at the end of the day. Management has got to totally committed to it – you have to have a reasonable number of staff released from their duties to learn about and exercise job evaluation. And they have to interview all the staff as well as part of the evaluation process. So on that side I think that you need total commitment – that’s one of the lessons that we learned". "People had better work out, it’s the same with any job evaluation system, at a point in time some people will either believe that they 103
have been downgraded or they will believe that they haven’t been upgraded and should have been. No matter which result you come up with – even if you give everyone a 30% pay rise – you still end up with a relativities issue – that’s got to handled sensitively and its got to be open and fair". "We are actually having a problem with data collection, I have been going through – preparing for the different steps in the equal pay review and finding out what our systems are capable of – and we have a bit of a problem in data collection". "I think that when you do comparisons about similar organisations in the public or private sector you have got to be very careful about how you compare jobs with jobs and actually what they are earning". "I think that the basic one is to keep equal pay at the heart of all your decision making – not just pay because there are many other factors that influence pay at the end of the day that you’ve really got to keep equality in mind in all policy decisions in personnel matters – including recruitment and things like that … I think that the whole issue has been driven forward by the Close the Pay Gap Campaign I think that there are so many tools and so much experience out there now that its far easier for people to actually get information on equal pay and to – how to do equal pay audits now – than there ever has been so I mean my recommendation is first of all speak to the EOC because we found them of great assistance in starting out our equal pay audits – as I say we’ve got a great partnership with them – we help them and they help us it works out fine". "Its certainly on the HR agenda – its getting it embedded in the institution more widely that’s difficult’. ‘I think that there will be transferable lessons because one of the issues that we have found at this stage is the sheer complexity of defining what it is that you are about. Naively, we kind of did a bit of superficial analysis some 18 months ago and just taking average salaries within grades we thought we haven’t got a real problem here, certainly not of the scale that the [named union] would say, sort of 16 or 20% disparities between male and female income – that isn’t the case – what you have is concentrated problems within specific sectors and particular parts of grades in my view. For example at [types of professional pay grades] there is virtually no difference between female average and male average – but then you start looking at [senior] level staff and there are big clusters and differences that come out largely reflecting the fact that the gender distribution within the institution is predominantly male at that level – so you’ve got those kind of issues coming through [i.e. you cannot just look at the gender pay gap in isolation – you need to look at distribution of posts by grade across the sexes – the gender profile of seniority]. "I think one of the lessons is getting your data specification sorted out right at the beginning and to keep it fairly simple to get an overall view rather than trying to sort of pin everything down, every sort of specific inequality whether it is related to some fringe benefit here, or some sort of pensions contribution level there – you know, you can become very purist in this whole thing from an analytical 104
point of view – one of our difficulties has been standing back from that and getting grips on it in way that makes some kind of management sense".
"The TMS approach is not applicable to large or even medium sized companies because it does tend to rely very much on looking at individual anomalies … where you have got broad pay bands and large numbers of people it is just not practical … there needs to be an alternative solution to the one that is offered in the toolkit and one that is a structured way". "It's just that organisations have found it useful to go through this process on many levels. I think that some of them have actually found it beneficial to look at their pay systems to reassure themselves in their own minds that their systems are fair. But also it's an opportunity to think more generally about the types of work that men and women should and should not do in the workplace. So. If you like, it kind of frees up some of the preconceived ideas who should be doing what in the work place which is only ever going to benefit the company. The larger your field of potential applicants the better the quality of your final appointment". "The main problems have been the availability of data in certain areas. It is very important that regular reviews are made by the organisation in future to check that improvements have been made". "A number of problems have cropped up along the way some of which have been answered. [Organisation name] has a record of long serving employees many of whom are at the maximum of their respective pay ranges due to the old progression arrangements. This has caused a number of issues when looking at what the relevant rate is in an equal pay case. [Organisation name] accepts that a good number of people are paid well above the market rate for the role they carry out and as such would not want to increase this problem by paying others above market rate. It has also been difficult getting accurate data to ensure a like for like comparison as [organisation name] holds starting dates and promotion dates but there is no indication of when an individual has changed role within the same grade. This can cause issues when looking at the issue of experience in role as an equal pay justification. The question over the use of performance as a justifiable reason for a pay gap also caused a number of issues within [organisation name]. The question over market rates and the perceived bias using market was also highlighted. It has been argued that in predominantly female type jobs such as call centres where the market rate is low this just compounds the equal pay problem".
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11. SELECTED RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION: 'WHAT IS YOUR ORGANISATION’S FORWARD WORK PLAN FOR ACHIEVING EQUAL PAY IN FUTURE YEARS'?
"The next major step is to tie the job evaluation appraisals in with the annual pay review [end of Nov 2003]. Pass on the evaluation info. To local managers and the training dept. – when it comes to the annual review they can conduct the annual pay review and hopefully staff can get paid their worth. Hopefully it will address inequalities. Any adjustments to salary at that point will be justified through the appraisal system". "We will be carrying out the final review of our current multi-year pay deal at the end of this year; the lessons learnt from this will be carried forward to drive the negotiations for the new pay deal in 2004. This will almost certainly include a commitment to continue with further reviews in subsequent years". "I don’t know". "We have an annual report to the authority [on the basis that they revisit equal pay". "It is impossible at this point to put a timescale on it [the organisation's planned equal pay review] until I know, I am waiting for the [statistics] department to come back to me to let me know when we can overcome the [data gathering] difficulty that we have got, I mean it is on our HR department plan – we run from April through to March so I am hoping that it will be – the first review for [named group of staff] that is not for [another named group of staff] – by the end of March 2004’. Initially this is in relation to support staff – but in relation to [named group of staff] – ‘but there is certainly merit in looking at it with the [named group of staff] … we can flag things up … if there were problems I would anticipate flagging it up [to UK government ministry] we would not automatically say “oh we’re not doing [job evaluation – equal pay] of [named group of staff]” – that’s my interpretation of it anyway". "It's reminding people that: (a) its fair and reasonable and (b) if you don’t [observe equal pay] there are penalties… its getting the message across". "There’s not [a future work plan about equal pay] but I’m sure if it was raised then we’d welcome looking at it with the Assembly Government or the EOC". "We are looking to actually commence the equal pay review by December 2003 we are probably going to engage an external consultant because it is quite a large area of work, not just in terms of the equal pay review itself, but the broader review but we have actually built it in within our plan for this financial year ending March 2004". 106
"It's something that we have discussed constantly for three or four years but as I say the danger that the [organisation name] perceives is that – you know they looked at other [public bodies] that have done it and their wage bills have dramatically increased. And also, because of the – you know you get some people who get more pay but you get a lot of people who get less pay [i.e. after equal pay rectifications] and the industrial relations problems that come along with it can be very off putting as well … In most evaluation schemes they say something like a third of people will go up, a third will stay the same and a third will go down – very roughly – well the third that go up expect top get more pay straight away – and the third that go down want some sort of pay protection – so it can be very costly to introduce – and certainly for the first few years when you are looking to protect those employees who have lost pay". "Probably looking over this coming year [2003-04] and analyzing [equal pay] information more closely, given our current position I don’t think that there’s – the urgency is not there – we have got a current system where we’ve only got four stats for each pay band because we have restructured and we have merged a number of ranges that we had before into bands giving a broader job width as it were which then doesn’t give rise to more closely defined boundaries… The effects of the new grading structures are to be completed by 2005/6". "We do the [annual] equal pay audits but we do other equal pay investigations. The equal pay audit obviously covers a very small snapshot which is the same year-on-year for the purpose of comparisons but we are looking at things like starting pay salaries and things like that. We address these issues and look at particular instances as we go along. We base a lot of our evidence on the same staff that were had last year and then we also take into account other bodies that have been transferred in because of the case of the Assembly swallowing up other bodies as we go along so that they don’t distort the figures we look at the underlying trend as well as for the new bodies coming into the Assembly". "It is probably going to take us three to four years – but what I think the plan is … we are going to try and get everybody by October 2004 to be on a minimum of 90% of the market indicator – there will be a major change over the next twelve months and then over the next three years the other changes will keep the lid on the people at the top and bring the lower paid people up – so its like compressing the pay more around the market indicator… These pay adjustments will be effected in the annual pay performance review in April". "Well the HR consultants have actually started. For a number of reasons there were delays in getting some of the information to them. So they are hoping to provide a report to our board in September [2003] I think that it is. [Q. Following that people will decide how any disparities will be addresses?] 'Yes, that's it". "An internal project team has been put together across the business to look at equal pay for the whole business. An internal audit of the business has been carried out and the results of that audit are now 107
being analysed by the team. Work on current grading structures and recruitment and promotion arrangements are being conducted to ensure a clear link with pay equality. In doing this [organisation name] is not only concentrating on the gender pay gap but also ethnicity and disability also".
12. SELECTED RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION: 'HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE “POLITICAL” WILL i.e. THE EXTENT TO WHICH THE INSTITUTIONAL CULTURE – MANAGERS, ALL TIERS OF STAFF, UNIONS – EMBRACED THE EQUAL PAY REFORMS'?
"The unions have been pushing for equal pay review for some time. Senior managers v. supportive. [named figure] has been instrumental in initiating equal pay evaluations". "They are welcomed … but people aren’t too sure how to do things – they need a little more guidance … its something that has to be kept on top of … some that its always in the forefront of people’s minds". "Thankfully the job evaluation has got support from senior management from the top and the unions are highly supportive of it – but obviously, I think that the biggest struggle is going to be interviewing employees themselves, I mean people are afraid of change, I mean they’re afraid that if this job evaluation means that there’s going to be a change – does it mean that their standing is going to go down – so to counteract that I think that we are going to be 'red-circling' salaries – so that the salaries do not drop … but I think that people are afraid of change – especially with regard to appraisal systems because they’ve never been appraised correctly in the past – so I think that there is a lot of fear there – that’s why we need the senior management support and the support of the unions basically". "In respect of staff in [type of public sector body] - until we can get some answers from the Assembly Government in terms of the costs of job evaluation I don’t think that people are actually thinking round equal pay issues in that much detail". "At Board level if there were any issues we would be looking to solve them, to work in partnership with the trade unions, to resolve those ASAP". "Its there. It took time purely because of the sheer mechanics of the job evaluation being accepted and the time – but once it took off – and it took a year or two – then the willingness is certainly there – its there on the part of the managers and its there on the part of the staff". "I think to be honest they would all be willing to do it – they all think that it’s a good thing obviously, and they would like to introduce fair pay for all but it’s the problems in doing it really that are putting it off". "I think that there is a kind of acknowledgement that it is an issue but I 108
think that there is a concern in Wales that there may not be the funding availability to do very much about it – a distinct difference between [named public sector agencies] one's attitude is that the English [agency] is piling loads of money into HR initiatives yet in Wales we feel our success factors are being measured against the sort of successes that are occurring in England - but on a completely different funding regime, this is very, very difficult. I am very grateful for the support that [organisation name] has given to conduct this equal pay audit but it's only [limited amount of funding] spread over a period of 9 months or so to take [a specified number of] institutions to a report stage … it merely identifies what the problem is. I hope then out of the project there will be various costings are likely to be and what the way forward is to achieve it so we may be able to close the loop at some point and pull in funding from the [organisation name] to address these problems but on past experience I am not that confident about that... The evaluation is in the process of taking place and it will report at the end of this year. We don’t know at this stage what the funding arrangements will be to address any gender pay disparities identified by the equal pay evaluation… The Assembly Government is supportive of the approach, [organisation name] has asked for opportunity to be involved in the final stage of the analysis they are alert I think to any kind of big issues associated with funding and have also indicated that they would want some wider dissemination of the findings as an illustration of good practice in Wales – or as an illustration of some of the issues in Wales". "Don't forget that the organisations with whom we work are a selfselecting group. So these are people who are prepared to look at these issues in the first place and have a certain level of keenness and awareness. I think that there is a certain amount of reticence on two counts. One, 'what happens if we are found to have a disparity'? And, the second, on a legal basis - 'how much is this going to cost'? I mean a cost- benefit analysis of losing a valued female - or male - member of staff on the grounds of unfair pay systems can easily be offset by what are very often very marginal adjustments that have to be made to pay scales".
13. SELECTED RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION: 'ARE THERE ANY OTHER POINTS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO RAISE IN REGARD TO YOUR ORGANISATION’S EQUAL PAY REVIEW – OR INDEED ON THE EQUAL PAY TOPIC GENERALLY'?
