Gender Pay Gap Report for 2021

Explanation HGS UK Ltd gender pay gap

Overview of HGS business 2021

As per HGS results in 2020 where it was anticipated that Covid would adversely impact on the year’s results, HGS continued to trade exceptionally well. This is also in comparison to our competition and many other sectors in relation to the pandemic.

HGS continues to grow its workforce as we win new government business. Due to the level of technology investment, HGS will retain its work at home approach with 90% of employees being employed on this model. The remaining 10% of the workforce where clients have specifically requested these employees be office based, continue to be supported with a management structure.

All HGS policies and procedures have been modified supporting the work at home model and those who remain office based.

We have experienced higher attrition than for 2020, largely down to the labour market opening up after the pandemic and the nature of some of our accounts requiring us to recruit temporary workers.

Hubs have been set up during the year, including one in Birmingham and one in Belfast. The London office has been downsized to accommodate a much smaller workforce. These hubs are intended for client meetings, employees to meet with their manager for performance management meetings and teambuilding events. This brings the number of hubs across the UK to 6 for HGS.

Basic pay

HGS is committed to the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment for all employees, regardless of sex, race, religion or belief, age, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. It has a clear policy and practice of paying employees equally for the same or equivalent work, regardless of any characteristic set out above.

HGS operates within the contact centre outsourcing/customer services sector and customer campaigns are costed and contracted for based on providing specific resources and skill sets.

The majority of the HGS workforce are made up of customer advisors who receive equal pay for equal roles. All customer facing roles are paid an hourly rate which is the same whichever campaign an employee works. Hourly rates are reviewed and increased annually and HGS aims to maintain pay levels that are above the headline NMW rate.

From the action plan detailed in the report for 2020, HGS continues to monitor its band grades to ensure a fair structure. These bands are reviewed during the HGS annual pay review in March and increases are considered using the headline NMW rate as a baseline. For the 2021 pay review the majority of hourly pay saw an increase at above NMW.

Corporate roles also saw a change in pay of 2.2% for 2021. The only exceptions were where roles needed aligning to market rates.

We continue to review the HGS suite of benefits and have added a further benefit level that is positioned between senior leadership roles and senior management roles.

Bonus

Ad hoc bonus payments that were awarded against ambiguous targets have been removed or replaced.

HGS is confident that there is no gender pay gap within the operation but there still remains a small gender pay gap in relation to the corporate side of the organisation due to the salaries that these qualified roles typically attract in the labour market.

Due to the new business wins during 2020, a backdated one-off bonus equivalent to the 3% increase for those who didn’t receive a pay award in 2020 was awarded in the 2021 pay review. During 2021 trading conditions were excellent, enabling HGS to pay bonus to those who are eligible. Bonus payments are made once accounts have been fully audited and for 2021, bonus payments are likely to be paid in June 2022.

HGS UK Ltd comparison with UK Economy and Contact Centre Sector

We are pleased to be able to say that HGS continues to compare favourably within the whole UK economy and within the Contact Centre sector.

HGS UK Ltd mean and median gender pay gap remains significantly lower than that for the whole economy and compares well with the Call Centre Occupations and the Activities of Call Centre gender pay gap.

HGS UK Ltd ongoing action plan to manage gender pay gap

While HGS compares favourably both within its industry and overall, it remains committed to continuing its work to maintain the pay gap and enhance its competitive edge in the contact centre employment market.

The steps HGS has taken to achieve this during 2021 are:

• To adopt a temporary to permanent employment scheme to offer agency staff the opportunity to take a permanent role with HGS. This measure supports HGS in lowering attrition.
• As part of the new Pay Policy, HGS continues to monitor its job evaluation and pay grades to ensure pay is aligned to the labour market and minimises the potential for pay gaps.
• We were able to introduce a new benefits grade addressing the skills gap between senior managers and leaders of the UK business.
• The enhancements planned for the HRIS are ongoing with implementation of a candidate driven onboarding module scheduled for completion end April 2022.
• A new case management system has been implemented, supporting the ER team in managing their caseloads and provide meaningful ER data for the business.
• Talent Mapping and Succession Planning for the business was completed in April 2021, identifying future stars for our business.
• The HGS business has d enabling the Operation to own its own P&L, which includes having dedicated HR, L&D and Engagement functions.
• Corporate HR will continue to own and implement corporate programmes and governance.
• A leadership development programme has been implemented. This is a 9-month programme with a blended learning approach to support work at home model. The blended approach takes the form of virtual classrooms, e-learns, assessments and accreditation to become an HGS leader. The original course is planned to complete in October 2022, with a follow up course being planned.

In the coming financial year, HGS is also committed to:

• Continue our commitment to transition to achieve Real Living Wage for the agent population over the next 2 years.
• The second phase of the leadership programme being designed, targeted specifically at improving HGS coaching ability within the operation.
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion being a focal point for the year, with forums being created and an E,D&I plan being communicated out to the business.
• Learning and Career Pathways being created for all roles, giving transparency for all employees as to their ongoing development
• Reviewing our engagement strategies to make engagement improvements across the business
• Health and Wellbeing strategies being implemented.

Any further initiatives launched throughout the year will be reported on the company intranet.

I, Adrian Garton, Chief People Officer, confirm that the information in this statement is accurate.