NMC publishes Workforce Race Equality Standard and pay gap reports

In 2019 the NMC made a commitment to sign up to the NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES), and in October 2020 we submitted our first set of data to WRES in line with this pledge. We have since committed to doing this on an annual basis, and in May 2021 collected our second round of data to enable us to begin to benchmark our performance, and monitor progress.

We have published this information to demonstrate our commitment to transparency and accountability in being an employer that is inclusive, fair and values diversity.

We have compared data between the two years of our submissions. The actions arising out of WRES together with all the other various race equality action plans have been brought together into one race equality plan incorporating six key areas of activity

Some of the key findings that will guide our further action include:

Workforce Race Equality Standard

• In 2020 only 5.2 percent of employees thought we provide equal career progression and promotion opportunities. This has significantly jumped in 2021 to 35.3 percent, which represents a 30.1 percent point increase. 
• More than 39 percent of NMC colleagues are from BME backgrounds, over 19 percentage points higher than the average among the NHS trusts and other arms-length bodies included in the 2021 WRES survey.
• 11.9 percent of BME respondents said they had experienced discrimination, and 7.8 percent of white respondents. This is an increase from our 2020 submission where 9.2 percent of BME respondents, and 5.3 percent of white respondents said they had experienced discrimination at work.

Ethnicity pay gap report

• The mean ethnicity pay gap has decreased from 28.7 percent in 2020 to 23.7 percent in 2021. The ethnicity pay gap is not due to unequal pay for similar roles but reflects the under-representation of BME staff in senior roles.

Gender pay gap report

• There was an increase of the mean gender pay gap from 3.4 percent to 4.9 percent, which is still well below the UK gender pay gap of 14.4 percent but we know there is work to do. The increase in our mean pay gap has been caused by a reduction in men working in our lower middle quartile roles, and a small increase in men in our upper middle quartile roles.

Disability pay gap report

• The first disability pay gap report suggests that the NMC has a positive pay gap, with disabled colleagues paid 3.4 percent more on average and with representation of disabled colleagues throughout most pay levels.
• However, only 5.4 percent of colleagues have declared a disability compared with a UK figure of 18.9 percent of the working age population, so underreporting is an issue we’re exploring.

The practical steps we’re taking include a mentoring scheme for colleagues from diverse backgrounds. We’ll also work towards implementing race and disability equality action plans. These will include specific actions to increase diversity among senior colleagues. And we’ll introduce a new people plan in January 2022, underpinned by principles of equality, diversity and inclusion.

Andrea Sutcliffe CBE, Chief Executive and Registrar for the NMC, said:

We’re committed to creating the inclusive, positive working environments our colleagues need to give their best. That’s why I’m glad more of our colleagues feel confident about equal career opportunities at the NMC than they did last year.

We’ve also made small progress in some areas of our pay gaps. For example, our mean ethnicity pay gap has decreased slightly. But it’s still much too big, and we’re disappointed to see our mean gender pay gap has increased.

We know we’ve still got a long way to go to address career progression, and the issues highlighted in our pay gap reports. We’ll get there by working with our colleagues to become a role model for equality.

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