By Luke Pawley
Leicester City Council will meet to discuss the annual Gender Pay Gap report today.
All local authorities are bound by law to publish a Gender Pay Gap report for each financial year, as well as a Pay Policy Statement, which the council are set to approve at this evening’s meeting.
The council’s median pay gap for the current financial year stands at 0%, with the mean hourly rate for men and women differing by just two pence.
“The council’s figures compare very positively against median and mean gender pay gaps of 16.8% and 15.7% respectively for the public sector as a whole- i.e. average pay for men being significantly higher than for women,” the council’s report says.
“At 31 March 2018 the Council was one of only three out of 40 local authorities in the same employee headcount band (5000-19,999) with a zero median pay gap.
“The council’s mean pay gap was the closest to zero- i.e. we had the smallest difference in average pay between men and women.”
Figures are expected to be around the national average across the public sector in Leicestershire, with the NHS Leicestershire Partnership Trust (LPT) reporting a mean hourly pay gap between men and women of 15.6% in last year’s figures.
With medics excluded, however, this mean gap falls to 6.% in favour of male employees.
One member of staff at LPT, who did not wish to be named, said: “It’s good to see that Leicester City Council have set the example with a 0% median pay gap and I’m sure that will always be our aim.
“I hope the (Leicestershire Partnership) Trust is making gradual progress and I’m looking forward to seeing our 2020 report when it’s published later this month. I’m proud that our pay gap is lower than the national average across the public sector, but it looks like we’ve still got quite some way to go to be in an ideal world.”
While Leicester City Council have already published their Gender Pay Gap Report, all other public authorities must follow suit by March 31.
Ahead of tonight’s council meeting, the agenda can be found online by visiting: http://www.cabinet.leicester.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=81&MId=9388
All councillors are expected to attend and the meeting will take place in the Council Chamber on the first floor of the Town Hall building in the city centre.
Queries can be directed to the council’s Matthew Reeves, via telephone: 0116 4546352 (376352) or by email: matthew.reeves@leicester.gov.uk.
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