Nottingham City Council is making good progress towards closing pay gaps between staff of different gender, ethnicity and disability.

The authority compares well with other councils and local public sector organisations – with data showing that across the whole organisation, it has the smallest average gender pay gap among Core City councils and lower than many local public sector organisations.

Across the council, the average female member of staff earns 97p for every pound earned by her male counterpart – a 2.9% pay gap – while for middle earners the gap is smaller still, at 0.5%. The discrepancies are down to more men being in higher-paid jobs and more women being in lower-paid jobs.

Meanwhile, disabled employees on average are paid slightly more than able-bodied colleagues – £1.01 for every £1, a gap of minus 1.1%. this rises to £1.10 for every £1, a gap of minus 10.4%, among middle earners, which is up from 5.8% in 2020. This is because disabled employees are very evenly spread throughout the organisation, with slightly higher representation in middle and higher ranked posts.

Among Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) staff, most earn 94p for every £1 white colleagues earn – up slightly from 2020, with middle earners receiving 91p for every £1, or a 9.4% pay gap. The differences are likely to exist because White British employees are slightly overrepresented higher up in the organisation and slightly more BAME employees in lower paid roles. 

The council is continually seeking ways to support and develop its staff, including embedding Equality, Diversity and Inclusion within the organisation’s culture and developing ongoing learning and resources to support leaders to work in an inclusive way. Measures include introducing programmes such as the Change Academy, which responds to calls from staff for more development opportunities and will help the council to ‘grow its own’ to drive the transformation and improvement of the organisation.

Transformation Project Manager & Business Analyst Claire Knight, who is taking part in the Change Academy, said: “To be able to apply for a programme that had such open criteria and was not limited by previous experience or grade was incredibly rewarding. It highlights the investment the City Council has made in its own workforce and has provided me with a fantastic opportunity to learn and apply new knowledge which has led me down a different and rewarding career path and has meant a significant increase to my salary.”

Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhoods, Safety and Inclusion, Councillor Neghat Khan, said: “We are one of only a handful of councils who are taking a proactive approach to reporting pay gap data relating to disability and ethnicity as well as gender, to help us make improvements. Our figures have improved since last year and I’m happy with our progress, but we are on a journey and we will continue to work hard to further close the pay gaps. It shows that we are putting our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy into action to address disparities in the workplace.”

Nottingham City Council’s Chief Executive, Mel Barrett said: “We are headed in the right direction towards closing pay gaps, and compare favourably with Core City councils and local public sector organisations. We are not shying away from this issue and are taking active steps to bring about positive change. Despite the positive progress, we are not going to become complacent and will continue to ensure that there is equity of pay throughout the organisation. 

“Our aspiration is for Nottingham to be an internationally successful and prosperous city that offers its residents the means and opportunities to realise their potential. Pay gap reporting helps us to identify inequalities that need to be addressed.”

See the council’s report here: Equality Pay Gaps 2021 – Nottingham City Council