"The costs of conducting an equal pay review in the [type of public sector agency] – perceived disparity – greater funding allocated for this in England. Need to develop a universal job evaluation template that has built-in comparability i.e. it allows gender pay disparities to be investigated between different types/ levels of employees in the organisation". "Working in head office with lots of satellite branches lots of geographical problems come into effect when you do an equal pay review and that then impacts on who gets paid what… More scope to introduce flexible working in branches – but branch staff – mostly women – don’t want to be promoted to head office where they might 109
get more senior employment opportunities that are not available at the local branch level simply because those functions don’t exist at a branch level. i.e. the highest that they can reach is branch manager – without moving to head office – which many do not want to do they don’t want to relocate to Cardiff. This skews the gender pay profile of the organisation…There are sociological and geographical factors that are simply out of your control". "We did have a letter from Carwyn Jones AM last year asking about equality policies and we indicated there that we had agreed to undertake an equal pay review – but we never heard anything more. So yes, I do think that there could be more of a steer [from the Assembly Government] and I’ve not heard the [UK government ministry] mention it at all’. "Whilst you are obviously talking about equal pay we are not [solely] doing this with regard to equal pay but as part of the whole equal pay salary [issue] it's global". [Q. So you are looking at staffing profiles and who's on what grade - the whole broader issue?] "Yes, not only - you know - looking at people doing the same job but across the board really". "Whilst conducting our internal review and in our contact with other organisations it has become clear that [organisation name] is some way ahead in the equal pay field. We have been working hard over the last 2 -3 years to identify and manage equal pay". "The inclusion of a number of [organisation name] people in formulating the EOC draft equal pay audit has also been a positive point". "The first time that the [organisation name] has looked at equal pay in a systematic way. They standardized the length of the working week – and there used to be two sets of pay scales for super annuable and non-super annuable staff so we harmonized that. Consolidated allowances into basic pay. Instituted a 'no detriment principal' to all the equal pay reforms so that employees’ pay was not undermined by the review". "It has been helpful – it has been a good campaign". "The central issue is how do you get businesses to believe that it is a staff retention, staff development tool – rather than get it driven by legislation and fear of non-compliance. I think that is the key to getting this further up the agenda. I think that there is a concern amongst members that: (a) the are being branded as bad 'fat cat' employers and all the rest of it – whereas much of the public sector – their performance is equally bad, if not worse in equal pay terms – and a little bid of resentment you know, I’ve looked at what’s happened to the [organisation name], I think the Assembly, um, from my understanding [organisation name] as well, when they have gone and tackled equal pay, um, its at massive expense, and the budget just increases, or the budget-per-head count increases but you take it away from the budget for delivering programmes, um, many members, virtually all of my members don’t have that luxury. There’s a blank cheque in the public sector: (a) they are not very good to start with and, (b) when they get round to dealing with it there’s a blank cheque to put it right. My members don’t have that benefit". 110
"‘Red circling' – its very unclear when red circling will be justified and when it will not be … and potentially the remedies that they were suggesting might help you to defend the red circling – one of the solutions that they were suggesting was 'why not give the person that you are red circling some extra responsibilities?' – and you think that is fine - but if you have just gone through a process of redesigning jobs and they have come out at a lower grade then there is no point in redesigning it back up to the old grade. The other thing suggested was - 'can you not give them more stretching targets'? – and you think 'well that sounds quite nice' – and then you think 'well, the trouble is in flatter [pay] structures there is less opportunities for lots of people to progress' – so if you gave red circled people A, B and C [revised targets] plus 20% to account for the fact that they are a higher grade [i.e. they are getting paid at a higher level than is justified following the pay evaluation] – then I might look at it and think 'well actually I haven’t got much of a career prospect – there’s no where for me to go so actually give me a target of A, B, C plus 20% and pay me an extra £5,000 thank you' – so everybody might say 'I’ll have am extra stretching target if you gave me £5,000 more' – and there other problem is if you give them the stretching target and they did not achieve it then you’ve undermined your case because that is reinforcing the fact that they are not worth the money that you are currently paying them". "I think that there is a lack of rigour in various agencies between the law and what we adopt as policy and what industry actually does … we would like to see much more effective auditing and enforcement procedures … it is one thing to establish laws it is another to make sure that they are abided to by all parts of industries".
Appendix Two
Selected comments from a telephone survey of trade union officials on their union's approach to equal pay and the Close the Pay Gap Campaign
1. SELECTED RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION: 'HOW SIGNIFICANT HAS BEEN THE JOINT ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT/ EOC/ WALES TUC CAMPAIGN ON EQUAL PAY IN INFLUENCING YOUR ORGANISATION’S APPROACH TO EQUAL PAY'?
"We found it very useful in that we have worked with the EOC in Wales and we set up an Equal Pay Finance Forum. A so far we have has two very successful seminars. We invited union representatives and employers along to talk about equal pay. The last one we had was last month. [organisation name] did a presentation on their equal pay pilot scheme and during that we thrashed out some of the issues - the problems of equal pay. At the next seminar we are hoping to talk 111
more about how we can find some solutions and work together towards closing the pay gap. But in that context it has been really excellent. And Edwina [Hart AM] she has been very supportive as well and really helpful in helping us get the funding to run these seminars". "Well it obviously has been influential as far as Wales is concerned. But the [named union at a UK level] nationally has a Close the Gap Campaign as well which we are obviously running throughout the country [UK]. But, obviously, its helpful when a body such as the Welsh Assembly fully supports what is happening, obviously I would like to see them going a bit further and ensuring that anybody that does work for them - and their appointed bodies have to do a pay audit and things - in the same way that I would prefer nationally for pay audits to be mandatory rather than companies being able to do them as and when they feel like it". "I think that my union was probably ahead of the game in actual fact. Because we have been dealing with equal pay issues for a long time but I still think that the position of the Assembly Government in particular is very important indeed because they can and have led by example as well as running public campaigns and so forth - and they have put their own house in order in terms of equal pay - which I think for us with [union] members that work there is clearly very important because my union … mainly represents people in the public sector". "I think that it has reinforced our approach to equal pay in [type of public sector body]. We have the issue of equal pay in [type of public sector body] on the agenda for many years now and in 1997 we reached an agreement with the National Joint Council (the employers and trade unions body) for the introduction of a nationally agreed job evaluation scheme that met equal pay/ equal value considerations in respect of the way of all [type of public sector body] employees. Since 1997 not one [type of public sector body] in Wales has in fact implemented job evaluation. Some are in the process of doing it. Some are further down the road than others but not one [type of public sector body] in that period has implemented job evaluation and tackled the equal pay/ equal value issue. We certainly felt that the Campaign, the joint Campaign between the Assembly Government, EOC and WTUC was a big boost to our campaign. And obviously with the creation of the Assembly and its duty under its founding legislation in relation to equalities it has given a positive boost but we are still left with the major problem of how to fund the introduction of equal pay in [type of public sector body]". "I do not think that it has been very significant because it came after our pay deal was done. I think - our pay deal came in 2001, so we have had equal pay of a sort since then". "I would say that it is groundbreaking. I mean I think the one thing the Welsh Assembly has achieved is bringing interested parties together people who have very similar agendas on equality and getting them to work together and I would say that it is producing results. I think that the cooperation and partnership in place in Wales seemingly now has become a model of best practice for other parts of the country to follow. So I think that the Assembly Government deserves immense 112
credit for that. Certainly in my sector which is principally central government we are light years ahead in the Welsh areas - i.e. the National Assembly and its quangos in terms of delivering equal pay compared to Whitehall controlled departments and organisations so there is a kind of ready comparison there. Certainly there is evidence now that London and other parts of the country are catching up with what we are doing. As far as my area is concerned we are certainly ahead of the game at the moment". I am going to give it a conditional "yes". We were running the 'Close the Gap Campaign' at [union name] for about three months, we jumped the gun, if you like, and I am not convinced, but I am 99% certain, our equal opportunities officer at the time was collaborating with the EOC in as much as there is an awful lot of cross over. So we were able to kick start than the [Joint Working Group's launch early last year. I think as far as highlighting the issues of equal pay, the Campaign from the Assembly/ EOC/ WTUC has in Wales pushed it up the agenda. The impact that it has had locally on pay itself - 'no' but that is for different reasons. We have companies that are going to the wall and so they are not too keen on dealing with this particular issue and adding to their costs straight away. But was it has done like when companies are trying to bring in stupid things like merit pay, which I happen to know that one company is, we are able to lean on then than say we could have done 18 months ago because they would have said 'year, equal pay Zzzzzzzz - ' - and fallen asleep. But if you mention it now, they say 'Oh, yeah, FINE' - so in that sense I think that the awareness of equal pay has definitely improved. Our union's ability to fight those campaigns is now neither more nor less than it was 18 months ago but that is more down to economic circumstances than any failing by the [Close the Pay Gap) Campaign".
2. SELECTED RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION: 'HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE EQUAL PAY CAMPAIGN'?
"Um, the CD Rom I never got around to looking at … I think that it has been mixed. I think that if you put messages on buses people do not necessarily take it on board. I think that if you really want to close the [pay] gap you've got to work with government, employers, and the unions together to close the gap. And I think that its better if the unions try to publicize the pay gap in the organisations but that said there are a lot of companies that are not unionized so I would say using that media may target people that work in non-unionized organisations - but I don't think that it would necessarily make them go off and do anything about it". "I think that they have made great efforts to get media coverage. The problem, of course, is that the media will report what the media WANT to report. And it may be that it is not a particular sexy story equal pay - I mean when we can find specific instances where there are large [gender [pay] gaps like when the Assembly themselves did their pay audit they discovered that there was a gap there that is a 113
story to report but in terms of the companies doing the internal 'bread and butter' pay assessments that's not getting very much coverage and it’s a shame". "I think that it has been helpful. Yes, I do think that it's helpful. Its difficult for me to measure because I am aware of it - so in a sense it is not a learning process that I have had to go through myself personally, but I think it has certainly been helpful because it has created a public climate in which such things are accepted as things that need to be dealt with". "I think amongst the 'political classes' if I can use that term? And those people that have to be engaged with the Assembly because of its position as the government for Wales it has raised considerably I think understanding of these issues and the need for something to be done and certainly [union name] welcomed very much the series of seminars arranged by the Welsh Assembly Government in, I think it was, January, February and March of this year [2003]. One of which was specifically directed at local government for actually highlighting the need to get on with this task of fulfilling equal pay for equal value across the public sector in Wales. And again, the problem at the end is that whilst local authorities can get on with it, whilst trade unions at a local level can get on with it, it is this cost factor which is the limiting factor in terms of introduction and we have had informal discussions with the [organisation name] with a view to costing [equal pay reviews] this summer. The cost of the 22 local authorities introducing a job evaluation scheme - what will the additional costs be overall? And seeking additional, ring-fenced monies from the Welsh Assembly Government so that (one) local authorities can introduce job evaluations without impacting upon staff's pay and conditions because the problem that we had up until now - if I give you a clear example of this - let's take 'Mary Jones' working as a care worker in a residential home - clearly a responsible job dealing with elderly people who have a myriad of problems [she is] underpaid because it is seen in the past as women's work, and we know that the job evaluation scheme, the NJC scheme, and even the Greater London Scheme that one or two authorities are considering using will increase the salaries of those women. Excellent. The problem is what authorities are saying to us as the major local government trade union in Wales - what they are actually saying is 'fine - we agree with job evaluation - the only way that we can pay for it is to take away the [pay] enhancements for [working on] Saturday and Sunday'. So what happens to Mrs Jones, Mrs Jones who has been inspired by the Campaign that you refer to - and that we endorse - that her [unequal pay] issue is going to be tackled, she gets a regarding from the job evaluation because it is recognized at last that her duties and responsibilities need to be rewarded adequately yet on the other hand she loses her time and a half and double time [wage rates for working at weekends] so financially it is a phyrric victory for that woman. You know, it is a mockery of the whole concept of equal pay for equal value if employers, local authority employers are going to claw back from people's existing pay and conditions by changing their pay and conditions to compensate for the [cost of funding] the increase in salary. It becomes a meaningless exercise. And I think a lot of people, a lot of women in local authorities across who are in the caring arena, primarily in social services like homecare staff, 114
residential care workers and others would be extremely turned off and disillusioned if that is what happened at the end of the day. Hence this attempt to generate a joint approach at a regional level, at an allWales level, in early autumn [2003] in terms of the overall coast 'how can you help us to meet the obligations that are statutorily laid down in the Welsh Assembly Act'? "I would say very successful [in raising awareness] in human resource terms [i.e. amongst HR practitioners] and the people involved in that kind of work - but less successful in terms of ordinary members and staff - because they did not know that the information was there". "I think - I mean there has been quite a degree of publicity. I think that the EOC have been very successful in particular and there has been much more of a focus on equal pay than there has been in the past. I think that there is a lot of mileage yet to go. Certainly, the focus on the public sector has been very, very good. I think that certainly as far as the private sector is concerned, employer organisations are simply not engaged in a way that we would like them to be. So I would say that the Campaign has been effective but I think that there is much more work to be done. Certainly, I think that the idea of the public sector getting its own backyard in order before kind of preaching to the private sector is a sensible policy and certainly I think that is what is happening at the moment - although there are still major areas in the public sector which have pay inequalities but they are being looked at now in much more detail than they were previously - but I still feel that we have not made inroads into the private sector that we should and could have done … I certainly think that the publicity that the Campaign's had had has been very effective … In a way you cannot really comment on the media coverage because it is at the whim of the newspaper and television managers as to whether they cover the issue or not. I suspect that a lot of effort has been put into it and very often you get very little reward for that". "I think that the press side could have been better. But I mean we did quite well so maybe when the TUC went for it, it did not get as much coverage as it might have done - we'd already done it so there's an issue around that I suppose. That is really the only criticism that I've got [of the Close the Pay Gap Campaign). I mean WE certainly got a lot of press coverage on it - I mean I was all over Radio Wales at one point - it certainly made them pay attention and listen. So, in that sense well it would be a generic criticism about the publicity I mean I know that they got some coverage when they did the formal launch it would have been nice, perhaps, to have done a big launch i.e. with an (Assembly Government) minister and the heads of EOC Wales and the WTUC - for reasons that I don't know that just did not come off - I think it might possibly have been because it might have been difficult to work out which minister to have used at the time - so I think that that is the only real criticism - of course the converse is if you do that then people are going to phone you up and say 'What success have you had?' - and if, for the reasons that I explained earlier on you have not it does not look so good it’s a case of judging where you are with that".
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3. SELECTED RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION: 'HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE USEFULNESS OF THE SUPPORT MATERIAL AND GUIDANCE PROVIDED BY THE JOINT WORKING GROUP ON EQUAL PAY/ EQUAL PAY CAMPAIGN'?
"I thought that the literature was very, very good indeed". "I think that it was useful in that lots of our members here - we had the kind of begrudger attitude - "its taken me 15 years to get to where I am now (on the issue of equal pay) - how come these will get it after four years or whatever! And I think that the Campaign made it clear as to why things were happening". "The support material that was produced both by the TUC and EOC was second-to-none - I mean in the UK in my opinion. I know that the TUC's was a general campaign but with the EOC they actually went one stage further and produced SME support material, so in that sense it sort of gave them [employers) less of an excuse to do it - or not to do the audit".
4. SELECTED RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION: 'IN YOUR VIEW, WHAT WAS POSITIVE AND USEFUL ABOUT THE CLOSE THE PAY GAP CAMPAIGN BY THE ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT AND ITS PARTNERS'?
