Our pay gaps
We both embrace and celebrate the value of diversity across colleagues and clients. We are committed to transparency and ensuring that inclusion and diversity considerations are at the heart of our culture and the HL Way.
We continue to make good progress and we know there is more we can do to create opportunities to hire and progress diverse talent not only into senior roles but across all levels in our business.
To help us do this and to support our approach to building an inclusive culture more broadly, we have evolved our Inclusion and Diversity strategy priority objectives:
- To maintain our commitment to increase female and ethnic minority representation and close our gender and ethnicity pay gaps
- Broaden our diversity focus to include:
- Colleagues with disabilities and chronic conditions
- LGBTQ+ colleagues
- Social mobility
- Age - Intensify our focus on inclusion as a core expectation of life at HL
For my part, I will continue to lead our approach as the ExCo member responsible for our people and culture strategy.
I can confirm that the data reported on these pages is correct.
ROB DIVALL, CPO
From April 2018, UK employers with more than 250 staff have been required to publish their Gender Pay Gap (GPG) data under The Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017. This is HL’s sixth GPG report and calculations are based on the snapshot date of 5 April 2022.
The GPG measures the difference between men and women's earnings across the business by expressing the percentage difference between men and women's average hourly pay.
For example, if the average man’s pay was £20 per hour and average woman’s pay was £17 per hour, women would earn 85% of the amount men earn, giving a gender pay gap of 15%.
This is different to equal pay which refers to men and women receiving equal pay for equal work. HL has a clear, fair, and bias-free approach to pay and we operate on an equal pay basis across the company.
The gender pay gap at HL
When comparing the average pay, two types of measure are used. The "median” is the "middle" value in a list of numbers. If all HL colleagues lined up in a female line and a male line, in order of hourly pay from highest to lowest, the median gender pay gap compares the hourly pay of the female in the middle of their line to the hourly pay of the middle male. The "mean" is where you add up all the rates of hourly pay and then divide by the number of people.
Pay and bonus gap difference between male and female UK colleagues - 2022 report (data as at 5 April 2022)
| Mean (%) | Median (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly rate of pay | 7.7 | 13.6 |
| Bonus pay | 51.7 | 32.6 |
Proportion of male and female UK colleagues in each pay quartile
| Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|
| Upper quartile | 71% | 29% |
| Upper middle quartile | 58% | 42% |
| Lower middle quartile | 58% | 42% |
| Lower quartile | 51% | 49% |
We’re pleased to share that we’ve reduced our Median GPG, Mean Bonus Gap and Median Bonus Gap year-on-year.
Our Mean GPG has increased this year, moving from 4.9% to 7.7.%.
Our Median GPG continues to improve year-on-year, from 20.4% in 2018 to 13.6% in 2022.
The Mean Bonus Gap has reduced by 29% since 2019, showing the benefits of continued focus on increasing female representation at all levels, especially at Executive Committee level.
The Median Bonus Gap has reduced every year since the introduction of GPG reporting and is now more than 54% lower than it was in 2017.
Bonus payments
The proportion of male colleagues receiving a bonus has increased slightly over the year to 73.1% in 2022, female colleagues receiving a bonus has fallen slightly to 65.8%.
This means that the female/male ratio reduced to 90.1% and is impacted by the proportion of women and men joining in the last quarter of the year, and therefore not being eligible for a bonus.
Proportion of eligible men/women who received a bonus
Proportion of men/women who received a bonus payment
Why there is a gender pay gap
We have a greater proportion of men in senior roles as you can see below. These senior roles have higher salaries and higher bonuses. Therefore, the average amount men are paid is higher.
Proportion of male and female UK colleagues per role level
As at 5 April 2022
Our GPG figures are not the result of an equal pay issue, instead they reflect the higher proportion of men in senior and higher-paying roles.
There are a number of reasons why gender pay gaps have happened over time. We know that in the past there have been greater numbers of men working in the financial services, fintech and tech industries compared to women and this has led to disproportionate numbers of men in senior roles – we can see this is also true of HL.
We are actively creating opportunities for women, and other members of protected characteristics groups, to move on to more senior roles. Our Inclusion and Diversity Strategy and accompanying action plan focuses on building a diverse and inclusive workforce which will support the reduction in our gender pay gap over time.
Examples of our progress to date
- The HL plc Board has a female Chair, a female Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director, and three other female Non-executive Directors, two of which chair Board Committees
- One of 47 companies in the FTSE 100 to be at or above a 40% target for Women on Boards
- The Board meets the Parker Review recommendation for FTSE 100 Boards to have at least one director from an ethnic minority background by 2021
- We are a member of the 30% club and have signed the Women in Finance Charter, both committing to increase the number of women in senior positions
- A member of the BBC’s 50:50 The Equality Project
- We are an Age-Aware Accredited Employer and have proudly committed to ensure all processes, working practices and opportunities are all inclusive and accessible to workers over the age of 50.
Planned actions include:
- Training our managers to actively create an inclusive culture through training modules covering: inclusive recruitment, psychological safety and creating inclusive working environments.
- Recruitment campaigns, including increased early careers entry points into the organisation to access a broader and more diverse pool of talent.
