Gender pay gap
Gender Pay Gap Statement – 2024/2025
At Healios, our core values center on fairness, inclusion, and transparency, which are foundational to the culture we strive to nurture every day. We recognize that achieving true equality requires ongoing commitment and proactive effort. As part of this dedication, we transparently publish our gender pay gap data annually and rigorously analyze these insights to drive meaningful progress in all aspects of our people strategy—spanning recruitment, career development, progression, and reward frameworks.
Understanding the Gender Pay Gap
The gender pay gap represents the difference in average earnings between women and men within an organization. It is a clear indicator of structural inequalities that persist across many workplaces, where women frequently earn less than men for comparable roles and responsibilities. This gap is influenced by a complex range of factors, including but not limited to occupational segregation, differences in seniority, and historic biases.
Closing the gender pay gap is not just a legal or ethical obligation; it is fundamental to fostering a truly equitable, diverse, and inclusive work environment where all individuals—regardless of gender—are valued, respected, and empowered to succeed. At Healios, we believe that narrowing this gap strengthens our organization, drives innovation, and enhances the wellbeing and engagement of our entire workforce.
Our Gender Pay Gap Results
1. Percentage of Men and Women in Each Hourly Pay Quarter
| Hourly Pay Quarter | Men (%) – This Year | Women (%) – This Year |
| Upper | 28.95% | 71.05% |
| Upper Middle | 7.89% | 92.11% |
| Lower Middle | 12.23% | 87.77% |
| Lower | 20.78% | 79.22% |
2. Mean Gender Pay Gap for Hourly Pay
- 14.72%
3. Median Gender Pay Gap for Hourly Pay
- 4.50%
4. Percentage of Men and Women Receiving Bonus Pay
- Men: 11.86%
- Women: 3.85%
5. Mean Gender Pay Gap for Bonus Pay
- 30.28%
6. Median Gender Pay Gap for Bonus Pay
- 62.96%
Year-on-Year Comparison
We have compared this year’s gender pay gap results with last year’s to better understand our progress and identify areas for further focus.
Hourly Pay Quartiles Comparison
| Hourly Pay Quarter | Men (%) – Last Year | Men (%) – This Year | Change | Women (%) – Last Year | Women (%) – This Year | Change |
| Upper | 33.09% | 28.95% | ▼ -4.14% | 66.91% | 71.05% | ▲ +4.14% |
| Upper Middle | 10.79% | 7.89% | ▼ -2.90% | 89.21% | 92.11% | ▲ +2.90% |
| Lower Middle | 11.51% | 12.23% | ▲ +0.72% | 88.49% | 87.77% | ▼ -0.72% |
| Lower | 16.55% | 20.78% | ▲ +4.23% | 83.45% | 79.22% | ▼ -4.23% |
Mean and Median Pay Gaps
| Metric | Last Year | This Year | Change |
| Mean Gender Pay Gap | 25.36% | 14.72% | ▼ -10.64% |
| Median Gender Pay Gap | 12.13% | 4.50% | ▼ -7.63% |
Bonus Pay and Bonus Gaps
| Metric | Last Year | This Year | Change |
| Men Receiving Bonus | 6.19% | 11.86% | ▲ +5.67% |
| Women Receiving Bonus | 4.60% | 3.85% | ▼ -0.75% |
| Mean Bonus Pay Gap | 32.69% | 30.28% | ▼ -2.41% |
| Median Bonus Pay Gap | 0.00% | 62.96% | ▲ +62.96% |
Summary of Comparison
- There has been notable improvement in both the mean and median hourly gender pay gap, indicating positive change in overall pay equity.
- Bonus pay gaps have widened, particularly in median value – please see explanation in ‘Understanding Our Results’ Section below.
- The distribution of women across all quartiles remains high, but the representation of men in upper pay bands has slightly decreased.
- As our workforce has contracted, even small shifts in demographics and pay have a more pronounced statistical impact.
Understanding Our Results
Two primary factors influencing this year’s data are:
Workforce Composition
Our workforce remains predominantly female, particularly in clinical and support roles that typically fall in the lower to middle pay quartiles. This sector-wide trend naturally impacts our reported gender pay gap.
Smaller Workforce Size
With a lower headcount than last year, minor shifts in team structure, role levels, or bonus allocation create more visible fluctuations in the data.
