Gender pay gap of £6 per hour at hospitals

More bonus payments are currently being made to male staff, the health trust said

There is a "significant pay gap" between men and women working in a county's hospitals, a new report says.

According to the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust report men are paid - on average - £6 more per hour, although this is largely due to differences between male and female medical staff rather than all wages.

Health chiefs said excellence in care awards, from which male medical staff have predominantly benefited from, and 64% of bonus payments being made to male medical and dental staff are the main reason.

The trust said it will be concentrating on ensuring fair career opportunities, supporting senior female staff, and reviewing pay structures.

There is no significant gender pay gap among non-medical staff and they represent around 81.6% of the trust's workforce, according to the report, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reports.

For non-medical staff, the mean pay gap is 0.62% in favour of men, while the median pay gap is -5.3%, indicating that pay equity exists for most staff, the report states.

But 399 bonus payments were made to medical and dental staff - 64% awarded to men and 36% to women.

Male consultants earned an average bonus of £8,802.24, compared to £5,644.48 for women – a 35.90% pay gap.

The report, presented to a board meeting, says 22% of its workers are male while 78% are female. But, while there is an average £6 an hour pay gap, this drops significantly when excluding medical and dental staff.

When those staff along with their Local Clinical Excellence Awards (LCEA), are excluded from the analysis, the gender pay gap disappears.

"The significant pay gap seen overall is primarily influenced by the medical workforce," the report reads.

"The Trust's annual LCEA scheme, which rewarded consultants for outstanding care, ended in 2020.

"Funds were then equally shared among all substantive consultants, regardless of hours worked."