"I think that the publicity materials were absolutely excellent". "I actually think that it was a very good campaign. Certainly put together very, very well. The fact that it was a tripartite campaign with the three organisations coming together gave it tremendous credence out there - in the outside world". "In a funny sort of way we did not need persuading we were fully signed up to what the Assembly Government is trying to achieve. And because - in our union - we have a unique relationship with the Assembly in that we represent the [Assembly Civil Service] staff the civil servants and the Assembly subordinate quangos we were in the forefront and engaged in the Campaign in a strange sort of way as role models to follow".
5. SELECTED RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION: 'LASTLY, ON THIS AREA - IN YOUR VIEW - WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN IMPROVED ON IN THE CLOSE THE PAY GAP CAMPAIGN BY THE ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT AND ITS PARTNERS'? 116
"Not from our perspective because the EOC have been very supportive and have involved us fully so I have only got good things to say about the involvement with the Campaign". "In terms of what was good about it, it has raised the awareness not just with women but also with men and then its raising awareness that it's not just this week's pay packet the we are talking about - but the ongoing deficit that women face during the whole of their working life, and obviously this leads then into their pension period because most people's pension is dependent upon their earnings. And its surprising how many women do not realize this - so in terms of awareness raising it is really important and you know its had an effect on men as well and making them see how unfair these pay differentials are… It is very difficult to say [how the Welsh Joint Working Group on Equal Pay could have been improved] because what would have caught the media's attention? Because that's the way to get it more widely publicized. I know that the EOC have worked a lot with the Wales TUC in terms of awareness raising within the trade union membership areas but, obviously there are a large number of people in Wales who are not union members and I am sure that there are people who are still not being paid the minimum wage so that shows where the pay deficits are out there". "It is difficult for me to judge what they could have done quite honestly, because of the actual impact on the employers that I deal with it really is sort of not of direct importance in some respects because they are much more responsive to the [UK government ministry] for equal pay audits to be done". "The only criticism that I would make was that on one or two occasions the lines got crossed about what was happening in England and what was happening in Wales. Especially at the TUC level, where the British TUC were running courses on equal pay for equal value and they were, or they did not really seem to be clued into the fact that we had this Welsh initiative carrying on here. But that isn't unusual because I think that a lot of institutions, what I would call UK institutions have not yet got used to devolution and the way in which devolution is unfolding and sometimes in their head offices in London they are still thinking in old fashioned ways". "Easier access to information. Lots of people did not know where to look". "I go back to what I said about the private sector not being fully engaged. There has been a big focus on the public sector. But I don't think that the private sector have engaged in ways that people would have liked them to have been … Its difficult to highlight any weaknesses because this is so innovative. And, it is still in the early stages I would say. Undoubtedly there is a momentum in Wales now to tackle this in a way that, perhaps, we had never looked at before. And Wales is undoubtedly leading the way on this I would say".
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6. SELECTED RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION: 'TURNING TO EQUAL PAY AND YOUR UNION - JUST TO BEGIN WITH – WHAT FACTORS THAT HAVE LED TO YOUR UNION TO PLACE EQUAL PAY ON THE BARGAINING AGENDA? WHAT WERE THE DRIVERS OR MOTIVATIONS FOR DOING SUCH A REVIEW'?
"The trade unions - there were definite equal pay cases here and the unions identified a few of them in order to push things. In 2001 we had a three year pay deal and we pushed the [organisation name] to amend its pay structure by identifying equal pay cases'. [Q. And the perceived benefits of looking at equal pay?] "It has added to our - you know - we have an image of being an employer of choice and I think that [equal pay reviews] has made it even better. And also people are more - we had a number of staff who were not happy with the length of time that it took to get from the minimum to the maximum of their pay scale - like 25 years - if ever. They were thinking 'well I'll never get there - so I won't even bother trying to get good box marking'. So I think it has improved, even though perhaps the money terms were not that greatly improved their position on the pay scale in relation to others was. And their morale went up". "Well, equal pay has been on our agenda for much longer than devolution has come about. The difference was I think, with devolution we have partners in power who were also prepared to do something about it [equal pay]. Previous to the National Assembly coming into being we were dealing with Whitehall politicians - and Whitehall civil servants who, when it came to rhetoric, were all in favour of equality [of opportunity] but in practice they paid lip service to it. So that was the big change for us - having a gender balance in the National Assembly has helped enormously because there was more focus on equality than there had ever been and equal pay was quite rightly one of their priority issues. And we benefited from the fact that the politicians acknowledge that if they are going on an equal pay campaign they have to get their own house in order. And as a result of that it led to the [named union] signing a whole array of pay deals with the National Assembly first and following on from that - with National Assembly funded quangos. Now we think that we have pay systems which are delivering on our equality objective whereas previously we undoubtedly had schemes that were probably unlawful. These were schemes inherited from London effectively - London negotiated pay deals. I think that we would say that we have been signed up to the equal pay agenda for many, many years - but the momentum that devolution has brought that has managed to take us forward. I think undoubtedly, as well, the [Close the Pay Gap] Campaign has rubbed off on us because there is much more focus on the part now by union full-time officers and indeed our lay officials - you know ordinary reps in the workplace - that this is a subject to bear focus on in a way that they did not previously. And, I think that there is much more understanding of pay inequalities and also how to go about dealing with pay inequalities when they exist. So its almost as if - this has always been on the agenda but it has come to the forefront now and we are also finding that in those areas which the Assembly does not control, areas like, for example, the [named public sector agencies] they also have a focus on equal pay which is part of wider civil service equality agenda. But undoubtedly the work that the National Assembly 118
have been doing and the Campaign, the tripartite campaign, has rubbed-off on these Welsh-based organisations as well. The two examples that I would cite in Wales where we have actually tackled equality and equal pay quite effectively is the [named public sector agencies]. It is a consequence of the full-time officers who were involved in those areas being so focused on equal pay because of the Campaign that had gone on and that rubbing-off on the final settlement - but also management locally were picking-up on some of the issues that the Assembly were doing and the campaigning and so on and that was having an influence as well. So undoubtedly the Assembly are 'hitting the mark' outside of their own terrain if you like in other parts of the public sector". "Well first of all, I think that 65% of our members are women and our General Secretary felt that it was a really key issue and something that we needed to tackle if were to move the issue forward on equal pay. I think that there are two or three of us that actually work for [named union] that have actually taken hold of the issue and pushed it forward. So I think it is the combination of the three of us - and having the General Secretary's backing has been very, very important". "ok, I have to say, that this is not a campaign for the [union name] that has come from in Wales - its one that we have done 'nationally' [i.e., here, UK] its because the [union name] have made a commitment, we made a commitment in 1998 to be more equality-friendly across the board now - and so I know that was 1998. I know it takes quite a time for things and we are quite a bureaucratic organisation and it takes a while to get things moving. And when the EOC and the TUC nationally were going to have a campaign then we thought yeah we'll run with this as well but this has come from a national perspective rather than a local perspective".
7. SELECTED RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION: 'IN TERMS OF YOUR UNION – CAN YOU PLEASE OUTLINE THE MEASURES THAT YOU HAVE TAKEN THUS FAR TO PROMOTE EQUAL PAY – HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE PROGRESS THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN MADE? AND IN YOUR VIEW WHAT REMAINS TO BE DONE'?
"We set a co-ordinating group - a group of us to take it forward - I suppose about 18 months to two years ago. And the first thing that we felt was important was to train our officers and our representatives on equal pay. And so a lot of our officers have been through training organized by the TUC. So that was the first stage. When we felt that they were sufficiently knowledgeable to take the issue forward our General Secretary wrote last October [2002] to all chief executives of the companies that we deal with and said that we wanted them to carry out an equal pay audit jointly with us. We've had a mixed response. [Organisation name] are one of the big companies that have done an equal pay audit, [organisation name], I have actually got a list would that be useful … so that was the first step so a colleague has just been taken on to look at this and she's done a lot of work with the negotiators. Where statistics have been produced she has been 119
working with the negotiators. We have been doing lots of presentations to representatives. Holding meetings with employers etcetera. And we have had two tacks: one, trying to mainstream equal pay into collective bargaining with the negotiating officers but also we are trying to raise the awareness of equal pay with our members. So when we produced a leaflet on equal pay for members on equal pay this tied in with International Women's Day so we had a big week then publicizing the Int. Women's Day and also equal pay. But there is probably a lot more and my colleague's done a report on what's she's done. But it's very much 'ongoing' at the moment". "OK. Well, we are raising the awareness in terms of promoting companies to do pay audits. And, you know, we are really happy when a company does a pay audit and it finds that there is no pay gap and that people are being paid fairly and equitably - of course what we are looking at is not just the basic pay but we are also looking at shift premiums and bonus payments and all sorts of other things as well. So we are promoting all that. Obviously some companies - when they are doing the pay audit - it's pretty obvious that it needs more than an audit and when they are in the process of carrying out job evaluation exercises because you basically know when you are doing your job evaluation there are going to be disparities in pay then you actually need to attach that to pay negotiations because it will very often not resolve the problem in just one round of pay talks". "We have negotiated in Wales with the Assembly Government - and this is for a couple of years ago now - a pay system designed to overcome their own internal equal pay issues - and funnily enough just this afternoon I was looking at last year's audit and it's working - the pay gap in the Assembly is closing - it was not as bad in some places but anyway its closing - and we have also negotiated pay arrangements with the other public sector employers that we negotiate in Wales such as [named organisations] - all very much modeled on the Assembly model in order to deal with equal pay issues in all of those employers. The one where we have so far not achieved success is [organisation name] - which has had a lot of problems of an entirely different nature - but they are currently conducting an equal pay audit after pressure from us - and we are hoping to get the results of it this month so we will then be negotiating with them on the outcome where I think that it is safe to say that from the preliminary work that the unions have done there is a very significant equal pay problem". "On the issue of equal pay for equal value consideration … in the national agreement, what's commonly referred to as the 'Green Book', the provision as been in existence since 1997. Ok, we had local government reorganisation in Wales on 1st April 1996, that was disruptive, it took time for people to settle but you know, here we are in 2003 and not one authority has implemented the equal-pay-for-equalvalue scheme. Some authorities, a small number, have indicated that they anticipate being able to implement the job evaluation scheme by April 1st 2004. But I would imagine that most authorities will be way behind that [delivering] in 2005, 2006 and 2007. And even then it may well be phased in and will not be introduced in one complete traunch which is what we would prefer. On the equalities issues I do think that local authorities are a bit lacking. From our perspective I think that they need to identify senior people in their organisation to grasp hold of the 120
equalities issues and bring them all under one umbrella. I think that what a lot of local authorities do is that they go through what we would consider to be a paper exercise. And not really meaningfully grasp those issues, equality is now a major, major issue whether its racial discrimination, sexual discrimination, or whatever, these are now major, major issues and I think that local authorities have been a bit slow and they ought to be community leaders. The Welsh Assembly Government says that they are community leaders - this is an area where local authorities could shine in terms of their employment practices but they are being out-paced by a lot of the big private sector companies - supermarkets like Sainsburys, Tescos and others who seem to be a lot more on board in relation to disabilities, and race discrimination, and sex discrimination. It [the WLGA's equality standard] will be significant in pushing this forward. Obviously, we as trade unions - will work in cooperation - we have made a conscious decision not to proceed with individual [equal pay] claims to employment tribunals. It would have been quite easy for us - certainly over the past two years - as our members have become quite frustrated at the lack of progress - it would have been quite easy for us to go around and identify hundreds of claims and swamp local authorities with employment tribunal claims. We deliberately held back to try and give the local authorities an opportunity to put their house in order and to get this show on the road - properly and significantly. I think that possibly - this is a bit tongue in cheek - if there were more women - at a senior level in local government, both a chief executive and director level in Wales we would have been further down the road than we are now. But if you look at the composition not just of the chief officer grades in local authorities in Wales - but also elected members to local authorities you will find that the dominance of men is overwhelming and overbearing - and I think that that is a significant factor in the failure of the local authorities to really push this forward and put it as one of the key things at the top of their agenda". [Q. How many of the 22 Welsh unitary authorities look as if they conceivably will meet the equal pay evaluation deadline of spring 2004?] "I think only about three of them are anywhere near delivering a job evaluation scheme that has been proofed by the EOC". "What we did was we looked at every member of staff within all the grades and we looked at how long they had been in post, how long they had been on certain steps of the pay scale, and because there were no incremental steps as such, we had people all over the place. And they were getting different amounts of an increase every year. Nobody knew what they were going to get next year. Nobody knew what the next person had got and why it was different to them - there was no consistency or clarity there. So what they did was they narrowed the pay bands. From - for instance it used to be, roughly - I think that the minimum of band A - the lowest band, was about £10,000 and the max. was about £16,000 - and you could be anywhere within that and you could go up any amount in any year and nobody knew how much they would go up. So they narrowed the band so that the minimum was raised to £12,400 and the max. stayed the same. And then there were five steps from min. to max. So you knew that you would get to the top in five years. 121
What used to happen under the old pay structures was if the new minimum was higher than your existing point on the pay scale - say under the old pay bands you were a little bit above the old minimum but this salary was still below the new minimum salary in the revised pay bands [e.g. band A now begins at £12,400] - you were not just moved to the new minimum - because this would be unfair because new employees would go straight on to the new minimum while you had been working for a number of years so they assimilated it - so if you were 12% above the old minimum you were put 12% above the new minimum. There is monitoring [of the equal pay reforms] going on. And we've changed it so that every year you have an anniversary. For instance the date that I got my job was the 5th September - so every 5th September assuming I perform satisfactorily - and again we got rid of the performance related pay aspect of … - in the past you got a box one which was the best - and you'd get may be an £800 pay rise - or less if you were on a lower grade perhaps - then again that was not very fair - and if you got a box three you'd get less again - now, boxes one, two, and three are all considered performing satisfactorily - if you get a box 1,2 or 3 you move up to the next incremental step on the anniversary of your starting date - but on the 1st August all the pay scales are revalorized in line with inflation - and we negotiated an inflationary rate of 3.5% just to make sure that it was always higher than inflation". "Well, one of the principal reasons that people are members of trades unions is because trade unions negotiate their pay. Now, for the last ten years (sic) we have been negotiating pay in the National Assembly and most of the Assembly funded quangos. For years we had pay systems that were basically in disrepute. It was a consequence of the previous government; the Tory government - and you'll remember for its' first two years the Labour government had spending constraints placed on organisations. So there was a continuation of the problems that we had on pay during that period when frankly nothing was done in respect of the equality agenda just lip service was paid to it. But then the National Assembly came along we entered into negotiation in each of these separate areas because each area has its own pay system and the big breakthrough was with the National Assembly first. Where the pay system is perceived to be fairer and much more straight forward - essentially what we have gone back to is a straight forward incremental system which is common place in the rest of the public sector but which we had lost under the Tories when they were in power and they brought in things like performance related pay which has been proven to discriminate not just against women - but also against disabled members of staff, and also black and ethnic minority members of staff - so overnight with the signing of the three year pay deal we effectively abolished all of the disreputable elements of the pay system that we weren't happy with and new systems were brought into place. Statistics showed that there were pay inequalities within the bands within the Assembly's pay systems which I suspect will have largely been eroded and I'd be surprised - I haven't seen the stats recently but I would have thought that there was more equality in bands than previously - simply by virtue of the new system coming in so we are not talking about rocket science here. We almost went full 122
