Published: 21st September 2021 - All information correct at time of publication.
A Message From Our CEO
Whilst we are pleased at the improvement in our gender pay gap over the past four years, we know that to reduce the gender pay gap even further we still have work to do. We also know that this is not exclusively about pay but about the need to constantly review our recruitment, job design, and policies as well as the coaching and support arrangements we have in place to support career development and lifestyle events.
We are confident that employees in our organisation are paid equally for doing equivalent jobs and have an equal opportunity to participate in and earn incentives, regardless of their gender. Our current recruitment, progression, performance, reward and benefit policies and practices are not gender biased.
We will continue to utilise the opportunities arising from gender pay reporting and our ongoing analysis will ensure we are proactively managing our pay fairly and equitably.
All information based on 2019 / 2020 earnings period and 6th April 2020 snapshot date.
Pay Quartiles
Pay quartiles look at the proportion of male and female employees in each quarter of our payroll. This year has seen a lot of changes in our pay quartiles, including:
- Substantial change in the personnel within the Upper Quartile, with 20% of the people in the Upper Quartile in our last gender pay gap report no longer in the Upper Quartile.
- An increase in the proportion of female employees who make up the Upper Quartile.
- An increase in the proportion of male employees who make up the Lower Quartile.
Pay Data
In comparison to male employees, the mean (average) hourly rate gender pay gap of female employees has reduced to 10.1%. The median is the difference between the midpoints in the ranges of hourly earnings of female and male employees. It takes all salaries in the sample, lines them up in order from lowest to highest, and picks the middle salary. Whilst there was a slight widening of the median pay gap, 6.8% remains favourable when compared to the UK National figure of 15.5%[1].
The hourly rate of pay reflects basic pay, allowances and unsocial hours payments. The calculation omits people on less than their normal full basic pay, excludes overtime and is calculated after any salary sacrifices which could include membership of the Legal & General pension scheme and childcare vouchers.
Bonus Data
Only 14 people received bonuses during the relevant period. Two male and two female employees received performance related bonuses based on a percentage of base pay. Other bonuses related to recruitment and retention schemes within the company and are paid at equal levels regardless of the gender of the recipient.
Both the gender pay gap for the mean and median bonus rate increased this year. However, the overall number of staff in receipt of bonuses remains very small making these figures less reliable as a benchmark.
Taking Action
Equality remains at the heart of SYNLAB’s people agenda both in the UK and Ireland, and globally. SYNLAB Group is developing a global Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) strategy in which Equality and Diversity is a prominent aspect of our SYNLAB: Care pillar.
With regards to the gender pay gap, we will continue to focus in the UK on analysis, transparency and reporting.
Key areas of focus for this year will be:
- Understanding the barriers to unsocial hours working for female employees and what actions we can take to support them to undertake shifts in these periods.
- To measure the gender stability index in the upper middle and upper pay quartiles and understand the reasons for any differences in the stability of earnings between male and female employees in the quartiles.
We will remain open to learning from others insight into causes of gender pay gap and develop and adapt our focus as fresh insights become known.
Link to our 2019-20 report here.
