Gender Pay Gap for staff at Preston City Council sees a slight increase

And the gender pay gap at the council has also increased slightly between March 2018 and 2019.

That is according to a report which reveals the mean hourly rate of pay for staff.

But numbers showing the median hourly rate of employees of the city’s authority show that there is no gender pay gap.

The council’s gender pay gap report says: “There is a small percentage gender pay gap on the mean hourly rate but a zero gender pay gap on the median hourly rate.

"The percentage gender pay gap on the mean hourly rate has increased slightly by 0.6 per cent from 2.24 per cent at March 31, 2018 to 2.85 per cent at March 31, 2019.”

PCC says it subscribes to many recommendations from Government which include recruitment free from gender bias; opportunities for flexible working; ensuring best use of parental leave; fair pay structures and sharing of development opportunities.

But the council also says that there are some limitations to the impact of the policies it has in place.

The gender pay gap report states: “There are concentrations of male employees in occupations within waste collection and parks and street scene which are mostly in the lower middle quartile pay band.

"It is more difficult in these work areas to provide the kind of flexible working which is available in office-based environments."

However the council has committed to “look in more detail at specific areas where there is an apparent gender disparity to see whether there is scope for improvement,” where possible.

PCC’s Employment Committee was asked to ‘note’ the report at a meeting today.