circle, going back to systems that we had previously. But it delivered fairness, it also delivered decent pay rises as well over a three year period. So it was not just women that were beneficiaries but men as well. Not everyone was happy because what we had to do was to do was to keep the maximum levels of the pay bands reasonably flat over three years which a lot of members at the top the pay bands did not like much. But it was a price to pay for what we now have which is a genuine progression system where people can reach the rate for the job in a reasonable time period. That was a serious tangible outcome and the pay systems are accepted by the vast majority of staff as being a considerable improvement on what we had previously. And they are fair... There are some Welsh public sector organisations, which are probably further ahead than the National Assembly is in its equality focus. [ASPB name] for example, are just about to provide a guide on work-life balance that probably goes further than what the National Assembly currently has. We are also in negotiations with the National Assembly on further work-life balance improvements. So that is the next stage for us now. Pay, to a large degree, has been sorted aside from the annual negotiations and so on. So the next area that we are looking at is work-life balance provision and career development will be part of that as well. Because although pay in grade has been sorted we still have this situation in the Civil Service where there is an imbalance of gender at the top of the office. You have the traditional pyramid structure with a few women at the top and women tend to predominate at the bottom. Now that is changing, but it will probably take a generation to get genuine gender balance in all grades and there has been some good work done on that but whilst that imbalance exists you still going to have an equal pay gap in the organisation as a whole because the men at the top are earning more than women at the bottom… the luxury that we had of signing three year pay deals which meant that the annual rigmarole of going to negotiate pay and all the arguments going around that by signing three year deals and two things it has brought stability in terms of pay for our members. They can see where they are going to be over a three-year period. But also freed-up our time as trades union negotiators and management's time to look at other equality issues such as work life balance. This is the 'hot' topic as far as we are concerned - work-life balance. That is what we have moved onto -we are looking to the Assembly to be an exemplar employer in this particular field… alternative working arrangements, term-time working - there is quite a degree of flexibility in the Assembly at the moment … we chose the partnership route because the Assembly Government were very much in tune with us… so the main lesson to be taken from that is what we can all do when we are working on the same agenda [i.e. partnership working]". "What we have done is provide training to our reps. - not as fully as I would have liked but that was for, again, competing priorities within this office as much as anything, trying to get everything done certainly we raised through training - in conjunction with the EOC I have to say - and very good it was too - awareness of pay discrimination between men and women - and the majority of the people who were in the room who were union representatives were men. And it was quite fascinating - certainly by the time that the morning session was finished, the number of middle-aged reps. That were saying, 'wow! I didn't realize that'! And the tangible thing was that 123
they all said, 'we are going back to try and sort something out'. I mean the economic climate was slightly better then - what we have not done - what we must do at some point is to actually follow-up and see how we are doing. But then it’s the same with the climate that we have got at the moment - particularly with manufacturing - I think the answer will be that we have not actually done any narrowing of the gap at all as far as the private sector is concerned - the public sector is slightly different on the basis that the economic climate makes it really difficult to do that kind of thing. Once it improves and we can get the pay gap narrowed and not closed completely then of course we are talking about a single stratum of pay for a particular rate, in the public sector, of course we were one of the instrumental instigators of 'Agenda for Change' [UK-wide NHS strategy] and the whole thing is going to be about equality proofing - interestingly it is throwing up some other problems but that is due to its ways of working which are ok - but they are not very equal-pay-proofed. [with the UK policy 'Agenda for Change'] You are talking about 1.2 million employees coming under what should be a system whereby you are paid for what you do and not for whatever, race, colour or sex you happen to be". [Q. What sort of employers have you got to commit to equal pay reviews and who are you going to be monitoring?] "I have to say the full answer to the question is that full commitment to monitoring will be something for the new Regional Secretary when he takes over in January (2004). But from our point of view it is a complete spread. We are talking automotive components, we are talking about general manufacturing and engineering, we are talking about insurance houses, we are talking about public health, and we are talking about the higher education sector as well. Oh yeah, and the voluntary sector - I forgot about them. It’s the full range in Wales. One of the reasons why the actual follow up - its an issue about time - we are talking about the reorganisation of this union and this will make a difference because people will have a bit more time and to actually sit down and carefully go through the campaigns and make sure that we have got follow-up and that companies and organisations are actually 'playing the game'".
8. SELECTED RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION: 'AGAIN, IN RELATION TO YOUR OWN UNION’S APPROACH TO EQUAL PAY REFORMS HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE ANY PROBLEMS THAT YOU’VE ENCOUNTERED? ARE THERE TRANSFERABLE LESSONS HERE THAT YOU THINK OTHERS MAY DRAW UPON – AND AS A UNION OFFICIAL WHAT HAVE BEEN THE MAIN CHALLENGES OF DRIVING EQUAL PAY REFORMS IN RELATION TO UNION MEMBERS AND EMPLOYERS'?
"I think of the key things that we did that others did not do was that we trained our officers and representatives FIRST and THEN we launched the [equal pay] campaign. And I know other unions did not do that. And then when they found that when the employer wanted to talk about equal pay their representatives and negotiators were not sufficiently experienced to do it. So, it is key that the training is done 124
first before the equal pay is launched - and that really did work and I know with other unions did experience other problems - you know, they were trying to do things to quickly… Another problem that we have got is that a lot of employers have not got good information systems. So when they have been doing the audits - so one of the problems was we asked 'have people been promoted in recent years and how long have they been in that grade'? And they won't have that information. They'll know when that person started but they won't have any information how long they have been in the company - so there are big problems with the information systems. There is an assumption that they do monitor - well most of the finance companies don't seem to have very good statistics on disability or race - so actually the experience of actually getting the statistics - there are problems getting statistics out of the companies - they are very reluctant to share information on pay and they are very secretive on pay and that does not help either and if they are not transparent about pay then you cannot see where the problems are and try to work with them". "Ok, well we started our campaign, it is probably twelve months now and its seems very slow in terms of outcomes. I like things to be done quickly and to be rolling out quickly but having spoken to the other regions within my union - that's sort of across Great Britain, I am speaking to people from the EOC and the TUC we are making progress its not just something that can be done in a week or a fortnight so a campaign that we thought: 'well we'll run [it] for 12 months' we are now realizing is going to need to run on and possibly for as long as five years. So its not as quick as we'd like but, its more important to continue with it to get that equality sorted out than to say: 'well we've given this a shot let's move onto the next thing'. We are very committed so let's stay with it lets keep pushing it and obviously we are lobbying as well along with the TUC and the EOC for the government to make pay audits mandatory …The thing that I've learned from is the benefit of operating closely with the EOC and the fact that as quite 'the opposition' - we are not seen as, as the EOC are seen, more as people 'sitting on the fence' rather than the other side of the fence. So I personally have found that terrifically useful - so I personally would use the EOC but also other partners in carrying out campaigning as well". "Well, I think in male-dominated industrial environments which the [organisation name] is, and I am sure there are many in Wales, although not as many as there used to be, it is absolutely essential to make sure that the employer really does grasp the issues involved you know what we are talking about basically one would have thought that in this day and age you could assume a level of understanding, generally speaking, but I do not think that that has always been true and not just in the [organisation name] and I am not just talking about the Assembly because I was not here in Wales when we had the negotiations - I was working somewhere else at that point but - and we were very fortunate there because the people there did understand exactly what the issues were - but really I think one should always never under estimate the fact that employers - half of the time - simply do not know - its not malice - its genuine ignorance and it is important to find ways to genuinely find ways of communicating what the issues are so that employers do have a better understanding of them". 125
"I think one thing about - what's interesting is that a lot of attention is being focused on Wales and what people are doing in Wales because it is different to what is happening in England - particularly in local government terms. And the commitment to partnership working, which the Welsh Assembly Government had is, I think a very, very strong lesson to be learned from this exercise. Wales is a small country there is only three million of us, most people know who the people are, who are the movers and the shakers in the government scene, and the local government scene and the other public service scenes if Wales cannot by working in partnership and adopting a partnership approach to working, meaningful partnership where they sit down with their employees, their workforce and discuss how can we overcome these problems and difficulties then we will have failed. And one of the things I think we can learn from this exercise is that if we sit down examine the problems and difficulties and try and work in partnership to overcome them we've got a much better chance than the confrontational approach". "Having an open mind between management and the trades unions because I am the trade union coordinator here - so because I used to work in personnel - I think that it helps that we have a good relationship and rather than there being this suspicion that management were trying to 'do us over' - and the trades unions were trying to ask for too much money that would bankrupt us - we kind of worked together and then we asked the Assembly Government for more money. What we then did was, after the union identified these potential equal pay cases, we went to [organisation] management and said: 'there's a problem here we need to sort it'. At the time Edwina Hart was the finance minister and she is very 'into' equality stuff, so management and the trades union side prepared a paper for the Assembly Government saying that the unions have identified potential equal pay cases and we need more funding. We had 4% of our pay budget allocated for a pay rise - we said we need more than this to amend the whole structure and it will be a one-off payment then they gave us the money". "Yes, carefully planning. Selected targets - and not a scattergun approach. And follow-up. That is the one bit where I'd take criticism on that any day of the week. We need to follow-up - that has not been there. But that's because if an organisation is going to do it [equal pay review] then you have actually got to dedicate somebody for a large chunk of somebody's time just to do the job. Even if it is over a sixmonth period, you know, setting up, training, following it through and then giving it a year gap to see where we are up to. Because in terms of measurable outcomes - if you were to ask me how many companies have done it - well I cannot tell you that but for a completely different reason - in a normal set of circumstances to be able to analyze - I mean the EOC has got the data - but to be able to analyze the impact of the work that you have done you need to be quite specifically targeted in what you go for. You know, select a sector, do it and then move on".
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9. SELECTED RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION: 'WHAT IS YOUR UNION’S FORWARD WORK PLAN FOR ACHIEVING EQUAL PAY IN FUTURE YEARS'?
"We feel that by having the union officers trained [on equal pay] and we also have a group of negotiating officers that meet every quarter to specifically discuss equal pay. Also in September [2003] we are going to be holding a pay seminar for our negotiators and equal pay is going to be included in that - so we are not all the way there but we are quite a long way forward more than we were a couple of years ago in terms of negotiating officers being aware of equal pay and trying to do something about it … We've been lobbying government about it [the case for mandatory equal pay audits] in conjunction with the WTUC as well - we've been working closely with the WTUC on the equal pay campaign". "We need to check to see that the systems that we have put in place [with employers] are achieving their objective. Which is why I was looking at the Assembly audit figures. And we need to do that in the other areas but they are obviously new, so it is a bit too soon to do it so we will need to do that next year. But I think that generally speaking we are fortunate - well our awareness of these issues and in Wales particularly, employers' willingness to address them means that from now on we are just monitoring to make sure that the things that we set in place actually work as they are supposed to - sounds a bit complacent but I assure you it isn't -if we have genuinely solved the problems then that's fine".
10. SELECTED RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION: 'HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE “POLITICAL” WILL i.e. THE EXTENT TO WHICH THE INSTITUTIONAL CULTURE – MANAGERS, ALL TIERS OF STAFF, UNIONS – EMBRACED THE EQUAL PAY REFORMS'?
"It has been mixed - [organisation name] have done an audit, another company - one big company has refused to do an audit [organisation name] - so they have actually refused point blank saying that they don't have a problem with equal pay but they can't know that until they have actually done an audit. We may have to take the tack that to take this issue forward we may have to take some equal pay cases to tribunal - to put more pressure on the companies to do audits - but even the ones that have done it there are problems obtaining the information and there are problems with: 'well we've done the audit - what do we do now'? and then them having an action plan and taking it forward". "It’s a mixed bag. I mean if it’s a trades union that's approaching them [employers] to do it - they approach it with some fear as if: 'how are they going to catch us out this time'? As if we are somehow going to fix the figures, which of course, we cannot do. But there is a certain amount of distrust there - let's put it that way". 127
"It was embraced. I think that at first management thought: 'well we haven't got a hope of getting this money'. But we said, 'because you have come on board with us doing this the unions will not be taking [organisation name] to tribunal for equal pay they will be taking the Assembly to tribunal because we are an Assembly Sponsored Public Body' - so if they would not fund the amendments that [ASPB name] wanted to make it was ultimately their [the Assembly Government's] fault". "It has changed. Certainly, within our own organisation people get used to how things are done - and part of what we were trying to do, certainly last year, was to educate our own people about what pay discrimination was and I have to say that the attitude is a lot different to what it was two years ago. So that has improved". [Q. Is that down to the training of union reps?] "I think so, yeah, it was as much as anything awareness-training you could see the penny drop occasionally: 'Wow! We do that! That's wrong'. There is always the differentials issue, but the argument about it doesn't matter what you do in a particular job you should be paid the same amount of money - and there is also the fact now that because a woman goes off to have children does not mean that she should suffer financially from that - the joke being of course that if men had the children then there would be no problem. So that is the one bit that certainly comes in. And I would get the impression that awareness is alive right across the trade union movement and labour movement. It fits in quite neatly with Edwina Hart's agenda on social justice. Which of course, if women's wages are pulled down you can guarantee that men's will be coming down after because they are a cheaper pool of labour". "I think that if there was a genuine political will from employers to address this issue we would not have had the opposition from employer's organisations over compulsory pay audits".
