Gender Pay Gap Reporting
NHUC Gender Pay Gap Report April 2025
1. Introduction
NHUC is required to publish an annual Gender Pay Gap Report in line with the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017. This is NHUC’s first Gender Pay Gap report; it outlines the statutory figures, narrative analysis, and NHUC’s actions to reduce the gender pay gap.
We are committed to making NHUC a place where everyone is welcomed and valued and ensuring that everyone has the same fair access to opportunity. This includes fairness and transparency in pay across our workforce where everyone, irrespective of gender, can flourish in their careers.
2. Understanding the Gender Pay Gap
The gender pay gap shows the difference in the average pay of men and women across an organisation. It’s not the same as equal pay, which is about paying people the same when they do the same or similar jobs. The gender pay gap is mainly shaped by who works in which roles and how men and women are spread across different pay levels.
3. Gender Pay Gap Results
For the reporting period ending April 2025, the results are as follows:
•Median gender pay gap is +15.8%. This means the middle point hourly pay for women is 15.8% lower than for men. The median pay for men was £33.47* and £28.17* for women (*per hour).
•Mean gender pay gap is +28.0%. This means that on average, women earn 28.0% less per hour than men. The mean pay for men was £55.63* and £40.04* for women (*per hour).
For reference, the UK national median gender pay gap reported for April 2025 was +6.9%. There is no total NHS gender pay gap figure.
4. Workforce Composition
NHUC employs a workforce that is 72.0% female and 28.0% male. The breakdown across the pay quartiles is shown below:
•Upper quartile 61.1% female / 38.9% male
•Upper middle quartile 70.4% female / 29.6% male
•Lower middle quartile 72.2% female / 27.8% male
•Lower quartile 83.6% female / 16.4% male
The figures show a notable difference at the upper and lower quartiles. The upper quartile shows a higher proportion of men in higher paid roles and the lower quartile shows a higher proportion of women in lower paid roles.
5. Bonus Pay Gap
NHUC makes a discretionary payment to employees when able. In 2025 85.3% of men and 86.6% of women received a payment:
•Median bonus gender pay gap is +42.5%. This means the middle point discretionary payment for women is 42.5% lower than for men.
•Mean bonus gender pay gap is +19.3%. This means that on average, women were paid19.3% less than men.
It should be noted that there were exclusions from the discretionary payment, namely Non-Executive Directors and those whose length of service did not meet the qualification criteria for the payment in 2024/25.
6. Understanding the Gap
NHUC’s workforce profile is driven largely by a high proportion of women undertaking lower banded roles. These roles also make up a large proportion of the total workforce. The data also reveals a lower representation of women in senior leadership roles.
7. Actions to Reduce the Gap
NHUC’s People Plan outlines a number of key actions that will support improvement in this area and reduce the pay gap. These include development of our recruitment practices, detailing career progression across the breadth and depth of the organisation and enabling a clear leadership development offer, starting with senior leadership roles. NHUC is currently reviewing its recognition, reward and retention approach, specifically around maternity pay.
8. Future Commitments
NHUC is committed to addressing the current pay gap, enabling progression and improving gender representation in senior roles. We will be open and transparent with our approach and work towards ensuring everyone at NHUC has the same fair access to opportunity.
This data has been calculated according to the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017.
Signed:
Steve Clarke, Director of Strategy & OD, Deputy Chief Executive, 23rd March 2026