Ethnicity pay gap

NCHA has made a commitment to reduce the ethnicity pay gap amongst its workforce.

The data below comes from the snapshot date 5 April 2024. When calculating the ethnicity pay gap, we have followed the guidance provided for the gender pay gap calculations, using the difference between the average hourly earnings of White British colleagues and colleagues from other ethnic groups.

Figures

The mean ethnicity pay gap is 19.3%
The median ethnicity pay gap is 21.6%
The mean ethnicity bonus gap is -7.4%
The median ethnicity bonus gap is -3.8%
The proportion of White British colleagues at NCHA receiving a bonus is 18% and the proportion of colleagues from ethnic minority backgrounds receiving a bonus is 13%.

Pay quartiles by ethnicity

44% of people in the lower pay quartile are from ethnic minorities, 56% are White British
40% of people in the lower middle pay quartile were from ethnic minorities, 60% are White British
14% of people in the upper middle pay quartile are from ethnic minorities, 86% are White British
15% of people in the upper pay quartile are from ethnic minorities, 85% are White British

These figures have been calculated using the methodologies used in the gender pay gap reporting: guidance for employers and adapted for calculating based on ethnicity.

Summary

The mean ethnicity pay gap has increased compared to last year.
The proportion of White British colleagues in the lower middle quartile has decreased this year, while the proportion of colleagues from minority ethnic backgrounds has increased.
Bonus payments include long service awards, refer a friend recruitment incentives and VIP awards.
NCHA’s ethnicity pay gap is high and we are committed to doing everything that we can to reduce the gap.
The biggest pay gaps exist where there is a higher proportion of colleagues in the lower two quartiles and relatively much smaller proportion in the upper two quartiles.
There are negative pay gaps for Asian or Asian British Indian and Asian or Asian British Pakistani colleagues.

Why we have an ethnicity pay gap

Most of the issues that contribute to NCHA's ethnicity pay gap are reflected in the UK economy and are not unique to NCHA:

The lack of ethnically diverse colleagues in higher pay grades. For example, on the date of the snapshot, representation of ethnic minorities in senior leadership was 0% and in management positions, representation was 10%. This is compared with 26% of the workforce being from ethnic minority backgrounds.
In terms of ethnicity, there is overrepresentation in our lower quartile pay bands of people who are not White British. This picture is replicated across the UK economy, as people from ethnically diverse backgrounds are less likely to hold senior roles and more likely to be in front-line roles. We know from TUC data that in the UK ethnic minorities are more likely to experience educational and social disadvantage and are more likely to work in zero-hour contract roles than their white counterparts.
Occupational segregation. The divide between occupations is a factor for the gap. We know that most of our ethnic minority colleagues work in care and support (72%) and very few work in the maintenance services (4%) at the snapshot date.
Given the diversity of our organisation and the fact that NCHA reflects a number of UK occupational segregation issues it is unlikely that we will eliminate the ethnicity pay gap entirely and reducing it further will take many years.
We are making a concerted effort to increase representation of ethnically diverse colleagues in managerial roles and have strategies and targets in place to do so. For example, we have committed to increasing the percentage of our ethnically diverse managers to 14% by 2027.

The ethnicity pay gap is different to equal pay

Equal pay deals with the pay differences between people who carry out the same jobs, similar jobs or work of equal value. It is unlawful to pay people unequally because of their ethnicity. The ethnicity pay gap shows the difference in the average pay between those who are White British and those who belong to a minority ethnic group in a workforce.

NCHA is committed to the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment for all colleagues, regardless of sex, race, religion or belief, age, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or disability. As such, we use a job evaluation scheme to grade roles and determine pay.

Addressing the ethnicity pay gap

NCHA is committed to doing everything that we can to reduce the ethnicity pay gap. Reducing the pay gap is not a quick fix and it will be several years before we expect to see improvement.

We will continue to:

Increase the representation of ethnic minority colleagues in higher paid positions including managerial roles with initiatives like the Rooney Rule for people managers roles and above (where feasible) and embed the use of diverse recruitment interview panels.
Ensure that ethnically diverse colleagues are proportionately represented in development opportunities – for example, our leadership development and apprenticeship programmes.
Increase the number of colleagues from ethnic minority backgrounds in our Property Services teams through targeted apprenticeships and recruitment campaigns.
Use anonymised applicant data to reduce unconscious bias in recruitment.
Monitor workforce data to understand the impact of our recruitment processes on appointments to people manager roles in relation to ethnicity, and in addition analyse data around leavers to identify and address any unknown barriers.

In addition, we will:

Transform and embed our Colleague Forum for ethnic minorities, and our Diversity Champion networks, who support colleagues covering all non-protected characteristics.
Foster inclusion and improve people’s sense of belonging through colleague consultation and collaboration.
Launch a new tailored positive action management/leadership programme aimed at ethnic minority colleagues only.

We will continue working with colleagues, trade unions, the equality, diversity and inclusion panel and relevant forums to achieve these goals.