UK Pay Gap

Equal pay ensures that all individuals, regardless of a person’s identity, receive the same pay for the same job. In contrast, pay gaps, such as the gender pay gap and ethnicity pay gap, compare the average pay of different groups (e.g., men vs. women or white vs. ethnically diverse colleagues) across the organisation.

At Vodafone, we ensure equal pay for all colleagues, but like many companies, we still have pay gaps due to the representation of different groups across various roles and levels.

Our action plans for gender and ethnicity can be found in our most recent UK Pay Gap report.

For our UK pay gaps, we calculate the median and mean average hourly rates for men vs. women and white vs. ethnically diverse individuals. The differences between these figures represent our UK gender pay gap and UK ethnicity pay gap, respectively. These calculations are for UK employees only and follow the UK regulatory methodology for gender pay gaps. The methodology for ethnicity pay gap calculations has not yet been specified by the UK government, and we currently voluntarily report our ethnicity pay gap as part of our focus on racial equity.

Due to the nature of the statutory calculations, UK pay gaps will fluctuate year on year because of changes in our business structure and the representation of different groups (i.e. men and women, white and ethnically diverse individuals) across various levels and positions. Rates of employees voluntarily disclosing their race and/or ethnicity can also impact the ethnicity pay gap. Despite this, our goal is to reduce our pay gaps over time. More details on our plans can be found in the most recent UK pay gap report.

It is not mandatory in the UK for our colleagues in our organisation to disclose their ethnicity. This means that there will be fluctuations in the data as the disclosure rate changes over time. Improving our ethnicity disclosure rate is key to better understanding any pay gaps.

The terms 'mean' and 'median' refer to two different ways of calculating averages. The mean is calculated by adding up all the values (such as hourly pay or bonus pay) and then dividing by the number of employees. The median, on the other hand, is the middle value when all the values are arranged in order from lowest to highest.

For the gender pay gap calculations, employee hourly pay is ranked from lowest to highest, and divided into four quartiles, each with an equal number of employees. We then look at the proportion of males and females within each quartile, to understand the gender representation at each of the four pay levels.

We calculate the median and mean average bonus pay for men and women working in our UK operations, as per the regulatory methodology. The difference between these figures is the gender bonus pay gap.

Vodafone’s Total Reward Structure is underpinned by our Fair Pay Principles, which apply to all employees regardless of level, location or role. One of our Fair Pay Principles is “Free From Discrimination” – that our pay should not be affected by gender, age, disability, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, race, cultural background or belief. Specifically, we annually review the average position of our males and females against their market benchmark, grade and function to identify and understand any differences.

Our reward framework is designed to promote consistency and transparency and reduce the opportunity and impact of any unconscious bias, through: