Utility Week

20 | 20TH - 26TH APRIL 2018 | UTILITY WEEK Operations & Assets Analysis E arlier this month, thousands of com- panies and organisations around the UK revealed for the first time how much they pay their female employees in comparison with their male peers. Under new rules introduced in 2017, all employers with 250 or more workers are required on an annual basis to report their gender pay gap. Although more than 1,500 employers failed to submit the data in time, more than 10,000 met the 5 April deadline. According to the statistics, the median gap in hourly wages across all sectors was 9.7 per cent, meaning that in 2016/17 the typ- ical female employee earned 90.3 pence for every pound that the typical male employee earned. On a mean basis, the figure was 14.5 per cent, or 85.5 pence on the pound. In addition to receiving lower base sala- ries, female workers also received lower bonuses. The median gender bonus gap was 5.9 per cent, while the mean gender bonus gap was 15.1 per cent. As an industry heavily reliant on STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths) and given past perceptions of these being boys' subjects, it is hardly sur- prising the pay gap for the electricity and gas sector was above average. The median pay gap was 16.2 per cent, putting the sector in sixth place when ranked according to gender pay inequality. Con- struction came in first place, with a median pay gap of 24.8 per cent. When it came to the mean gender pay gap, the electricity and gas sector was around the middle of the rankings, reporting a slightly lower figure of 15.2 per cent. The median gender bonus gap was 23 per cent and the mean gender bonus gap was 27.6 per cent. Retail and services Some of the biggest gaps were found among energy retail and services companies, most notably British Gas. British Gas Services (Commercial) was revealed to have one of the widest gulfs of any company in any sector. Its median pay gap stood at 44.1 per cent, meaning its typical female employee earned barely more than half of its typical male employee. The mean pay gap was at 34.8 per cent. British Gas Services also came off poorly, with figures of 37 per cent and 22 per cent respectively, although British Gas Trading Services did much better with figures of 8.5 per cent and -0.6 per cent. Data was not reported for parent com- pany Centrica, although a report published by the company last year put the group-wide figures at 30 per cent (median) and 12 per cent (mean). The company said the gap "is not driven by unequal pay but by the uneven distribution of men and women across the business and the type of roles they do". "Like other employers in our sector, we have a greater proportion of men in higher paid, traditionally male-dominated tech- nical roles such as gas, central heating and electrical engineering, which form a significant portion of our workforce," the document explains. "By contrast, we have a larger number of women in lower paid, less technical roles such as customer service and administration." The report notes that the equal pay gap, which measures whether men and women are paid the same for performing similar roles or work of equal value, was much lower at just 1 per cent (median) and 2 per cent (mean). Other companies with large gender pay gaps included Drax Group's Haven Power at 30.4 per cent (median) and 27.4 per cent (mean) and Scottish Power's retail divi- sion at 30.5 per cent (median) and 21.3 per cent (mean). Pay-as-you-go supplier Utilita had some of the smallest gaps among retail and ser- vices companies, reporting figures of 2.6 per cent (median) and 7.5 per cent (mean) for Bridging the gender pay gap With companies across the UK reporting their gender pay gaps earlier this month, utilities have a chance to see how they measure up against competitors and other sectors. Tom Grimwood reports. RETAIL AND SERVICES Brand/Parent company Company Median Pay Gap (%) Mean Pay Gap (%) British Gas/Centrica British Gas Services (Commercial) Limited 44.1 34.8 British Gas Services Limited 37 22 British Gas Trading Limited 8.5 -0.6 Drax Group Haven Power Limited 30.4 27.4 Opus Energy Group Limited 3.6 11.9 EDF Energy EDF Energy Customers Limited -2.2 1.5 EDF Energy PLC 31.5 31.9 Eon Eon Energy Solutions Limited 17.9 8.4 Eon UK PLC 11.6 10.9 First Utility First Utility Limited 10 20 Good Energy Good Energy Limited 23.1 7.8 Npower/Innogy Innogy Business Services UK Limited 29 23 Npower Limited 13 19 Npower Yorkshire Limited 10 -9 Ovo Energy Ovo Energy Limited 4.2 16.4 Scottish Power Scottish Power Energy Retail Limited 30.5 21.3 Scottish Power UK PLC 21.9 23.2 Spark Energy Spark Energy 15.9 26.7 SSE SSE Energy Supply Limited -3.8 8.8 SSE Home Services Limited 24.6 24.9 SSE Metering Limited 0 -5.8 SSE PLC 19.3 22 SSE Services Limited 30.2 27.7 Utilita Utilita Energy Limited 2.6 7.5 Utilita Telesales Limited 0 3.1

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