Under the Equality Act 2010 we have an obligation to calculate, report and publish gender pay gap data.
There are very specific rules and calculations that have to be used. Pay gaps are calculated by establishing the hourly pay of colleagues when taking into account their basic pay, allowances, hours worked, sick leave pay and annual leave pay as of 31 March each year. The calculations do not include overtime payments, redundancy payments or reimbursements.
The same must be calculated and published for bonus payments however Bury Council do not pay bonuses to any colleagues.
Pay gaps are calculated and reported as:
- Mean (average) gender pay gap: the difference between the hourly rate of pay of male full-pay relevant employees and that of female full-pay relevant employees
- Median (mid-point) gender pay gap: the difference between the mid point hourly rate of pay of male full-pay relevant employees and that of female full-pay relevant employees
- Quartile pay bands: the proportions of male and female full-pay relevant employees when divided into equal quarters of lower, mid lower, mid upper and upper quartiles.
Our Gender Pay Gap
The gender pay gap is an equality measure that shows the difference in mean and median average earnings between women and men.
Gender Pay Gap data and analysis
The Council's Gender Pay Gap data for the past three years.
Women's hourly rate (compared to men’s hourly rate)
|
Average |
2022/23 |
2023/24 |
2024/25 |
|
Mean |
6.83% lower |
4.09% lower |
2.36% lower |
|
Median |
3.60% lower |
0.00% |
0.00% |
Quartile pay bands
|
|
2022/2023 |
2023/2024 |
2024/2025 |
|||
|
Quartile |
Men |
Women |
Men |
Women |
Men |
Women |
|
Upper |
31.32% |
68.68% |
31.42% |
68.58% |
28.40% |
71.60% |
|
Mid Upper |
33.10% |
66.90% |
31.90% |
68.10% |
30.31% |
69.69% |
|
Mid Lower |
37.26% |
62.74% |
39.07% |
60.93% |
38.39% |
61.61% |
|
Lower |
16.29% |
83.71% |
20.43% |
79.57% |
20.28% |
79.72% |
Comparison summary
With regards to the mean payment, the pay gap decreased to 2.36% in 2024/2025, this represents the lowest pay gap recorded since pay gap reporting began
Figures from the Office of National Statistics taken from the annual survey of hours and earnings (ASHE) cites the gender pay gap to be 6.9 percent nationally and 7.6 percent in the Northwest.
Disability Pay Gap
Although we are not obliged to calculate and report a disability pay gap we do this as this helps us to understand the equality impacts of our recruitment processes and the experiences of our disabled colleagues in their employment and career development. We use the same pay gap calculations to calculate our disability pay gap.
Disabled colleague’s hourly rate (compared to non disabled colleagues)
|
Average |
2022/23 |
2023/24 |
2024/25 |
|
Mean |
2.71% higher |
2.42%higher |
3.60% higher |
|
Median |
3.53% higher |
3.48% higher |
5.98% higher |
Ethnicity Pay Gap
Although we are not obliged to calculate and report an ethnicity pay gap we do this as this helps us to understand the equality impacts of our recruitment processes and the experiences of our colleagues from racially minoritised communities in their employment and career development. We use the same pay gap calculations to calculate our ethnicity pay gap.
Ethnic minority colleague’s hourly rate (compared to white UK colleagues)
|
Average |
2022/23 |
2023/24 |
2024/25 |
|
Mean |
6.87% lower |
6.03% lower |
6.03% lower |
|
Median |
0.00% |
1.70% lower |
2.46% lower |
Progress to reduce our pay gaps
Over the past 12 months the Council has implemented several changes and initiatives that support all staff across characteristics and promote diversity and development within the workforce which, in turn, will support us in reducing our pay gaps. This work includes:
- Work to improve Council recruitment processes and remove potential barriers to employment, including adopting flexible approaches to application and assessments
- Developing business intelligence tools and data sets which allow more frequent exploration and monitoring employee data that affects pay gaps
- Further promotion of the Council’s leadership development offer which reflects our commitment to supporting staff development and progression
- Becoming a White Ribbon accredited organisation and employer, confirming our commitment to advancing gender equality and women’s safety.
- The establishment and development of a Women’s Employee Group to provide a focus on women in the workplace, be a critical friend to the organisation and support the advancement of gender equality at the Council.
- Delivering our equality strategy with a focus on representation and reducing barriers that affect our female employees in the workplace
- The development of a women and girls commission, demonstrating the council’s commitment to gender parity and highlighting the council as an attractive and inclusive employer.