11. SELECTED RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION: 'ARE THERE ANY OTHER POINTS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO RAISE IN REGARD TO YOUR ORGANISATION’S EQUAL PAY REVIEW – OR INDEED ON THE EQUAL PAY TOPIC GENERALLY'?
"Right well, we very much feel that the pay audits should be compulsory - at the moment they are voluntary. And we believe that until they are compulsory a lot of employers are just not going to do them". "Yes, statutory audit". [Q. It should be a mandatory requirement on employers?] "It should. The one bit is I can tell you is than when we asked [employers] for a voluntary [equal pay] audit we actually did better than anywhere else. But then having said that it was a smaller pool. And quite a few [employers] were willing to do it - although I doubt if any of them actually have done it. Whereas nationally [i.e. UK] it was appalling - we are talking a minuscule percentage who were 128
prepared to do that which is why the 'Mind the Gap Campaign' was launched up at the CBI. The CBI are the ones that are saying that 'we cannot afford to do it'. The [UK] government are saying that a voluntary code will work and it won't because we've proved it, you know it’s a lengthy list - I would suspect that the EOC has actually got that lengthy list - its was not small, it was not small, I think that we wrote out 400 companies - I know that I wrote out at least 40 in Wales - about 10 were prepared to do it - the rest did not bother to reply - one or two told us where to go - and they definitely got named - so the naming and shaming campaign did have an effect and did concentrate minds - but to be honest with you is that the argument that we are having with Westminster is nothing that the Assembly can deal with because it needs primary legislation - is we have got to the half-way house, you know the [forthcoming, 2003] Equal Pay Questionnaire. But like the Race Relations (Amendment) Act, [and] the Sex Discrimination Act - that really needs to be a bit more heavy than that its all right, a tribunal can infer, but if a statutory audit is required then it focuses company's attention on what they are doing to people because if people are being paid the same rate people tend to be a lot happier and not so much discontented - so that is the big one - a statutory audit". "It is surprising how many women - I am not talking about women of 50+ or anything - I'm talking about even young women who think that its actually ok for men to be paid a higher wage than women - even women who are single parents - I am not saying for me there are thousands of them, but there's quite a frightening number who have said that its quite ok for blokes to earn a greater amount of money and the other thing is the number of young men who think that its fair and equitable that they should be paid a higher wage doing work of equal value. And I have been completely surprised by that. It has thrown me completely - there is still this 'valleys mentality' - and the valleys mentality is not just in south Wales. I've come across it in north Wales as well. Well if you can't sell it [equal pay] to your own - I'm talking about trade union members now - if there are some members that cannot see the justice of it - it is very worrying - I am not saying there's thousands - but there is a significant number to make me worry about it". "I think that women need to be helped to understand what their rights are and how it works and what they can do about it. This is particularly important because some of these differences in pay seem to be accepted even now that I find quite extraordinary coming from a background of equal pay. Sisters have got to do it for themselves… [We currently have] women's reluctance to upset the apple cart and do anything about it …. This has really become more obvious to me since I've been working from Cardiff'. "Well, one thing I would like to see more of is people discussing salaries more. It should not be such a secretive matter. I know that that is probably very difficult. But if people know what [pay] other people are on then they can identify when there is a discrepancy and we can sort it out".
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Appendix Three The views of members of the Joint Working Group on Equal Pay/ commissioning partners An Assembly Member on the Joint Working Group Looking a the first heading on the Action Plan - raising awareness and understanding of the gender pay gap there are a number of targets particularly in terms of actions by the Assembly - such as a recognition award for employers, and a request for progress reports from various Assembly Government departments - and aspects of improving data on gender and pay - and pushing forward the local government equalities standard - but just generally on awareness raising - What are your thoughts on the progress that the Close the Pay Gap Campaign made on awareness raising? I think that it did succeed quite considerably in raising awareness more within the sectors that we were engaging with and more strongly, frankly, in the public sector. But I think that that was always our expectation because they are closest to us. A good model, a business kit for the SME sector but we did not expect great advances there. But at least there was an engagement. As far as the public perception is concerned we ran a limited campaign, it is obviously not going to penetrate to the level that you need with mass marketing repeating itself all the time - then you really get something across and there was no way that we were in that league so we never expected to do an awful lot there. But what we did do was some selective advertising - including on buses - I am not sure how many people actually rang the telephone help line - it was really putting a toe in the water there. But it was successful in raising the issue as a serious issue and getting people aware of it. I was very keen as Chair [of the Close the Pay Gap Campaign] that when we had the seminar for the health sector, for instance, that the Assembly Government Minister wrote to the chief executives of the health bodies recommending the seminar and saying that it was worthy of attendance at director level. And that is what happened they sent their head of human resources or sometimes the chief executive. I think because the letter comes from the minister it is going to be a foolish agency that does not respond at an appropriate level to that. [and the recognition award?] I think that we were very taken with that idea but in the end we decided to look at how it might be combined with the Castle Awards and we did not want to reinvent the wheel. We liked the idea of an award because it recognizes good practice and awards are sexy in terms of publicity.
The second area is in terms of reforming equal pay legislation there was talk in the Action Plan about lobbying Westminster and also developing the area of contract compliance? I do not think that we did very much of those because the Campaign 130
got a momentum of its own and there were quite a lot of [associated] events put on and I think that as far as the politicians were concerned we were there to give it that [the Campaign] as cross-party legitimacy it may be that the WTUC or the EOC did a bit more than I realize - but I think that we felt the need for getting on in Wales and doing as much as we could in the 18 months, and that became the practical focus really. As far as whether legislation is the route I am still agnostic on that. I think that it is important to get organisations to conduct equal pay audits and recognize the workforce appropriately and think about in the future about how we are going to ensure that some of the brightest people are available to our economy and to our public services, so, that was much more the agenda. On contract compliance, I think that the Assembly and its agencies the heath service even local government - I think that how much of national wealth is involved in those organisations then it would be a very effective way of extending even into the SME sector - and having such contracts in these various public services. But I think that we wanted the product to be available with good advice saying that "this is the way to do it" - rather than penalizing people or excluding them - for large organisations we could expect it, but for the more medium size and smaller ones saying that part of tendering for this is that you will commit to do that [address equal pay matters for employees] it was an inclusive approach - we were trying to encourage best practice. As far as the development of the product goes I was not very involved in that but it did seem to me that they did well and the responses that we had from the that [Close the Pay Gap] seminars was very positive. And, they were attended by senior people so I do not think that that [this feedback] was just gushing good will, I think that there was some technical advance in what was done and the involvement of the WTUC and the EOC - it was really them that drove it in terms of developing those products - but I think that we were very reliant on them - I have no doubt as they have developed the infrastructure that they will be able to advance it. [but what about the practicalities of "policing" contract compliance, in your view is that problematic - for the private sector in particular?] It cannot be closely policed I suspect because we are talking about a huge range of commercial activities. But I still think that it can be made a core requirement, if, as I said, the support and the product is there. So that those who need to take advice are able to be properly supported. You could then audit x percent and see "well, did they do it?" - there are ways of ensuring that compliance is occurring short of policing every individual contract. But if it really does get taken up in those commissioning processes then it could have a dramatic impact, I mean it really could. And, despite the fact that many are public services, it does engage the private sector in services, buildings - all sorts of things and that area is within our control that [i.e. the Assembly's statutory powers] so it does seem proper to concentrate on it.
There are various points on the Action Plan about amending social 131
and labour market policy to complement equal pay resources for example, encouraging ASPBs to improve work- life balance flexibilities, career progression for women, also lobbying for an increase in the National Minimum Wage - on that whole issue of amending social and labour market policy - any thoughts on progress made in these areas? I don't think that it was "core activity" as it were. The issue of encouraging better work - life balance is an important one and I think that there will be quite considerable 'push factors' there as far as organisations are concerned because they will lose highly skilled people and, as the economy gets even more highly skilled, and specialized then if you do not retain your key staff then you are going to be in trouble - and it is going to cost you a lot to train others and you lose some vital capacity. So I sense there that although it will not happen 'naturally' in total, I think we will see - well, we are seeing in effect - its talked about, I mean twenty-five years ago you would never have had the whole issue of crèches, time off for carers, access to a telephone, that sort of thing if you have got a dependent that needs looking after - these things are happening companies realize that it makes good sense. But that did not end up as a core area of work that [of the Joint Working Group]. Some of the Joint Action Plan's broader aspirations are something to be looked at in a second phase of the Campaign … that [the Campaign] was very cost effect I thought.
What would you like to see done in the future re. The Campaign? What I felt was that it certainly established the interest and the need to work on equal pay. But I think that all of us felt that to have an equal pay campaign that then stopped - if it is a pilot for a sustained, strategic and persistent programme of work over five years or so, probably headed more by the Assembly Government than the Assembly Equal Opportunities Committee - because that lacks the executive punch - hence we asked the ministers to do the invites and things like that because we realized that that would be much more effective - but I think that if the Assembly Government were really to take it on and work with its key partners and say "look this is important - we really think that, strategically for the Welsh economy and its development this is important" that is where the Campaign could be handed over to them, but I hope that the partnership approach is kept. I think that that has been very effective - that is what I hope would be coming out of it because we did establish that there is a need to do this work - and, that lots of doors are starting to open - which I think means that it is meeting a need that is now occurring and is perceived out there in the economy.
How do you push equal pay in the absence of a mandatory legal requirement? I think that there are, as I said, these various push factors that, even 132
if they are a bit reluctant business is being to see what the benefits are in retaining skilled staff, and we are in - effectively - a labour shortage certainly for better trained jobs so those factors are quite powerful factors that play on the private sector. The Campaign was weakest in terms of the private sector but I think was still modestly successful there - I raised the question earlier on as to whether one of the key partners should be the chamber of trade or the CBI - and we never quite got agreement. I think that there was a sense that they were the people who had a campaign against regulations they were not brought in, they were involved in events but they were not involved in core planning and that, probably, was a missed opportunity, and, it is going to be hardest to do in that vast sector and with small and medium sized firms. But there are intimations of success already present. Felicity Williams, Assistant General Secretary, Wales TUC In terms of awareness raising - how do you feel that the Close the Pay Gap Campaign has done? - And in your view what remains to done? 'There's two areas to that. There's the raising awareness within the trades union movement and the general raising of awareness. If I focus first on what we have done in the trade union movement. We have contacted all of the reps that we have on our database here in Wales and offered them all the opportunity to attend a training course on the specific issues of equal pay. And, similarly, we have done that for our full time officers as well. And we ran two specific training days for full time officers in Wales to which I think that a total of 20 - 25 regional officers attended. We have also made equal pay a priority - this is a national UK initiative - not just Wales across the TUC - equal pay has become one of the modules at the stage two of representative's training so that every workplace rep who completes the stage two training will - and they are entitled to get time off from their employer to do -will have studied a module on equal pay. We are also encouraging as many students as possible on those stage two courses to do the project that they are required to do as part of that course - to do the project on equal pay. So that there is an additional resource to do some research into the area to really get them thinking about the issues of equal pay - and to provide us with some additional information to take forward. I have not got the figures to hand of the numbers of people that have participated in that reps training because they will have been done by our local providers around the colleges. That is the area that we have been able to concentrate on because clearly we are - our role - was to try and concentrate on raising awareness amongst union reps. One of the problems is then getting those same reps to actually put the issue on the negotiating agenda and that is not something that is particularly easy for us as an organisation to do that really needs the impetus to come from the individual trades unions so that a union centrally encourages all its representatives to make equal pay an issue and/ or a particular representative having an interest and choosing for themselves to make it an issue. One of the problems that we have got here in Wales is that we have got a lot of public sector employment, and, clearly most of the pay bargaining for that is done nationally - so it is difficult for us to get an 133
influence there. With private sector employers in Wales, again, the difficulty is getting the reps who have been trained to actually make that an issue on the bargaining agenda because it is not going to come from the management side. And, I think that one of the ways that we need to move forward with that is to try to get some of the private sector unions - perhaps in the financial services - perhaps elsewhere, to really take this issue on and perhaps to nominate, if you like, an equal pay champion for their union who would encourage, look at and work with workplace reps - so a full time officer who can work with workplace reps to make sure that that item comes up the agenda. In terms of general awareness raising - there were the Campaign's seminars - I understand from the EOC Wales that there was reasonable feedback from the bus advertising campaign in terms of the number of people who called the help line but of course that is not the only measure of people who were made aware of the Campaign. I think for the amount of money that it cost to do that, which was probably one of the biggest public awareness raising gestures that we could have made. And, it did get a reasonable amount of publicity in the Welsh press as well.
As far as enhancing accountability and transparency is concerned there is a point in the Joint Working Group's Action Plan about negotiators requesting gender-based data from employers - has there been progress with the provision of data to promote equal pay? There has been some progress with the data - but it is still very, very patchy. And, again, particularly in the private sector there is this tendency towards a culture of individuals within an organisation not knowing what the person sitting next to them actually earns, and that secrecy is actually encouraged and leads to increasing the issues around equal pay because it is much more difficult for somebody to challenge. Now, one of the things that I think that we need to look at and consider is for private sector companies - if those companies have share holders, then we need to get shareholders to ask the questions which they are entitled to ask of the company on what their policy is - and where their policy is going - of course, that means identifying sympathetic share holders - but I think that that is a route to go down. With small limited companies and SMEs it is going to be much more difficult to do that particularly as they are often the ones that are less well organized in terms of trade unionism - it is not an easy one to do - but I certainly think with the larger companies that 'share - holder route' is one that we could go down.