Bonus pay gaps have widened, particularly in median value, likely influenced by a small number of high-value awards and fewer women receiving bonuses. The increase in the median gender pay gap for bonus pay this year is largely driven by changes in the makeup of the growth team.
- Last year, the median bonus for both men and women was equal at £1,000, resulting in no gender pay gap in bonus pay. This year, the median bonus for men rose to £5,399, while the median for women increased more modestly to £2,000, creating a 62.96% gender bonus gap.
- This shift can be explained by the departure of two women from the growth team, both of whom received higher-than-average bonuses. They were replaced by male colleagues who also received high bonuses. This change in personnel had a dual effect:
- The loss of high-bonus women brought the female median bonus down, as the remaining women in the dataset tended to receive lower bonuses.
- The addition of high-bonus men raised the male median bonus significantly, as they replaced the departing women in similar roles.
- Together, these changes significantly widened the gap between the male and female median bonus figures — despite no direct change in the bonus structure itself — illustrating how workforce composition changes can strongly impact gender pay gap statistics.
We continue to be confident that men and women are paid equally for performing equivalent roles.
Initiatives Helping Us Close the Gender Pay Gap
Career Development and Pay Transparency
- Our Career Progression Framework (CPF) clearly and transparently outlines role levels across the organisation and ensures consistent benchmarking
- All employees benefit from individual development and growth plans tailored to their aspirations.
- Pay bandings are aligned to the CPF and published internally and on job adverts, creating fairness and visibility across pay decisions.
- Managers receive structured guidance and training to support equitable decisions.
Flexible Working and Family-Friendly Policies
- At Healios, we’re proud to support flexible working, with more than 66% of our workforce benefiting from flexible work patterns.
- Employees can request flexible working from day one, including part-time, compressed hours, term-time, or 9-day fortnights.
- We provide Life Leave – paid time off with no notice or approval, recognising the need for unplanned family support or wellbeing days.
- Enhanced maternity, paternity, and adoption pay are key to supporting working families.
Inclusive Recruitment and Selection
- All recruitment processes are reviewed to ensure fair and equitable treatment of all applicants.
- We remove biased language from job adverts, avoid rigid experience requirements, and explicitly encourage candidates to apply even if they don’t meet every criterion.
- Salary ranges are always included in job adverts.
- Structured interviews with scorecards ensure objective decision-making. Adjustments made to support diverse candidates through the process with questions shared ahead of interviews, take home tests or alternatives offered to support candidates and remove barriers from the recruitment process
- We use diverse interview panels, and all hiring managers are trained in inclusive recruitment and unconscious bias.
- Our sourcing strategy intentionally focuses on reaching under-represented groups.
Equity and Representation
- Healios is a proud Real Living Wage employer.
- We collect staff diversity data, which will enable us to identify and address any barriers in representation or progression with data-driven action.
Looking Ahead
We’re encouraged by the reduction in both our mean and median hourly gender pay gaps this year. However, we recognise that meaningful progress requires ongoing action, particularly as our data reflects the high proportion of women in roles within the lower and middle pay quartiles.
Looking ahead, we are focusing on the following priorities to drive equity and reduce our gender pay gap further:
- Career Progression & Development
We will continue to strengthen our Career Progression Framework to support equitable advancement opportunities. By linking pay decisions to skills, competencies, and performance, we aim to reduce bias and promote transparency. - Bonus Pay Fairness
The increase in our median bonus gap signals the need for further review. We will assess how bonuses are awarded to ensure fair and consistent practices across the organisation. - Data-Driven Insight
We’ve begun collecting enhanced diversity data, which will help us identify and address any barriers to representation and progression more precisely. - Inclusive Hiring & Leadership
We are committed to inclusive recruitment practices and training for hiring managers. By prioritising diverse interview panels and structured assessments, we aim to ensure fairness from the outset. - Flexibility & Family Support
We will continue to champion flexible working and expand access to our family-friendly policies. These remain vital in supporting women, particularly those with caregiving responsibilities.
We are committed to fostering a truly inclusive workplace where all employees have equal access to opportunity, development, and reward. Closing the gender pay gap is a long-term commitment—and we remain focused on sustainable progress.