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Equal Pay Policy Statement

Introduction

SEPA is committed to supporting the principle of equal opportunities in employment and believes that employees should receive equal pay for the same or broadly similar work, for work rated as equivalent and for work of equal value.

This statement covers our approach to equal pay and occupational segregation in regard of gender, race and disability as set out in the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty. We are committed to working with our recognised trade union, UNISON, to take action to promote and implement equal pay. To minimise risk of pay inequity, SEPA operate an analytical job evaluation scheme. On an annual basis, we conduct an pay equality impact assessment based on data as at 31 March.

On a bi-annual basis, our pay gap information has been published as part of our Equalities Mainstreaming Reports, which are available on our website. 

Definitions

Under the Equality Act 2010, men and women in the same employment performing equal work must receive equal pay. Equal pay applies not only to salary, but to all contractual terms and conditions of employment, such as holiday entitlement, pension payments and other benefits.
There are three kinds of equal work:

• like work - this is where the works involves similar tasks which require similar skills;
• work rated as equivalent - this is where the work has been rated under a fair job evaluation scheme as being of equal value in terms of how demanding it is; 
• work of equal value - this is work which is not similar and has not been rated as equivalent, but is of equal value in terms of demands such as effort, skill and decision-making.

Aims and actions

Our aim is to achieve and maintain equal pay and to ensure that our pay and grading and benefits structure is transparent, flexible, based on objective criteria and free from bias. We recognise that to deliver equal pay for our employees it will be necessary to consider all the causes of pay gaps and that these can go beyond discrimination within pay systems. To achieve our aim we will continue to:

• conduct an annual pay equality impact assessment; 
• publish pay statistics on an annual basis; 
• use a job evaluation system to support our pay and grading structure; review and assess the impact of our pay practices, implementing appropriate actions to reduce any pay gap;
•  inform employees of how their pay is determined;
•  provide a “Total Rewards” statement for each employee on an annual basis; 
• identify where there is occupational segregation and take appropriate steps to address this and ensure employees are represented at all levels and across all business areas; 
• provide all employees with fair and equal access to training, development and promotion opportunities and monitor uptake.

Responsibility

The Corporate Leadership Team (CLT)is fully committed to supporting our equal pay statement and objectives. The Chief Officer, People, Workspaces and Development, who is a member of the CLT, has overall responsibility for the aims and actions relating to equal pay and for ensuring that due consideration is given to the resources required to achieve equal pay. The People function has day to day responsibility for implementing, monitoring and reviewing equal pay. 

Complaints

Queries about equal pay should be directed to hr@sepa.org.uk

Any grievances on equal pay should be raised and will be dealt with in line with our Grievance Procedure. 

Monitoring and review

It is important that our approach to achieving and maintaining equal pay remains effective so we will regularly monitor our actions and their impacts to ensure they remain appropriate and relevant. We will consult with our recognised trade union, UNISON, on any changes to this policy statement or on any other actions to promote and implement equal pay