As far as family responsibilities are concerned there are a couple of points in the Action Plan - moving the wok - life balance up the negotiating agenda - and also guidance for union reps on work-life balance issues - is that something that has been taken forward over the last 18 months? 134
Yes it is. One of our senior members of staff as done a six month secondment working with Chwarae Teg on the whole work-life balance programme about promoting that issue for employers in conjunction with the unions and we are currently waiting for a decision from the Assembly Government on funding to continue with that work because there is much more to do so there is an application for some funding and resources to do more of that. We have begun that and we are looking to take that forward. One of the things that we are looking for the extra resources to assist us in doing is in producing work-life balance guidance so we have had the six month secondment to do the basic groundwork on it - but in order to actually take it forward and produce the literature and so on we are looking to do that. We are hoping to get some money towards it.
Are there any key issues that could be developed for the next phase of the Close the Pay Gap Campaign? Or any lessons that could be drawn on in carrying this work forward? It is a tall order to solve the problem is a relatively short time and I would like to see us move forward with the Campaign as soon as possible - so I think that it is important that we do not lose the impetus that we have built up because nobody is going to do other than the sorts of organisations that are involved here. If we wait for employers to come to us, then that is not going to happen so we need some fairly speedy decisions on where we are going next.
Selected comments of an official at the National Assembly for Wales I would however make the following general observations. The campaign was I think successful despite being under staffed from the Assembly end. One of the identifiable strengths of the campaign has to be the cross party support. The Equal Pay Working Group, made up of AM's from across the parties, certainly gave a sense of this being an issue everyone should sign up to. Also having the partners, EOC, WTUC sitting on the Working Group, enabled all involved to have the same information, at the same time which made cohesion easier. From my observations the relationship with [the Campaign] partners had been sustained throughout and had benefited the campaign in general. With regard to suggestions for the future, as pointed out previously I believe there is a need for a dedicated member of staff to take this forward on the Assembly side. 135
The Joint Party Working Group should be continued as this adds considerable weight to the campaign and removes the sometimesadversarial party politics which can arise over issues. There needs to be a strengthening of the partnership to ensure all partners are fully active in the campaign and possible a widening of the membership to bring in more ideas. The first phase of the campaign concentrated on the statutory and private sector, the voluntary sector were hardly mentioned. Any new campaign would need to involve the voluntary sector (who in the main I believe would be supportive of the issues) and assist them to move forward on the Equal Pay front. There was a 'whiteness' about the campaign which has been mentioned by a number of people other than myself which I feel needs to be addressed. There are specific issues around BME women and Equal Pay which the campaign never touched upon. It has to be said that this is not untypical, unless organisations dealing specifically with BME women are involved, it is too often the case that the majority needs are considered to the neglect of other issues. I don't think for one minute this was deliberate, but it is something that any future campaign needs to take on board and address. Involvement from the voluntary sector and organisations working for/with BME women would help.
Appendix Four JOINT WORKING GROUP ON EQUAL PAY: OCTOBER 2001 ACTION PLAN Discrimination in pay systems •
Raise awareness and understanding
JWG • Launch a ‘Close the Gap’ campaign in Wales, press pack, release etc. • Leaflet • Letter to every employer in Wales on business case for equal pay signed by Edwina and others • E-mail AM’s, MP’s and MEP’s • Brief NAW committee chairs • Letter to Council Chief Execs • Produce video (no longer than 10 minutes!) • Poster campaign – Famous Welsh Women Speak Out for Equal Pay 136
•
Discuss with Western Mail or Welsh Mirror active support for the campaign
NAW • Recognition (award?) for employers who have begun to tackle pay inequalities • Improvements in the availability of gender-related data in Wales • Request progress reports from NAW departments e.g. Childcare taskforce/schools division • Ensure implementation of the local govt. equality standard across Wales Trade Unions • Letter to all union reps. in Wales • Push equal pay up the bargaining agenda • Briefing to Wales TUC tutors network EOC • Brief public sector round table, WDA, ELWa , CIPD, and Chwarae Teg, employment tribunal members and employers • Launch research on pay gap in Wales
1. Reform equal pay legislation NAW • Lobby Westminster for mandatory equal pay reviews • Monitor outcomes of NAW pay remit guidance to ASPB’s • Put equal pay into the terms of reference for ASPB reviews • Develop contract compliance to ensure suppliers have fair pay systems • Equal pay as a criteria in applications by business to the WDA for financial support 2. Ensure employers and unions know how to implement equal pay JWG Organise seminars of personnel / equality officers in NHS and local government
•
EOC • Produce simple pay audit guidance suitable for a broad range of organisations, including SME’s • Advise employers on payroll / personnel software • Arrange meeting of existing employer / union networks i.e. Equality Exchange 137
• • •
Develop an Equal Pay Forum of leading employers/unions to spread good practice Assist ACAS to develop expertise Encourage employers to carry out pay reviews
Trade Unions • Organise equal pay training for negotiators • Integrate equal pay modules into general union rep. training
3. Enhance transparency and accountability NAW • Include equal pay review data in ASPB annual reports, NHS Trust annual reports etc. Trade Unions • Encourage pay negotiators to request gender based data from employers EOC • Encourage individuals to talk openly about their pay • Produce a briefing note on the business case for openness and transparency
4. Amend social and labour market policy to compliment equal pay resources NAW • Put equal pay at the heart of social, economic and labour market policy agendas • Lobby for an increase to the national minimum wage • Encourage Assembly and ASPB’s to improve work / life flexibility and enable women to progress their careers EOC • Build an understanding amongst employers of how equal pay issues relate to broader training, work / life balance issues.
Unequal impact of women’s family responsibilities NAW • Adopt specific targets in the NAW childcare strategy to increase childcare and out-of-school provision to meet the needs of parents in Wales Trade Unions • Move work / life balance up the negotiating agenda • Produce guidance for members and union reps on work / life balance EOC 138
•
Produce guidance for employers on work / life balance, incorporating recent legislative changes on maternity, paternity, parental leave etc. Also include part-time working. The EOC should work with employers to achieve the following: Seek to transform the long hours work culture Change the working environment to create a closer fit between employment practices and individual needs Offer opportunities for flexible working patterns Provide childcare assistance Provide paid maternity, paternity and parental leave above the minimum
Job segregation NAW The NAW could tackle job segregation in the following areas: Schools could adopt whole school equal opportunities policies to ensure: • Subjects are not considered to be for boys or girls • Children can make choices which don’t shut down their options too early • Enable women teachers to progress into management positions, providing role models ACCAC could: • Include modules in the personal and social education curriculum which inform pupils about the pay and status of jobs and the effects of sex stereotyping • Advise on how subjects can be presented to tackle stereotyping Estyn could: • Include the closing of gender gaps in subject and option choice as part of its inspection programme Careers Wales could: • Ensure all its advisors and publications avoid assumptions based on sex • Mainstream equality and the challenging of stereotypes into all aspects of work ELWa could: • Ensure recruitment and promotion procedures encourage women and men apply and secure jobs in non-traditional areas • Develop measures to overcome job segregation and assist the career development of part-time workers
Appendix Five
Chronology of Close the Pay Gap Campaign initiatives since the joint Campaign was agreed in June 2001 139
June June August August October October October October November November November November November December December December December December
NAW, EOC and WTUC agree to a joint campaign on equal pay NAW prepares pay remit guidance to Assembly sponsored bodies including section on equal pay NAW prepares pay equality audit guidance for ASPBs ‘Learning Country’ NAW Document committing to pay reviews in Higher Education institutions EOC appoint Equal Pay Campaign Manager EOC provides training for all ACAS Wales advisors to recognise pay discrimination Joint action plan on equal pay agreed by EOC, NAW and WTUC EOC Equality Exchange Equal Pay Seminars at three venues, 65 employers attended EOC presentation to Wales Women's TUC and commitment to place at top of bargaining agenda EOC meeting with HR Department of NCM Launch of EOC-commissioned Swansea research on pay gap in Wales EOC presentation to Wales TUC General Council NAW agrees campaign press and public relations strategy, budget of 70k and staffing EOC launch of What's Stopping You schools campaign in Wales linking subject and career choices with low pay and equal pay EOC presentation to ACAS Personnel Managers Group in South Wales NAW and EOC issue every secondary school in Wales and Chair of Governors with the What's Stopping You Pack Public and Commercial Services Union Wales Women's Seminar agrees equal pay action plan EOC secures ACAS agreement to quality assure the ASPB pay reviews
2002 January January February February February February February March March
Wales TUC Equal Pay Training course with EOC presentation EOC hold small business pay tool workshop with ACAS, WDA, Chwarae Teg EOC meets with senior UNISON officials and agrees joint work on equal pay EOC raises equal pay with Heads of Govt. in Wales EOC identifies strategic equal pay case in finance sector in Wales ACAS finish checking ASPB pay reviews. ASPBs begin pay restructuring NUS Wales agrees to partner EOC student campaign on equal pay Univ. of Wales, Swansea, establishes Labour Market Research Institute, first project on gender pay gap in Wales Equal Opportunities Review features EOC Wales and 140
March March March March March March March April April April May May May May May
June June June June June June July July July July July August August September September September
Close the Pay Gap campaign NAW carries plenary motion on equal pay campaign Close the pay gap campaign launched at three events across Wales. 81 organisations attend Campaign secures extensive media coverage on equal pay on Int. Women's Day EOC briefs NUS Wales sabbatical officers on equal pay EOC briefs CBI on equal pay and agree joint seminar EOC meets with a Local Authority to discuss pay review EOC holds two workshops for PCS reps on pay reviews EOC brief WLGA Equality Unit on equal pay campaign. Agreed joint work. EOC launch student equal pay campaign with NUS. Achieved extensive media coverage. Wales at Work (BBC Radio Wales) feature on Close the Pay Gap Meeting at Wales TUC Conference on equal pay. 86 delegates attended. EOC presentation to Wales TUC Full Time Officers 25 attended. Follow-up briefings for TGWU and UNISON Launch of campaign CD-Rom on business case for equal pay at Business Wales. Extensive media coverage. Close Pay Gap Stand at Business Wales Exhibition EOC and NUS send an equal pay campaign pack designed for students to every HE and FE college in Wales. Assembly Education Committee also receive a copy EOC attends Cardiff University Careers Fair and distributed student equal pay leaflets C-D Rom issued to top 500 businesses in Wales EOC brief 23 teachers and careers advisors on equal pay and sex stereotyping EOC advise a careers service on equal pay review Equal pay briefing at EOC Equality Exchange Conference EOC partnership agreement with WDA to develop equal pay review kit for small business EOC seminar with AMICUS- MSF on equal pay. 15 union officials attended. EOC brief Welsh MPs Group on equal pay and other issues Equality Minister and EOC brief WLGA on equal pay.15 local authority employers and 5 associated employers present. Pilots begin for EOC small business equal pay kit Close the Pay Gap stand at International Eisteddfod NAW distribute campaign materials at Wales Eisteddfod EOC and NAW on panel at launch of TGWU equal pay campaign EOC presentation to BMW on equal pay EOC joint seminar with CBI on equal pay EOC presentation on equal pay to UNISON Seminar. 40 delegates, including 4 employers 141
September September October October October October October October November November November November November November December December December December
EOC presentation on equal pay to GMB Conference EOC presentation to TGWU Metalworkers Federation Conference Close Pay Gap stand at Manufacturing Wales exhibition EOC equal pay briefing to UNISON Service Group Heads EOC presentation to UNISON Housing Associations Branch EOC presentation to a Local Authority on equal pay Consultation on draft small business equal pay kit National Assembly wins Castle Award for addressing staff equal pay EOC Finance Sector Seminar on Equal Pay. Assembly Minister attends. Major finance employers and UNIFI committed to ongoing co-operation on equal pay EOC equal pay presentation at Employment Law Conference organized by Hugh James Solicitors EOC presentation to DVLA HR Group on equal pay Equal pay case successfully settled in finance sector with EOC support EOC equal pay presentation to Higher Education Personnel Forum NAW seminar on equal pay for NHS employers and unions. 30 delegates. EOC Annual Review launched. Extensive media coverage on equal pay EOC presentation to an education agency on equal pay reviews EOC meets with Local Authority to discuss equal pay reviews TGWU persuade four private sector employers to look at equal pay reviews with EOC
2003 January January January January January February February February March March March
EOC equal pay presentation to UNISON Higher Education Section reps. NAW Equal Pay Seminar for Higher Education. 40 employer and union reps attended. NAW Equal Pay Seminar for Local Government.48 employer and union reps attended. Tender awarded for production of small business kit including CD-Rom EOC equal pay presentation at seminar organised by Eversheds. 11 employers present. Campaign equal pay leaflets for individuals issued to every CAB and Public Library in Wales Campaign equal pay adverts appear on 62 buses across 5 towns and cities in Wales EOC equal pay review kit launched in Wales by Barbara Roche at Gala Bingo Equal pay briefing for trade union full-time officers EOC, NAW and WTUC equal pay review kit for small business launched in Cardiff and North Wales Plenary debate on equal pay at the National Assembly 142
Appendix Six ELWa's policies on equal pay, equal opportunities, and recruitment and selection policy and procedures
Equal Opportunities Policy and Procedure 1 Commitment to Equal Opportunities 1.1 The National Council/Higher Education Council is committed to a policy of providing equal opportunities for all. 1.2 The National Council/Higher Education Council will not accept any form of unlawful or unfair discrimination. This includes harassment, victimisation, bullying or discrimination on the grounds of, for example, race, colour, nationality, ethnic/national origins, religious beliefs, political opinions, marital/parental status, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical/mental disabilities, or the imposition of any conditions or requirements which disadvantage individuals and which cannot be shown to be justifiable. 1.3 This policy applies to the advertisement of jobs, recruitment and appointment to them, training, conditions of work, pay and to every other aspect of employment. Staff involved in recruitment, in particular, should request training if they have any doubts about the application of this policy. Staff should be aware that both direct and indirect discrimination are unlawful. Further guidance concerning direct and indirect discrimination can be obtained from the Regional HR Manager. 1.4 Whilst this policy applies specifically to employment matters, it follows that all individuals, whether clients, suppliers, contractors, or other business associates, should also be afforded equal, courteous treatment. Employees should not put pressure on others to discriminate unlawfully or unfairly, nor should they give way to pressure to do so. If an employee is unable or unwilling to deal with a particular situation, he or she must refer to their line manager or to the Regional HR Manager for assistance.
