Gender pay gap statement

EPM Ltd – Reported and published in April 2023

Based upon the snapshot date of April 2022 (covering May 2021 to April 2022).

Introductions From Jen Elliott, CEO

You will often hear us say that EPM is a people business, with our people at the heart of everything we do. At the core of working here at EPM is our belief that we do things the right way and treat everyone fairly. The publication of our first gender pay gap information reminds us of how diversity and inclusion are key components of how we work. We believe that this reporting requirement by the government is an excellent catalyst for organisations across the UK to continue focusing on diversity, inclusion and equality.

Our gender pay gap report is shown below. We have already taken steps to improve; however, we acknowledge that we still have work to do. Our actions at the end of this report give you an insight into the roadmap we are following to close this gap, which we are fully committed to achieving. I am so proud of our people, teams and culture and remain fully committed to closing this gap through our action plan.

Gender Pay Gap Commentary

EPM is a leading HR, Payroll, Finance, Leadership, and Consultancy services provider to schools across England and Wales. Most of our colleagues (82%) are female, which is reflected across our senior leadership teams and very much reflects the education sector we operate within. We recognise the benefits of having a diverse and inclusive workforce, and our talent strategy focuses on attracting the best people regardless of gender, ethnicity, age, beliefs and background. Our actions below are our focus on how we close this gap.

When reading the below table, it is important to note the following which impacts our data:

• Hourly pay includes bonus and commission
• The hourly gender pay gap is reported after salary sacrifice. We offer salary sacrifice in the form of childcare vouchers, additional leave, pension, and cycle to work. Most of our workforce who participate in the salary sacrifice is female. The pay gap would be reduced without this salary reduction, which is offered to help colleagues and has been entered into voluntarily.
• Our bonus and commission schemes are transparent and are based on objective, quantifiable and fair performance metrics. Whilst men make up the largest proportion within the roles which attract greater commission, we are delighted to report that today (2023), 50% of this population is female.

Though we will not start to see the reduction in the pay gap until next year at the earliest (April 2024 Report based upon the snapshot of April 2023).

What Is The Gender Pay Gap?

The Gender Pay Gap measures the difference in the average pay of women and men across the business according to how each individual has chosen to identify. It does not measure ‘equal pay’, which is the right for men and women to be paid the same when doing the same or equivalent work. We are an equal pay employer and are fully compliant with this legal requirement.

What Are We Doing About This?

We want to improve the working lives of our people, and we believe a focus not just on gender but on diversity and inclusion in the broadest sense is what will enable us to achieve this. As a starting point, we are fully focused on our gender balance across the business, and we want to address this by focusing on three key areas:

Recruitment and Succession

We want to challenge and review our recruitment and selection materials, tools and processes. To ensure that all tools are gender-neutral, we have a diverse candidate shortlist and that all line managers are fully trained.

Unconscious Bias Training

As a starting point, we want to help build our leader’s understanding of unconscious bias through training. We believe this can develop better leaders of our culture and all people, regardless of our differences in thought, style, gender, ethnicity, background or generation.

Representation

Our work will continue to be driven by data and insights, and we will build on the progress we have made with collating data through the functionality of our new Applicant Tracking System.

Through our people planning and talent reviews, we continue to track and review all talent pipelines and the associated gender mix to ensure we have a gender balance across our business.

I confirm that the above information is accurate.

Jen Elliott

Chief Executive Officer