Gender pay gap

Does the council not already undertake equal pay reviews?

Promoting equality of opportunity for our workforce and tackling workplace exclusion is important to achieving our vision and values. In support of this, we've been voluntarily undertaking equal pay reviews since 2007.

Equal pay reviews were superseded by the requirement placed upon us to undertake mandatory gender pay gap reporting. However, we recommenced undertaking equal pay reviews in 2024 in addition to gender pay gap reporting.

The 2025 Gender, Ethnicity and Disability Pay Gap Report continues to include voluntary information relating to ethnicity and disability pay gaps in addition to the mandatory requirements.

What's the difference between equal pay and gender pay?

Equal pay deals with the pay differences between men and women. In particular, those who carry out the same jobs, similar jobs or work of equal value. It's unlawful to pay people unequally because they're a man or a woman. The gender pay gap shows the differences in the average pay between men and women.

Are there any specific requirements that the council have had to follow?

Yes. The GOV.UK guidance for employers on gender pay gap reporting provides a standard framework to be applied. This helps us to carry out mandatory gender pay gap reporting and calculate and publish the:

• mean and median gender pay gap
• mean and median bonus gender pay
• proportion of male and females receiving a bonus payment
• proportion of male and females in each quartile pay band

Has any information been excluded from the council’s gender pay gap report?

Yes. In accordance with the government guidance the following haven't been included in our gender pay gap reporting:

• employees on casual contracts
• employees of maintained schools
• employees of academies

What statistical measure has been used to calculate the gender pay gap?

There are two statistical measures of 'average pay' that have been used to calculate our gender pay gap. These are as identified in the government guidance:

• Mean average - this involves adding up all of the numbers and dividing the result by how many numbers were in the list.
• Median average - this involves listing all of the numbers in numerical order. If there are an odd number of results, the median average is the middle number. If there's an even number of results, the median will be the mean of the two central numbers.

Does the council have a gender pay gap?

The latest figures show that, on average, female employees continue to be paid slightly more than male employees. The median gender pay gap is -3.9% and the mean gender pay gap is -0.3%, meaning women earn slightly more than men on average. These figures are broadly comparable with last year, reflecting small changes in workforce composition and progression through pay scales.

Key highlights from the 2025 report include:

• The workforce remains predominantly female, with 68.5% women and 31.5% men, a small increase in the proportion of female employees compared to 2024.  
• The largest gender difference continues to be in grades 1 to 3, where 71.8% of employees are female, reflecting the nature of roles and the availability of part-time work.  
• Representation of women in grades 12 to 17 and the Barnsley Leadership Team has increased, with 66.1% female and 32.1% male.  
• Ethnic minority employees earn 4.7% more than white employees on a median basis, although they remain underrepresented, making up 2.8% of the workforce.  
• A disabled employees earns 0.8% less than non-disabled employees on a median basis, with underrepresentation at higher grades, including grade 14 and above and at leadership level.

What's being done to address the council’s gender pay gap?

We're committed to tackling low pay. We continue to pay a low pay supplement equivalent to the foundation living wage rate. This is paid wherever our minimum hourly rate of pay is less.

This year’s report shows that while we continue to make progress, there is still more to do. By voluntarily reporting on ethnicity and disability pay gaps alongside gender, we’re strengthening our understanding of where inequalities exist and where we need to focus our efforts.

Over the last year we’ve taken positive steps to improve support, progression and representation across the organisation, and we’re committed to building on this work.

We want to reduce any pay gaps across the council and embed equality as part of our inclusive culture. Over the last 12 months we have:

• strengthened our approach to equality by improving how information is collected and reported 
• reviewed job design and evaluation processes 
• carried out targeted recruitment activity 
• enhanced our wellbeing and support offers, including menopause support and tailored support for disabled and ethnic minority employees

Looking ahead, the council has set out clear next steps. These include further improvements to data quality, encouraging more employees to share their information, continuing detailed equality analysis of pay and recruitment, and introducing mentoring to amplify the voices of colleagues from underrepresented groups.