2 Responsibilities 2.1 The National Council/Higher Education Council takes the issue of equal opportunities seriously and seeks to keep all employees aware of its policy in this respect. Equal opportunities is about good employment practices and efficient use of the National Council/Higher Education Council’s most valuable asset, its employees. 2.2 Every manager and employee has personal responsibility for the implementation of the policy. Any instances of doubt about the application of the policy, or other questions, should be addressed to the Regional HR Manager, as should any requests for special training in this respect.
3 Equal Opportunities Legislation 3.1 All personnel policies and procedures will comply with the requirements of the following Acts:
• • • • • •
Sex Discrimination Act 1975 Equal Pay 1970 Race Relations Act 1976 Disability Discrimination Act 1995 Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000
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4 Projecting a Positive Equal Opportunities Corporate Image The National Council/Higher Education Council marketing materials will not discriminate against race, colour, nationality, ethnic/national origin, religious beliefs, political opinions, marital/parental status, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical/mental disabilities. The marketplace will be monitored to ensure that through appropriate marketing and publicity, knowledge of the organisation’s programmes reaches all potential participant groups.
5 Recruitment and Selection 5.1 The National Council/Higher Education Council will ensure that individuals are recruited and selected using objective criteria having regard to the relevant aptitudes, potential skills, competencies and abilities. In particular, no applicant will be placed at a disadvantage by requirements or conditions which are not necessary to the performance of the job or which constitute indirect unfair discrimination. 5.2 When vacancies are advertised both internally and externally, the National Council/Higher Education Council will ensure that such advertising, both in placement and content, is compatible with the terms of this Policy. Every effort will be made to ensure that details of a vacant post are disseminated through a range of printed media and other sources, appropriate to the particular vacancy, so that as wide a readership as possible has access to these vacancies.
6 Training and Development 6.1 All members of staff will have equal access to opportunities for training and development. 6.2 The National Council/Higher Education Council will also provide suitable and relevant equal opportunities training and harassment awareness programmes for all staff.
7 Promotion The National Council/Higher Education Council will ensure that all members of staff have equal access to opportunities for promotion by providing training, development and support, e.g. mentoring, confidence building, shadowing etc.
8 Work and the Family The National Council/Higher Education Council is committed to ‘family friendly’ and ‘work life balance’ working practices which enable staff to combine work and domestic responsibilities within current legislation and financial provision.
9 Disabled Employees Disabled employees may wish to advise the National Council/Higher Education Council of any reasonable adjustment to their employment or working conditions which they consider to be necessary or which they consider would assist them in the performance of their duties. Careful consideration will be given to any proposals of this nature and, where reasonably practicable, such adjustments will be made.
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10 Age Unless objectively justifiable, no age requirements will be stated in any job advertisements. Although details of age will be sought as part of routine compilation of personal data, this will not be used as a determinant of appropriateness of appointment or promotion to any position within the organisation.
11 Trade Union Membership The National Council/Higher Education Council recognises the right of an employee to belong to, or not to belong to, a trade union, and membership or non-membership of such a union will not result in any detriment.
12 AIDS/HIV The National Council/Higher Education Council expects all employees to treat anyone living with HIV virus (or AIDS) as they would any other employee, bearing in mind that this disease is non-contagious in the ordinary course of employment.
13 Harassment 13.1 Harassment of an employee is considered a serious offence and will be dealt with by The National Council/Higher Education Council’s Disciplinary Procedure. (Intentional sexual harassment is also a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment or a fine). 13.2 Sexual harassment involves conduct of a sexual nature which is unwanted, unreciprocated and offensive to the recipient, and applies whether or not the harasser intended to cause offence. Sexual harassment can take many forms, from relatively mild sexual banter or jokes to threatened or actual physical violence e.g. Abusive language, name calling or open hostility. Employees may not always realise that their behaviour constitutes sexual harassment but they must recognise that which is acceptable to one person may not be to another. Both women and men have the right to work in an atmosphere free from sexual intimidation and The National Council/Higher Education Council seeks to ensure that the working environment is sympathetic to all employees.
14 Procedure for Complaint Against Harassment 14.1 The following procedure provides employees who are the victims of harassment with a means of redress and ensures that complaints will be treated promptly and sympathetically taking into account the situation as perceived by the aggrieved employee. 14.2 Implementation of this policy is the duty of managers and supervisors; all employees are expected to comply.
15 Informal Procedure Employees who are the victims of minor harassment are advised to make it clear to the harasser that the behaviour is
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unacceptable and must stop. If the employee is unable to do this verbally then a written request (explaining the distress that the behaviour is causing) handed to the harasser may be effective. If required, assistance in taking this action can be gained by taking the complaint either to the Head of Human Resources or the Employee’s line manager. These initial steps will ensure that the matter is dealt with in a low key, informal and sympathetic manner before matters become too serious or get out of hand. Emphasis will be put upon the outcome of stopping the harassment rather than disciplining the offender.
16 Formal Procedure 16.1 Where informal methods fail, or serious harassment occurs, employees are advised to bring a formal complaint. The complaint should be made, in person or in writing, to the Head of Human Resources or to the Employee’s line manager, who will treat the matter in full confidence. Wherever possible, details of the complaint should be noted in writing, including:
• • • • •
The name of the harasser. The nature of the harassment. Dates and time when the harassment occurred. Name of witnesses to any incidents or harassment. Any action already taken by the complainant to stop the harassment.
16.2 An investigation of the complaint will be carried out objectively and in strictest confidence. All employees involved in the investigation are expected to respect the need for confidentiality and failure to do so will be considered a disciplinary offence. 16.3 The Regional HR Manager may decide that a small panel should deal with the complaint. (If the complaint is concerning harassment of a sexual nature, the panel will consist of equal numbers of men and women, and will include the Regional HR Manager). 16.4 The complainant may be supported by a work-based colleague or union representative. The employee accused of harassment will also have the right to be accompanied by a union representative or work based colleague. 16.5 If it becomes necessary either during the investigation or afterwards to separate the workplace of the complainant and the alleged harasser, then no pressure will be put on the complainant to move, although it may be offered as an option. Normally it would be the alleged harasser who would be moved. 16.6 If the complaint is upheld the harasser will be dealt with under the normal disciplinary procedure with full rights under procedure. Dismissal without notice could result for serious harassment. 16.7 Victimisation of the complainant, either by line management, work colleagues or the alleged harasser, will not be tolerated and will be regarded as a disciplinary matter.
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16.8 If the complainant is not satisfied with the way the complaint has been handled, he or she may ask for it to be reconsidered by the relevant Director. Requests for reconsideration of the complaint should be made within 10 working days of the first hearing. The decision of the second hearing will be sent, in writing, to both parties and will be final.
17 Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures 17.1 The National Council/Higher Education Council will take any complaint of harassment or discrimination seriously. Grievances in respect of Equal Opportunities should be reported to the Regional HR Manager, who will investigate the complaint in accordance with the Grievance Procedure. 17.2 Unfair discriminatory conduct by any member of staff will be treated as a disciplinary offence. In serious cases such behaviour will be deemed to constitute gross misconduct and, as such, will result in summary dismissal.
18 Monitoring and Evaluation 18.1 The National Council/Higher Education Council guarantees that any information asked during the recruitment/selection process (e.g. sex, race, ethnic origin and any disabilities) will be used for the purpose of monitoring the effectiveness of its equal opportunities policy only. 18.2 The practical application of this Policy will also be subject to regular review by the Regional HR Managers.
Recruitment and Selection Policy and Procedures Overview The National Council/Higher Education Council will conduct its recruitment and selection process in a way that places emphasis on the equality of opportunity for all. All selection decisions will be made on a fair and open basis and The National Council/Higher Education Council will always aim to select the most suitable available person for the job. The National Council/Higher Education Council, as an Assembly Sponsored Public Body, is bound by the rules on selection on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as defined by the Civil Service Order in Council 1991. The rules are: a.
prospective applicants must be given a reasonable opportunity to become aware of the vacancies and the terms of appointment, and a reasonable time within which to apply;
b.
all eligible applicants must be considered equally on merit at the start of the selection process and at each subsequent stage that they reach, under procedures providing safeguards against individual bias; and
c.
all selection criteria and techniques must be reliable, valid and relevant to the jobs or grades concerned
The National Council/Higher Education Council’s recruitment and selection process will depend on the adoption of a systematic and objective approach, adopting the principles of best practice, to include:
•
the availability of clear job details in the form of a Recruitment Job Description and an objective Person Specification;
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•
deciding on actions to ensure that as wide a pool of suitable applicants as practicable are attracted to apply for the vacancy (which will include appropriate choice of wording and media for the advertisement);
•
Wherever posts are identified as being suitable for job sharing, this will be reflected in the job advertisements and job descriptions;
•
ensuring that recruitment is considered an essential element and integral part of business planning;
•
ensuring that recruitment is seen as a key public relations exercise by all those involved;
•
ensuring that all applicants understand The National Council/Higher Education Council’s recruitment procedures and that their applications are treated with confidentiality;
•
assessing candidates only against clearly identified requirements for the job (as defined by the Recruitment Job Description and Person Specification);
•
ensuring that all staff involved in the recruitment process have been adequately trained and that interviews are properly structured and carried out
•
adhere to legislation that prevents discrimination and follow The National Council/Higher Education Council’s Equal Opportunities Policy, the Codes of Practice produced by the EOC, the CRE, the IPD and on the employment of disabled people
Putting these procedures into practice has a number of benefits including:
•
improving the external view of The National Council/Higher Education Council so attracting talented people to the organisation;
•
utilising to the full the talents of all employees in The National Council/Higher Education Council;
•
Improving motivation and performance;
•
Provide evidence to both prospective and existing employees that appointments are made in a fair and transparent way
•
Compliance with the law.
Stages in the Recruitment Process Advertising vacancies The recruitment process will start with completion of an ‘Authorisation to Recruit’ which will also identify the organisational need to recruit. All vacancies will be advertised through the HR department. Internal advertisements NB this may change because of guidance from the NAfW on recruitment advertising. Vacancies will be advertised internally in the first instance using a standard format and usually in the form of an email communication. Staff will have a minimum of 10 working days in which to make an application for the vacancy. External advertisements
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Vacancies will be advertised externally only after completing the assessment of, and deciding not to appoint, an internal candidate. In exceptional circumstances vacancies may be advertised simultaneously both internally and externally following discussion with the HR Department. Advertisements placed externally in a form of media originating in Wales (e.g. Western Mail) must be bilingual. For managerial grades and professional staff, the UK regional and national press may be considered together with local press. For managerial, operational, contract and support staff local press should be considered, supplemented according to vacancy-type by UK regional and national press. In addition to the traditional newspaper media, consideration may also be given to other sources of recruitment advertising including the Job Centre and the Internet (including sites sponsored by the National Assembly for Wales and Central Government). Application Applications will be made in the form of an application form. The National Council/Higher Education Council is in the process of developing a bilingual application and Equal Opportunities monitoring form. Selection techniques Selection methods used to assess the candidate’s suitability will follow best practice and will have regard to equal opportunities legislation. Selection will only be made by suitably trained staff and may include for example panel interviews, ability testing, and psychometric testing. Appointments Consideration will always be given in the first instance to appointing a suitably qualified and experienced internal candidate. Where this is not possible, appointments from an external source will be considered. Consideration should also be given to the suitability of offering an appointment not only on a substantive basis, but also as a secondment or an internal transfer, as appropriate to individual circumstances. Before an unconditional offer of appointment is made to an external candidate, checks must be satisfactorily completed in respect of each candidate’s eligibility for appointment using a standard reference format (including as appropriate: education, professional attainment, nationality, health and character). Candidates who are not successful at interview will be informed in writing (internal candidates verbally first) and will be given the opportunity for feed back on the interview. Training All line managers will be obliged to attend the National Council/Higher Education Council’s recruitment and selection training programme to ensure consistency and fairness in the selection process. Any line manager who has not received such training should contact their HR Manager to arrange training as appropriate. Records Full records will be kept at all stages of the Recruitment process and will not be destroyed until six months after the appointment is made. Further guidance Documentation and Guidance notes have been prepared for each stage of the process, to ensure that selection for the purposes of recruitment is done on grounds that are fair and open. A flow chart is attached with the stages of the procedure.
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Policy statements and guidance on recruitment and selection should be read in conjunction with The National Council/Higher Education Council’s policies on Equal Opportunities, and Training and Development.
Appendix 7 Summary of the equal pay unit undertaken by the National Museums and Galleries of Wales / Amgueddfeydd ac Orielau Cenedlaethol Cymru
EQUAL PAY AUDIT 1. Introduction An Equal Pay Audit has been carried out using the guidance set out in the NAFW pay guidelines as supplemented by the note circulated by the personnel division on 28 August 2001. The scope of this audit has been agreed with recognised unions and the results have been discussed at meetings with the unions. NMGW has been aware for some time that aspects of our pay and grading system are problematic. We have for example 37 grades, with separate pay scales for superannuated and non-superannuated staff, we have different overtime rates for part and full timers, different entitlements to premium payments, and history of lack of progression within pay ranges. This has been recognised for some time and a Grading and Remuneration Review was set up to look at these and other issues.
2. Methodology Six areas have been agreed with the unions. The data was collected from following sources: Compel personnel database, Prologue pay database, PRP database (excel spreadsheet), starters and leavers database (excel spreadsheet). Analysis was carried out within the personnel department and reviewed in meetings with the unions. Please note that for the purposes of analysis, some cleaning grades have been combined. We were guided by the recommendations of the Equal Pay Task group of the Equal Opportunities Commission.
3. Gender breakdown Based on Staff in post as of 31 August 2001. A breakdown by current grade and salary range appears in Appendix I. Overall women form approx. 48% of the workforce. A higher proportion of women is in nonsuperannuated posts (salary implication of 4.2% enhancement) although this seems to be the result of a statistical anomaly in the MSG5 grade. 150
Our large number of grades, many with only one or two post holders, makes it difficult to identify statistically meaningful samples, however a grouping by salary band shows that the distribution of men and women follows a broadly similar pattern. There is a cluster of men in band H, whereas women are more evenly distributed across bands I to F. There are few women above band C.