- Partnerships with organisations that align with our priorities such as Women Ahead and 55/ Redefined.
- Data and insight to help us identify barriers and create forums for senior leaders to hear directly about the experiences of women at HL.
- Networks led by our colleagues to create a workspace where all gender identities are valued equally and to raise the confidence of women to progress their careers.
This is our first year reporting our Ethnicity Pay Gap (EPG). We have chosen to use the same calculation methodology set out by the Government Equalities Office for gender pay gap reporting, for our mean and median ethnicity pay gap and bonus. However, unlike gender, our ethnicity disclosure rate is not at 100% so any individuals with undisclosed ethnicities are excluded from our calculations.
The EPG measures the difference between ethnic minority (Black, Asian and minority ethnicities) and non-ethnic minority (White) colleague's earnings across the business by expressing the percentage difference between ethnic minority and non-ethnic minority colleague's average hourly pay.
For example, if the average non-ethnic minority colleague’s pay was £20 per hour and average ethnic minority colleague's pay was £17 per hour, ethnic minority colleagues would earn 85% of the amount non-ethnic minority colleagues earn, giving an ethnicity pay gap of 15%.
This is different to equal pay which refers to colleagues receiving equal pay no matter their ethnicity for the same or equivalent work. HL has a clear, fair, and bias free approach to pay and we operate on an equal pay basis across the company.
Our first ever Ethnicity Pay Gap Report gives us the base line from which we can measure our progress. We will publish this report every year from now on and we hope this will encourage others to do the same, driving transparency and progress.
SHAWN GAMBLE, Group Chief Risk Officer and executive committee member sponsor of our Cultural Diversity colleague network
The ethnicity pay gap at HL
When comparing the average pay, two types of measure are used. The "median” is the "middle" value in a list of numbers. If all HL colleagues lined up with non-ethnic minority colleagues in one line and ethnic minority colleagues in another line, in order of hourly pay from highest to lowest, the median ethnicity pay gap compares the hourly pay of the person in the middle of one line to the hourly pay of the person in the middle of the other line. The "mean" is where you add up all the rates of hourly pay and then divide by the number of people.
Pay and bonus gap difference between non-ethnic minority and ethnic minority UK colleagues - 2023 report (data as at 5 April 2022)
| Mean (%) | Median (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly rate of pay | 19.6 | 21.2 |
| Bonus pay | 67.6 | 43.1 |
Bonus payments
The proportion of non-ethnic minority colleagues receiving a bonus is 75%, whilst ethnic minority colleagues receiving a bonus is 57%.
This means that the ratio of ethnic minority/non-ethnic minority colleague ratio is to 76% and is impacted by the proportion of colleagues joining in the last quarter of the year, and therefore not being eligible for a bonus.
Proportion of eligible non-ethnic minority and ethnic minority colleagues who received a bonus
Proportion non-ethnic minority and ethnic minority colleagues who received a bonus payment
Why there is an ethnicity pay gap
Our EPG figures are not the result of an equal pay issue, rather they are a reflection of the higher proportion of non-ethnic minority colleagues across all role levels, especially in senior and higher paid roles.
Whilst our EPG reflects an ethnicity imbalance at all levels, we have seen positive, steady progress in terms of increasing ethnic minority representation at the junior levels by the creation of a diverse pipeline of future talent through our Strive Internship Programme and Apprenticeship schemes.
We want to do more to create opportunities for underrepresented ethnicities, and other members of protected characteristics groups, to move on to more senior roles. Our Inclusion and Diversity Strategy and accompanying action plan focuses on building a diverse and inclusive workforce which will support the reduction in our ethnicity pay gap over time.
Examples of our progress to date
- Every year since 2019 we have sponsored and put HL colleagues forward for the Stepping Up leadership programme run by Bristol City Council. This is a programme which looks to change the landscape of future leaders and has had a focus on underrepresented communities.
- In May 2021 Ethnic Minority and Black representation targets were agreed with our Executive Committee, at both senior and ‘pipeline’ levels, to be achieved by December 2025. These targets are tracked via a quarterly Inclusion & Diversity dashboard which is shared with Directors, helping them understand drivers of change.
- In 2021 we launched our Strive Internship Programme in partnership with Bristol City Council, UWE and the Mayor’s office, which creates paid internship opportunities for students from ethnic minority groups in organisations across the West of England. Through this programme we have created 70 internship placements across 24 organisations and in 2022 the programme won the Institute of Employers (ISE) Outstanding Partnership with an Employer award. Alongside our own programme we also provide opportunities as part of the 10,000 Black Interns programme.
Planned actions include:
- Training our managers to actively create an inclusive culture through training modules covering: inclusive recruitment, psychological safety and creating inclusive working environments.
- Recruitment campaigns, including increased early careers entry points into the organisation to access a broader and more diverse pool of talent.
- Partnerships with organisations that align with our priorities such as Race at Work Charter and Stepping Up.
- Data and insight to help us identify barriers and create forums for senior leaders to hear directly about the experiences of underrepresented colleagues at HL.
- Networks led by our colleagues to create a workspace where all ethnicities and cultural backgrounds are valued equally and to raise the confidence of all colleagues to progress their careers.