Gender pay gap reporting

All employers with a workforce of 250 or more must publish information on their gender pay gap every year.

Find out more about this on the Gov.uk website.

Gender pay gap reporting as at 31 March 2023

This information is based on full-pay relevant employees on a snapshot date of 31 March 2023. Full-pay relevant employees are all employees who were employed by Dorset Council on 31 March 2023 and:

• are paid their usual full basic pay during the pay period in which the snapshot date falls
• are paid less than their usual basic pay, or none at all, during the pay period that includes the snapshot date, if it’s for reasons other than leave (for example because of irregular working hours)

Workforce demographic

The total headcount on 31 March 2023 was 4,810. For gender pay gap reporting purposes, only full-pay relevant employees are included in the calculations. This number was 4,538 which comprised:

• 2,908 females (64.1%) and 1,630 males (35.9%)
• 36.4% were part time and 63.6% full time

Full time:

• 1,520 females (52.7%)
• 1,366 males (47.3%)

Part time:

• 1,388 females (84%)
• 264 males (16%)

Our employment terms

Around 95% of our employees are covered by the terms and conditions for Local Government Services. This is commonly referred to as the Green Book. Most of the remainder are covered by the terms and conditions for advisory staff in children’s services (Soulbury) and those for teaching. A small number are on protected terms from previous employments.

To illustrate the make-up of the workforce, the full-time equivalent salaries for all posts have been assimilated onto the Dorset Council pay and grading structure, detailed below.

Gender split (%)

Gender split (headcount)

Gender pay gap explained

The gender pay gap shows the difference between the average (mean or median) earnings of men and women. This is expressed as a percentage of men’s earnings.

What we include

• mean gender pay gap (a mean or average, involves adding up all of the numbers and dividing the result by how many numbers were in the list) - the difference between the mean hourly rate of pay of male full-pay employees and that of female full-pay employees
• median gender pay gap (a median involves listing all of the numbers in numerical order. If there is an odd number of results, the median is the middle number. If there is an even number of results, the median will be the mean of the two central numbers) the difference between the median hourly rate of pay of male full-pay employees and that of female full-pay employees
• mean bonus gap - the difference between the mean bonus pay paid to male employees and that paid to female employees
• median bonus gap - the difference between the median bonus pay paid to male employees and that paid to female employees
• bonus proportions - the proportion of male and female employees who were paid bonus pay during the relevant period
• quartile pay band - the proportion of male and female employees in the upper, upper middle, lower middle and lower quartile pay bands

Calculating and understanding the pay gap

The pay gap is calculated this way: 

1. mean (or median) £ per hour for males minus mean (or median) £ per hour for females
2. the result is divided by the mean (or median) £ per hour for males
3. the result is then multiplied by 100

What the result indicates:

• a positive percentage figure indicates that generally, female employees have lower pay/bonuses.
• a negative percentage figure indicates that generally, male employees have lower pay/bonuses.
• a zero percentage figure indicates that there is no gap or completely equal pay/bonuses. 

Our gender pay gap - 31 March 2023

• male: £16.43
• female: £16.39

Gap = 0.24%

Figures below from the Office of National Statistics 2023 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (provisional).

Office of National Statistics 2023 annual survey of hours and earnings

The mean hourly pay gap of 0.24% is negligible and well below the average for public and private sector organisations. We’re committed to maintaining, or improving our gender pay gap.

Median hourly pay gap

• male: £14.44
• female: £14.71

Gap = -1.87%

Figures below from the Office of National Statistics 2023 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (provisional).

Similarly, the median hourly pay gap of -1.87% is well below the average for public and private sector organisations. 

Proportion of men and women receiving bonuses

The council does not normally pay bonuses. However, there are a very small number of individuals that transferred to our employment with protections under TUPE who do receive a bonus payment.

Out of the total workforce of 4,538, around 0.04% of employees (2 people) receive an annual bonus payment. 

Mean bonus pay:

• Male: £138.55
• Female: £167.69

Gap = -21.03%

Median bonus pay:

• Male: £138.55
• Female: £167.69

Gap = -21.03%