SeeAbility is underpinned by values that drive equity, diversity and inclusion throughout its work and its colleagues, enabling the provision of exceptional support whilst creating a welcoming place for people to perform at their best.

As you may know, all UK organisations with over 250 employees are required to publish details of their gender pay and bonus pay gaps: the proportions of men and women in each pay quartile and the percentage of men and women receiving a bonus and we are proud to do so. 

Gender Pay Gap - Health and Social Care

The health and social care mean pay gap has reduced to 9.5%. This represents a 2.0% reduction from 2021 and a 4.7% reduction from 2017 (when reporting began). The median pay gap has seen a reduction to 8.5%. This represents a 1.5% reduction from 2021 and a 4.8% reduction from 2017. (GOV.UK 2022 Gender Pay Gap Report)

While there remains a gap in pay between men and women, it is reassuring that both the mean and median pay gap are on positive trajectories overall. Both measures of health and social care’s gender pay gap remain below the UK average of 15.4% in 2021. (GOV.UK 2022 Gender Pay Gap Report pay gap)

Seeability

Within SeeAbility, we have a mean gender pay gap of 9.8%, which sets us significantly apart from most UK organisations – the average gap is 14.9% (ONS Gender Pay Gap report).  While this remains positive, we have acknowledged that this is a slight increase from 2021.  The median pay gap has seen an increase to 5.7% however it remains significantly below the average for the sector. 

On the back of these results, we have committed to shaping a new Equity, Diversity and Belonging Strategy to further commit to progress our goals and embrace the views and creativity of our workforce, people we support, and their families – this is our cultural identity and people will remain at the heart of everything we do as a Charity.

Lisa Hopkins
CEO

What is the gender pay gap?

Equal pay means that men and women performing equal work should receive equal pay.

The gender pay gap is the difference between men’s and women’s average hourly pay across an organisation, expressed as a percentage.

• It is reported as a mean (average) and a median (mid-point) figure.
• A Gender Pay Gap exists in most organisations – the national average in October 2018 (ONS) was 17.9%.

Median & mean explained

We can work out the mean (average) hourly rate by adding up all the hourly rates for employees and dividing by the number of employees. If we do this separately for all male employees and then all female employees, we can work out the difference in pay.

The median pay rate is the middle number if you were to line all pay rates from smallest to largest.

What are some of the reasons for a gender pay gap?

• Women are often under-represented in senior roles where pay is higher.
• Women are more likely to take time out of their careers to start a family or have carer responsibilities.
• Some sectors, including social care, have a higher proportion of part-time roles, resulting in a higher proportion of women in entry-level roles.
• Educational choices leading to fewer women in higher-paid specialist roles, such as finance, IT, etc.

SeeAbility 2021/2022 figures

	SeeAbility 2021	Social care sector 2021	All UK 2021	SeeAbility 2022	Social care sector 2022	All UK 2022
Mean	9.6%	11.5%	N/A	9.8%	9.5%	N/A
Median	1.7%	11.5%	15.4%	5.7%	8.5%	14.9%

Source: GOV.UK 2022 Gender Pay Gap Report

Pay quartiles – the proportion of males and females in each pay quartile

Quartile	Female	Male
Upper quartile	68.40%	31.60%
Upper middle quartile	77.30%	22.70%
Lower middle quartile	74.40%	25.60%
Lower quartile	83.10%	16.90%

SeeAbility 2021/2022 Bonus Pay Gap

Bonus Pay Gap	SeeAbility 2021	Social care Sector 2021	All UK 2021	SeeAbility 2022	Social care Sector 2022	All UK 2022
Mean	1.10%	24.6%	N/A	4.0%	13.4%	N/A
Median	0.0%	N/A	N/A	-23.1%	0.00%	N/A

Health and social care’s mean bonus gap saw a significant reduction in 2022 to 13.4%. This represents a 11.2% reduction from 2021, and a 2.7% reduction from 2017, when reporting began. The overall trend of the mean bonus gap remains positive.

Source: GOV.UK 2022 Gender Pay Gap Report

Understanding the gender pay gap

Gender	Total employees	Senior posts
Male	24	21
Female	76	79

Reasons for the Gender Pay Gap at SeeAbility

SeeAbility has a predominately female permanent workforce, which is also reflected at the senior manager level with a 80%/20%, female/male split.

Our mean pay gap is 9.8% compared to 9.6% in 2021. While our gap has increased slightly it is significantly less than the national average of 14.9% and sits just above the overall care sector average of 9.5%.

Within SeeAbility, the median pay gap has seen an increase from 1.7% (2021) to 5.7% (2022). This is due to a 3% increase in males within the upper pay quartile including an increase in males within the leadership team, service managers, deputy managers, senior support workers and central support roles however our work base is still predominantly female. In addition, there has been a necessity to introduce specialist male-only teams for some of the people we support which has had an impact. These roles are paid higher than standard support teams due to the complex nature of the roles. 

There has been more female than male leavers and some of these roles have been backfilled by men resulting in the 3% increase in men and a 3% decrease in women within the upper quartile levels.  Over the coming year we will also be reviewing how we can offer greater flexibility throughout all roles that replicate the flexibility we have in lower quartile roles. Smart working remains in place for many upper middle and upper quartile roles which will support our aim. 

We want to ensure that flexibility in how we work is an option for all genders so that all colleagues can manage family responsibilities and, secondly, to ensure we culturally eradicate traditional stereotypes to enable equality of opportunity for all. 

We will continue to focus on equity, diversity and belonging and strive to continue to break down societal and systemic barriers that impact people that are under-represented and provide an environment where people can grow and perform at their best.

Report signed and submitted by     

Martin Boyce
Executive Director of People 

Our progress

• Created diversity resource groups (Racial Awareness and Q+) to ensure underrepresented groups have a voice and influence in the organisation. We are also encouraging colleagues to establish new groups where people feel greater voice needs to be heard.
• Active Staff Forum of 25 employees across the organisation who meet with the CEO and Executive Director of People every quarter to influence organisational decisions and provide good insight to the senior leadership team regarding the engagement of teams across the organisation.
• All salaries and pay levels are reviewed throughout the year to ensure we are paying competitively and fairly with associated job roles. SeeAbility pay to benchmark where affordable and does not operate performance-related pay.
• Reviewing the reward and recognition package
• Completed 3rd year of employee engagement survey and subsequent action planning to further improve the working environment and address any concerns relating to inequality. 
• Talent and succession planning supported training gaps for leaders and employees to give every colleague an opportunity to fulfil their careers goals.
• Focusing on new recruitment pipelines to increase diversity including apprenticeships, mid-life career changes, Q+ community and supporting people with disabilities in work.
• SeeAbility have implemented 23 wellbeing coaches to support all employees in times of need or crisis.

Going Forward

• Currently developing a new Equity, Diversity and Belonging Strategy to increase representation through the Charity and create an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive.
• Developing more ways to create greater flexibility across all roles for everyone.
• Improving our data sets for under-represented groups to steer our priorities for the next year. 
• Continuing to develop our leadership and career development opportunities for all colleagues to support progression in their careers.
• Reviewing training materials to ensure they fit all learning styles and are fully accessible.
• Inclusive auditing of our recruitment processes and addressing any gaps that emerge.
• Diversifying our recruitment strategies to ensure that we continue to attract and retain under-represented groups.

I confirm that the information contained within this report is accurate.

Martin Boyce
Executive Director of People