Ethnicity pay gap

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

The data below comes from a snapshot taken on 5 April 2023. 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.

The latest data

The mean ethnicity pay gap is 18.7%.
The median ethnicity pay gap is 22.5%.
The mean ethnicity bonus gap is -5.6%.
The median ethnicity bonus gap is 0%.
The proportion of White British colleagues at NCHA receiving a bonus is 16% and the proportion of colleagues from ethnic minority backgrounds receiving a bonus is 12%.

Pay quartiles by ethnicity

45% of people in the lower pay quartile are from ethnic minorities, 55% are White British.
36% of people in the lower middle pay quartile were from ethnic minorities, 64% are White British.
16.5% of people in the upper middle pay quartile are from ethnic minorities, 84.5% are White British.
16% of people in the upper pay quartile are from ethnic minorities, 84% 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 ethnicity pay gap mean average has increased from 2022 when it was reported as 15.4%.
The proportion of White British colleagues in the lower two quartiles has decreased this year, while the proportion of colleagues from minority ethnic backgrounds has increased, by 11% in the lower quartile and 5% in the lower middle quartile.
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.

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 us:

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 27% of the workforce being from ethnic minority backgrounds.
In terms of ethnicity, there is over-representation 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 frontline roles. We know that in the UK ethnic minorities are more likely to experience educational and social disadvantage and are 47% 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 (74%) and very few work in 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 manager 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.

We are 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

We are 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.

Over the next two years we'll continue to:

Increase the representation of ethnically diverse colleagues in higher paid positions including people manager roles through use of initiatives like the Rooney Rule and diverse panels.
Ensure that ethnically diverse colleagues are proportionately represented in development opportunities specifically our leadership development and apprenticeship programmes.
Increase the number of colleagues from ethnically diverse backgrounds in Property Services.
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.

We will continue working with colleagues, trade unions, our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Panel and relevant forums to achieve these goals.