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Gender Pay Gap

All organisations employing over 250 people are required to report annually on their gender pay gap. The gender pay gap is defined as the differences in the average earnings of men and women over a standard period, regardless of their role seniority.

At Focus Group we recognise that the success of our business depends on our people

Focus Group are committed to the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment for all employees, regardless of sex, race, religion or belief, age, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or disability.

At Focus Group we recognise that the success of our business depends on our people. Our staffing policy is simple, find good people and keep them. Operating from a place of complete authenticity is at the heart of Focus Group and we want to continue to be recognised as a company that cares about doing things right, that values its people, that encourages fun and allows its people to bring their whole selves to work.

However, we operate in an industry that is traditionally male dominated, both in the technical, engineering and software development roles which tend to command higher salaries, and the sales roles which deliver significant commission income.

Commentary – as at 31st March 2022

  • The mean hourly rate for men is 10.6% higher than for women
  • The median hourly rate for men is 7.4% higher than for women
  • The average bonus for men is 21.8% more than women (Excl. commission payments)
  • The proportion of Female Staff receiving bonuses (Excluding Commission) remains higher than men

We recognise that we still need to make progress in closing the gender pay gap. We are committed to providing a fair and inclusive workplace for all our employees and this remains a key pillar of our strategy moving forward. Our community groups are now embedded into our culture, and these help us to be conscious of the impact we have on others, our environment, our communities, and will help to sustain our culture and drive diversity and inclusion across the business.

The summary tables below show:

  • Our mean and median gender pay gap (based on hourly rates of pay at a snapshot date of 31 March 2022) and bonus and commission pay gap (based on bonuses paid over a 12-month period ending 31 March 2022);
  • The gender distribution across 4 equally divided quartiles and
  • The proportion receiving bonus or commission pay (based on bonuses paid over a 12-month period ending 31 March 22).

Gender Pay Gap

Mean

10.6%

Median

7.4%

Mean Bonuses

73.3%

Median Bonuses

8.41%

Median Bonuses (Excl. Commission)

21.8%

Mean Bonuses (Excl. Commission)

18.2%


Pay Quartiles

Male

Female

Top Quartile

79.5%

20.5%

Upper Middle Quartile

71.1%

28.9%

Lower Middle Quartile

64.2%

35.8%

Lower Quartile

61.5%

38.5%


Bonuses & Commission

Proportion of Male Staff receiving Commission

27.7%

Proportion of Female Staff receiving Commission

4.9%

Proportion of Male Staff receiving bonuses (Excluding commission)

50.74%

Proportion of Female Staff receiving bonuses (Excluding Commission)

67.62%

Since last reporting our gender pay gap, Focus Group have reduced the mean hourly rate by 5.8%. The Median hourly rate has also reduced by 4.1%. Commission continues to play a huge part in the apparent disparity in levels of bonus paid to men and women at Focus. The gender pay gap reporting requires that commission is included in the bonus figures, creating a mean gap of 73.3%. With most of our Sales team being male, the commission figures create huge disparity, but once the commission payments are excluded, the mean bonus gap falls to 21.8%. Since 2021, we have recruited more women into our sales teams which has seen a small decrease in the mean bonus and a huge decrease of over 30% in the median bonus gap.

The number of women in the top quartile has increased over the last 2 years and is now 20.5% whilst the number of women in the lower quartile has decreased and is now 38.5%. This is due to more women being interested in joining higher paid roles and more women being internally promoted to higher level positions. There has also been a 8.9% increase in the proportion of women receiving bonuses.

I declare that our data has been calculated according to the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017.

Barney Taylor | Chief Executive Officer

Barney Taylor signature

For more information, please call us on 0330 024 2000