G15 members take action to help tackle gender pay gaps

Social housing providers and local councils join forces to demand salary transparency

G15 members along with other leading housing associations and local councils are launching The ‘Big Six’ employer’s pledge, which requires contractors to advertise salary details in all adverts.

The ‘Big Six’ initiative is part of Social Value Week – organised by the Social Value Leadership Group (SVLG), a forum for social value leads within UK housing associations and local councils.

Combined the G15 members, other not-for-profit housing associations and local councils are responsible for around 1.2 million homes and this is part of efforts to raise job standards through their supply chains.

Around four in ten job adverts do not provide pay information [1], something that experts have reported contributes to gender and ethnicity gaps.

Research by The Fawcett Society has found that job adverts which don’t list a salary range often mean candidates are asked their salary history when negotiating pay, with 58 per cent of women feeling they had received a lower salary offer after having to disclose their previous earnings [2].

The ‘Big Six’ employer’s pledge also guarantees all jobs pay at least the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage, alongside commitments that training is linked to qualifications or a specific job.

Feedback to all unsuccessful candidates will be mandated by providers, and contractors will need to show how they are offering pre-employment and in-work support for career progression, alongside offering work experience and work trials for roles where possible.

The pledge is part of a collective response from social housing providers to support efforts to secure the future of work for communities and residents following the impact of the pandemic, in addition to pre-existing barriers facing people.

Geeta Nanda OBE, G15 Chair and Chief Executive of MTVH, said: “Social housing providers play a massive role in supporting residents into work and training, as well as providing good homes for people.

Through the Big Six pledge, we will be making our collective supply chains work harder to benefit residents and communities. Key to that is making sure job adverts are transparent about salary details, which we know can impact women and ethnic minority people unfairly.”

Chichi Onyenemelu, Chair of the Social Value Leadership Group and Social Value Manager at The Hyde Group, commented: “Long before the pandemic, the communities we work with faced multiple challenges and barriers to getting well-paid jobs with development potential.

“In order to not lose a generation of talent and aspiration, we felt it necessary to join up practice to increase standards in the employment, training, and skilling up opportunities that we secure through Social Value.

“The Big Six employer’s pledge seeks to create a minimum standard that employers can sign up to, and will be included in tender documents that contractors will have to commitment to at tender stage, as part of their Social Value offer.”

The Big Six Employer’s Pledge:

1. All job adverts should appeal to their target audience, using the appropriate channels to attract that audience. All job roles should contain location, job title, job description and salary
2. All training should be directly linked to qualifications or a specific job
3. Provide actionable feedback to every unsuccessful candidate
4. All job roles should be paid the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage
5. Pre-employment and in-work support should be offered for every person; this should include clear career progression pathways and continuous development and learning within the first year
6. Where possible work experience and work trials should be offered for roles