Ethnicity Pay Gap

Our March 2023 Ethnicity Pay Gap data shows that while the Constabulary still faces challenges in this area, it is a very different picture than that of our Gender Pay Gap. Whilst we have fewer officers and police staff from ethnic minority backgrounds, there is a more even distribution of people across our pay structure than is seen in our gender pay gap. The pay gap is smaller as a result. For this reporting period for both police officers and police staff there existed a median ethnicity pay gap of 5.35% compared to a gender pay gap of 19.4%.

The ratio of black, British Asian and ethnic minority officers and staff in the top 2 pay quartiles shows there is still disproportionate access to senior ranks and pay opportunities. Of note though is that the greatest number of ethnically diverse officers and staff currently sit in the third quartile, which is still a large population group. This may suggest progression through ranks and average length of service for this group is growing and creating opportunity, though overall numbers are low.

Unlike the gender pay gap where we have a much more balanced overall number or males and females in the organisation, the numbers or ethnic minority officers and staff are considerably smaller. Whilst being statistically significant this does create some anomalies in the data. For example within bonus payments the data is a result of disproportionately fewer BME police staff receiving payments than their majority colleagues, only 2 cases in total. It just so happens that one of these 2 cases received an exceptional level of bonus as a result of working in a specialist team. We still, however, see disproportionality in the amount of bonus payments made based on ethnicity.

It must be stated that due to the significantly fewer numbers of officers and staff from diverse ethnic backgrounds, whilst enough to be statistically significant, these interpretations should still be treated with caution.

The ethnicity pay gap is a measure of difference between our people’s average earnings across an organisation when considered by race and ethnicity. It is calculated as a percentage of earnings for black, British Asian and ethnic minority officers and staff compared to white colleagues. These figures take into consideration both part-time and full-time employees.

Unlike the gender pay gap, there is currently no statutory requirement for public sector organisations to publish their ethnicity pay gap. Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary proactively choose to do this as part of our commitment to make the changes we need to make to better represent the communities we serve.

Reporting on our ethnicity pay gap helps us to understand the distribution across work roles and levels of seniority for people of colour in the Constabulary when compared with others.

The ethnicity pay gap does not mean that we pay people of different backgrounds different amounts for doing the same role. It simply helps us to recognise the disproportionality that exists in terms of the link between ethnicity and seniority of position and pay. Pay includes overtime, bonuses and increases by length in role.

The median pay gap figure is the most commonly used figure in pay gap reporting as this is the one most reliable way to represent the experience of the average employee in an organisation.

The mean pay gap figure, when viewed alongside pay quartile information, is most useful to identify where there is a disproportionate distribution of officers and staff across ranks and grades. By identifying where there these gaps exist the Constabulary take action to remove barriers that may hinder progression.