Reducing the gender pay gap forms an important part of our plan to achieve greater equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) at Lichfields.
Our gender pay gap for hourly pay for 2023-4 is 36.4% (26.4% median) and slightly lower than in 2017, when our monitoring began, when it was 38%.
The main reason for the gap is the lower proportion of women in senior higher paid roles compared to men, as our mean pay gap reduces significantly to 5.4% (3.9% median) for staff at Associate Director level and below, where there is a higher proportion of females.
We have a higher proportion of men than women in the upper two pay quartiles, but we have a nearly equal balance of 52% and 48% overall. Nearly equal percentages of males (98.5%) and females (96%) received a bonus. Due to there being more men in senior level roles awarded bonuses there is a difference between the average bonuses of men and women with the mean bonus gap being 62%. Also, the majority of our part-time staff (87%) are female, and the requirements for the presentation of the bonus data does not enable this to be considered.
We support all employees to develop their careers with us which is resulting in more women progressing into senior positions. Some of the measures we have adopted include:
- Adopting hybrid and flexible working to help encourage our staff to achieve a good balance between their work and private lives.
- Enhancing our family-friendly offerings to support those on family friendly leave and upon returning, to enhance the prospects of career progression.
- Maintaining fully transparent performance and promotion processes where learning and development needs are identified individually.
- Investing more in Learning and Development to ensure staff can reach their full potential, enjoy their work, and prosper.
Lichfields is owned by an Employee Benefit Trust, so no individuals hold equity, and we do not pay dividends. All the profits of the firm are therefore paid to staff via payroll bonuses.
Our ownership structure is something our staff value highly, and we regularly seek feedback to better understand the needs of our people and ensure we always operate in a fair and inclusive manner.
Our EDI Framework includes a policy, strategy, and operating plan. The EDI and Health and Wellbeing teams assist with the implementation of the operating plan and review of the policy and strategy. The Chief Executive reports on progress against operating plan on a quarterly basis to the Board.
