This is Marlowe Fire & Security’s 2022 pay gap report, in line with the government’s requirements for UK employers with over 250 employees under legislation that came into force in April 2017.
A gender pay gap represents the difference in the average earnings between men and women. An equal pay gap, is men and women being paid differently for jobs of equal value.
Marlowe Fire & Security has a long term and sustained commitment to providing opportunities and development in all aspects of its operation, and as such, the approach to reviewing the gender pay gap is no different.
Understanding the Gap
The analysis of the above figures demonstrates that our gender pay gap arises mainly due to our female employees holding fewer upper / upper middle quartile roles than men. These upper / upper middle quartile positions reflect our technical, engineering labour which constitutes over 60% of our total workforce in line with industry averages.
These individuals are also generally entitled to financial reward based on performance against KPIs. When reviewing, non operational positions our pay gap significantly reduces.
The 5th April 2022 snapshot analysis reflects a greater level of accuracy following a review of our gender pay gap reporting. As well as recognising bonus payments which occur in the month of April within the hourly rate calculation, the hourly rate now recognises the proportionate allocations of annual and quarterly bonuses within the pay period.
In addition, the hourly rate also recognises those employees who are in receipt of a car allowance as part of their benefits package. It is worth noting, the business offers a company car alternative for those eligible who do not wish to take a car allowance; therefore this has skewed the rate of pay calculation by taking this into consideration.
Finally, we have the ability to report more accurately on absences not fully paid during the pay period, this analysis whilst completed in previous submissions, we are happy that this is now an absolute reflection of the pay period.
Our Commitment
As a business we have already recognised the industry’s gender bias and we are actively addressing the Gap this bias produces, through implementing various key initiatives in the coming year including:
- Steps to ensure that our recruitment process continues without bias.
- Our Appraisal scheme continues to incentivise and recognise top performers in their field irrelevant of gender.
- Our work environment is attractive to all genders.
- Company benefits and remuneration packages recognise the requirements of all genders.
The industry in which we operate, and the largely field-based service and engineering teams that make up the majority of our workforce are made up of more men than women. The talent pool from which we recruit, with the required technical skills to work for our business, is populated by significantly more men than women.
We continue to take initiatives to attract more women to our company and would encourage our industry bodies and competitors to do the same.
Protecting Tomorrow
At Marlowe Fire & Security we believe in developing a culture of inclusivity and are committed to providing opportunities for everyone to develop and succeed.
In 2021 we launched our Protecting Tomorrow ESG strategy, outlining our commitment to customers, colleagues and the wider community to conduct our business in a sustainable and socially responsible way. Through this strategy Marlowe Fire & Security will continue to build on the extensive work that has already been done with regards to equality, diversity and inclusion.
As our business continues to grow it will more important than ever that we attract the best talent available in the industry, and retain our existing employees by providing personal and professional development and exciting career growth opportunities.
Over the past twelve months we have exceeded our growth targets and secured many new major customers, as well as retaining existing loyal customers. In turn this has led to the further growth of our highly skilled engineering teams and it has been pleasing to see us attracting female members in technical and field roles.
Through embracing our Protecting Tomorrow Strategy and Code of Ethics Policy all our employees can be confident in our the Company ensuring inclusivity for all Team Members.
Marlowe Fire & Security will continue to review its gender pay gap to provide all our Employees and Stakeholders with an improved understanding and insight into the various factors which contribute to this complex issue, as well as evidence to support new initiatives to improve its gender balance over the long term.
Robert Flinn
Chief Executive