4. Average salaries Based on Staff in post as of 31 August 2001. A breakdown by grade and by basic pay appears in Appendix II. Once again our large number of grades, many with only one or two post holders and others with no comparators of the opposite sex, makes it difficult to identify statistically meaningful samples but overall on annualised salaries there is a basic pay gap in favour of men of approx. 23%. Within pay grades the situation is less clear, but of the grades where there are comparators, 50% show variances in favour of either men or women of at least 5%.
5. Fixed sum allowances Based on Staff in post as of 31 August 2001. A breakdown by grade appears in Appendix III. The most common allowance is the shoe allowance paid to all museum assistants although a variety of Civil Service and special responsibility allowances are also paid. Most allowances have been frozen at 1996 rates. Overall there is an allowance gap in favour of women of approx. 43%.
6. Shift, Overtime & Premium payments Based on Staff in post as of 31 August 2001 with figures for premium payments and overtime extrapolated from actual payments made in the period April to August 2001. Shift payments are based on 20% of basic annual salary. A breakdown by grade appears in Appendix IV. Entitlement to premium rates was restricted in 1998 and since this date new staff have been ineligible for these payments. Overall there is a premium pay gap in favour of men of over 250%.
7. Performance Related Pay Based on data collected by 31 August (approx. 80% complete) for the previous PDR cycle i.e. up to 31 March 2001. A breakdown is given in Appendix V. Using the “adverse impact” rule, there appears to be little evidence of discrimination. The marks for Excellent performers are within10% for males and females and the marks for Very Good performers are within 20%. The marks for female effective performers fall outside the “4/5ths rule” used by the DETR but this appears to be compensated by higher numbers of Very Good performers. The sample of unsatisfactory performers is too small to be statistically significant.
8. Starting Pay on Appointment Based on appointments within grade for last two years prior to 31 August 2001. A breakdown is given in Appendix VI. In each year there is an overall pay gap in favour of men of between 14 and 17%. This is not necessarily evidence of discrimination: sample sizes are very small and, within grades, there is no clear evidence of differentials between the 151
sexes. Discrepancies are often the result of single appointments at a higher than average starting salary (for example to IT posts which command a premium). In both years the apparent pay gap is attributable largely to the appointment to a small number of very highly graded posts. In 1999/2001 there is a more or less equal distribution of variances above 5%. In 2000/2001 all appointments within grade are within a 5% variance.
9. Conclusions The key indications are that: •
There is no indication of discrimination in the Performance Development Review or selection processes.
•
The proportion of males to females in our workforce is 52% to 48%, although a small number of staff groups remain almost exclusively male or female. The proportion of males to females recruited in the last two years is approx. 40% to 60%.
•
There is no clear evidence of discrimination in terms of starting salaries on appointment within grades.
•
There is nevertheless a pay differential of approx. 23% in basic salary between men and women overall and approx. 29% taking into account premium payments and other allowances.
•
There is no expectation, given current conditions, of progression from the minimum to the maximum of salary ranges.
The inference we draw from this is that the gender gap is perpetuated by the current pay progression system. We have a body of employees who reached the upper quartile of their salary scales prior to the adoption of the current pay progression system while newer appointees tend to remain at or close the bottom of their scales. Since we recruit more females than males, this tends to disadvantage females disproportionately. The current system also penalises those women who have taken career breaks. A particular concern is the present situation with premium payments. These payments were phased out for new staff in 1998 and as a result there is now a marked disparity in favour of males. Other concerns include the differential between the working week for full time and part time staff (37 hours without paid meal breaks as opposed to 42 hours with paid meal breaks) which gives advantageous overtime rates to part time staff (part time staff being predominantly women). NMGW considers that it is vulnerable to legal action in the light of Crossley et al v ACAS.
10. Recommendations Action should be taken to address the lack of career progression. Action should be taken to harmonise access to premium payments.
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REFERENCES Anderson T., Forth J., Metcalf H and Kirby, S. (2003 forthcoming) The Gender Pay Gap, London, National Institute for Economic and Social Research. Barth, E., Røed, M., and Torp, H. (2002) Towards a Closing of the Gender Pay Gap: A comparative study of three occupations in six European countries, Norwegian Centre for Gender Equality, ISBN 82-7937-019-6 Chaney, P. and Fevre, R. (2002) The Equality Policies of the Government of the National Assembly for Wales and their Implementation: July 1999 to January 2002: A Report for: The Equal Opportunities Commission, Disability Rights Commission, Commission for Racial Equality, and Institute of Welsh Affairs, Cardiff, IWA, ISBN 1 871 726 86 7 EOC (2001) Attitudes to Equal Pay, Manchester, EOC. EOC (2001) Gender Equality in Pay Practices, Manchester, EOC. EOC (2001) The Gender Pay Gap: a Research Review, Manchester, EOC. EOC (2001) ender Equality in Pay Practices in Scotland and Wales, Manchester, EOC. EOC (2001) Equal Pay Task Force: Just Pay - A report tothe Equal Opportunities Commission, Manchester, EOC, ISBN 1 84206 063 5 EOC (2003) Monitoring progress towards pay equality, Manchester, EOC. EOC (2003) Pay and Income, Manchester, EOC EOC Wales (2002) 'Facts About Women and Men in Wales', ISBN 1 84206 030 9, March 2002. Blackaby, D., Moore, N., Murphy, P;, and O’Leary, N. (2002) The Gender Pay Gap in Wales, Manchester, EOC. Heery, E., Conley, H., Delbridge, R., Simms, M. and Stewart, P. (2002) 'Equality Bargaining: Where, Who and Why'? Paper presented to the ESRC Future of Work Seminar, Queen’s Hotel, Leeds, 22—23 October 2002. Hepple, B., Coussey, M., Choudhury, T. (2000) Equality: A New Framework, A Report of the Independent Review of the Enforcement of UK Anti-Discrimination Legislation, Oxford, Hart. Kingsmill, D, (2002) Women’s Employment And The Gender Pay Gap In Britain McColgan, A. (1997) Just Wages for Women, Oxford, Clarendon Press. National Assembly for Wales Standing Committee on Equality of Opportunity (2000) Equal Pay: National Assembly And Assembly 153
Sponsored Public Bodies; And Contract Compliance, Papers of the Equality Committee, 23rd March 2000. National Assembly for Wales Standing Committee on Equality of Opportunity (2001) Working Group On Equal Pay—Progress Report, October 31st 2001, Papers of the Equality Committee, Papers of the Equality Committee National Assembly for Wales Standing Committee on Equality of Opportunity (2001) National Assembly For Wales Equal Pay Audit 2001, 13th June 2001, Papers of the Equality Committee National Assembly for Wales (2002) Plenary Debate on the Equal Pay Campaign, National Assembly for Wales Official Record, 7th March 2002. National Assembly for Wales (2003) Plenary Statement on Equal Pay, National Assembly for Wales Official Record, 18th March 2003. National Assembly for Wales Standing Committee on Equality of Opportunity/ Welsh Assembly Government (2000-03) Annual Reports on the Duty to Promote Equality of Opportunity, Papers of the Equality Committee. National Assembly for Wales (2000-03) Annual Plenary Debates on the Duty to Promote Equality of Opportunity, National Assembly for Wales Official Record. Norwegian Centre for Gender Equality (2002) ‘Towards A Closing Of The Gender Pay Gap’ European Transnational Conference, Oslo, Norway 1819 November 2002, The Conference Report - Best Practice Presentations Norwegian Centre for Gender Equality (2002) ‘Union Equal Pay Representatives Training as applied by the TUC’ in ‘Towards A Closing Of The Gender Pay Gap’ European Transnational Conference, Oslo, Norway, 18-19 November 2002, The Conference Report, - Best Practice Presentations Norwegian Centre for Gender Equality (2002)”Towards A Closing Of The Gender Pay Gap” European Transnational Conference Oslo, Norway 1819 November, The Conference Report, - A European Perspective On The Pay Gap Women and Equality Unit, Department of Trade and Industry (2002) Towards a Closing of the Gender Pay Gap, Country Report: United Kingdom, Norwegian Centre for Gender Equality, ISBN 82-7937-025-0 __________________________________________
i
European Structure of Earnings Survey European Structure of Earnings Survey, 1995- cited in ‘The Gender Pay Gap – a Research Review’, Grimshaw and Rubery, 2001. iii Minutes of the Assembly Committee on Equality of Opportunity, 22 November 2000, Item 3.1 iv Welsh Assembly Government Press Release, 07.03.2001, It’s time to close the pay gap in Wales ii
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v
Blackaby, D., Moore, N., Murphy, P., and O’Leary, N. (2001) The Gender Pay Gap in Wales, Cardiff, EOC Wales, p. 3. vi See Anderson T, J Forth , H Metcalf , (2001)The Gender Pay Gap, Women and Equality Unit, Cabinet Office vii Manning A, H Robinson, (2000), Something in the Way She Moves: A Fresh Look at an Old Gap, Discussion Paper. viii See Hepple, B., Coussey, M., Choudhury, T. (2000) Equality: A New Framework, A Report of the Independent Review of the Enforcement of UK Anti-Discrimination Legislation, Oxford, Hart. ix McColgan, A. (1997) Just Wages for Women, Oxford, Clarendon Press. x EOC briefing document 'Accounting for People Taskforce: developments to date', 2003. xi Source - UK Govt. Cabinet Office Document, 5 December 2001, ref. CAB 187/01, Women's Ministers Outline Government Action To Tackle Pay Gap. xii Heery,E., Conley, H., Delbridge, R., Simms, M. and Stewart, P. (2002) 'Equality Bargaining: Where, Who and Why'? Paper presented to the ESRC Future of Work Seminar, Queen’s Hotel, Leeds, 22—23 October 2002. xiii Kingsmill Report, p.5. xiv Carwyn Jones AM, The National Assembly for Wales (The Official Record), Tuesday 18 March 2003, Statement on Equal Pay. xv Source http://www.statswales.wales.gov.uk xvi Source: New Earnings Survey 2001 (from Nomis), Office for National Statistics, reproduced in 'Facts About Women and Men in Wales', EOC Wales, ISBN 1 84206 030 9, March 2002 p.6. xvii Source: Individual Income 1996/97 - 1999/00, Cabinet Office; Department for Work and Pensions, reproduced in 'Facts About Women and Men in Wales', EOC Wales, ISBN 1 84206 030 9, March 2002 p.6. Analytical Services Division) xviii Wales leads the way: Close The Pay Gap Campaign - Interim Report March 2002 March 2003, Papers of the National Assembly Committee Standing Committee on Equality of Opportunity, 20.03.2003, para 5. xix Close the Pay Gap Campaign: Strategy for Year Two, Ministerial Briefing Paper, EOC Wales, July 2003, p.7. xx News release: 'EOC Calls on Government and Employers to Unite Against the Pay Gap', 25.05.2000. xxi Minutes of Meeting Of The Voluntary Sector Partnership Council Held At The Conwy Business Centre, Llandudno Junction, Conwy On 18 October 2002 - provides a model of a future potential approach - 'Work had been undertaken with the Local Government Equality Unit and Equal Opportunities Commission on a pay audit for local government'. xxii See for example Fischer, F. (1995) Evaluating Public Policy, Chicago, Nelson Hall and Nagel, S. (ed). (2002) 'Handbook of Public Policy Evaluation, Sage, Thousand Oaks, London and Delhi. xxiii (they do not constitute a scientific sample) xxiv Number of references to each response. Interviewees may cite more than one of the listed responses. xxv Papers of the National Assembly Committee on Equality of Opportunity 20.03.03, 'Wales leads the way: Close The Pay Gap Campaign - Interim Report March 2002 March 2003 xxvi Wales leads the way: Close The Pay Gap Campaign - Interim Report March 2002 March 2003, Papers of the National Assembly Committee Standing Committee on Equality of Opportunity, 20.03.2003, para 21. xxvii Papers of the National Assembly Committee on Equality of Opportunity 20.03.03, 'Wales leads the way: Close The Pay Gap Campaign - Interim Report March 2002 March 2003. xxviii Papers of the National Assembly Committee on Equality of Opportunity 20.03.03, 'Wales leads the way: Close The Pay Gap Campaign - Interim Report March 2002 March 2003. xxix 'Equal Pay: National Assembly And Assembly Sponsored Public Bodies; And Contract Compliance', Papers of the National Assembly Committee Standing Committee on Equality of Opportunity, 23.03.2000 xxx Assembly Government to review procurement policy guidelines, Sue Essex announces, WAG Press Release, 08.07.2003. xxxi See www.financewales.co.uk xxxii e.g. ACCAC (2002) 'Careers Education and Guidance Supplementary Guidance', Ref: AC/GM/0288, ISBN 86112 443 0, ACCAC (2003) 'Links between PSE, CEG and WRE in secondary education Guidance for curriculum managers', ACCAC (2000) A Framework for Work-Related Education for 14 to 19-Year-Olds in Wales, Ref:
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AC/GM/0027, ISBN 1 86112 223 3, and ACCAC (2001) 'A Framework for Careers Education and Guidance For 11 to 19-Year-Olds in Wales'. Ref: AC/GM/0225, ISBN 1 86112 393 0, and 'Equal Opportunities and Diversity in the School Curriculum in Wales'. xxxiii Remit Letter - targets and other outputs which the HEFCW is asked to deliver in 2003-2004. Jane Davidson to the Chair of HEFCW 20.03.03 xxxiv See www.elwa.ac.uk xxxv See Department of Health (2003) Agenda for Change - Proposed Agreement, www.doh.gov.uk xxxvi NHS Wales Press Release (27.11.2002) 'NHS can lead the way on equal pay', www.wales.nhs.uk xxxvii See www.wlga.gov.uk xxxviii 'Environment Agency Wales: Remit Letter 2003 - 04' from WAG Minister Sue Essex 03.04.2004. xxxix National Library of Wales Quinquennial Review Stage II Final Report June 2002 xl See Fischer, F. (1995) Evaluating Public Policy, Chicago, Nelson Hall, p. 111
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