KELTBRAY HOLDINGS LIMITED
Gender Pay Gap Report 2021
Foreword from Darren
Thank you for taking the time to read the Keltbray Gender Pay Gap Report for 2021. At Keltbray we are committed to attracting and retaining the best talent available from all communities and backgrounds. This is not because we believe in diversity for diversities’ sake, but because we genuinely believe diverse teams are more successful and innovative, and because we want to best represent the communities in which we serve. Our goal is to ensure our people thrive because Keltbray is a great place to work where everyone is valued. We will do this by working together to build a diverse business which represents the communities in which we operate and our ever-evolving society. We advocate for difference and champion diversity to foster an inclusive environment that allows our people to bring their true selves to their work every day, and enable our people to thrive by promoting health and preventing harm.
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Like the industry we are on an Inclusion journey at Keltbray. Our Inclusion Committee has set some big goals for our business, but these will only be achieved by us all taking small steps each and every day. This report outlines some of the steps we have already taken and some that we plan to take in the coming 12 months to help decrease our gender pay gap into 2022 and beyond. I hope you enjoy reading this report. I am particularly proud of the brilliant women already working in our business, their stories are inspiring and show exactly why having more women in our industry is paramount to the future success of our industry.
Darren James Chief Executive Officer
Keltbray Holdings Limited | Gender Pay Gap Report | 2021
Contents
OVERVIEW
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WHAT IS KELTBRAY'S GENDER PAY GAP?
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THE GOOD NEWS
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2021 PROGRESS
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WHAT’S NEXT?
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CASE STUDIES
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Keltbray Holdings Limited | Gender Pay Gap Report | 2021
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Overview
WHAT IS THE GENDER PAY GAP? The gender pay gap shows the percentage difference in average earnings for all of our male employees compared with all of our female employees across the whole Group. If the percentage is high it typically means there are more men than women in higher earning jobs. It does not mean men and women in the same job are paid differently which would be an equal pay concern.
WHY DO WE HAVE A GENDER PAY GAP? The main reason we have a gender pay gap is that we employ more men than women across the board, and indeed we have more men in higher paying senior positions. Historically, our industry has been very male dominated and this is not something that can or will be changed overnight. That said we play a key role in a number of cross industry forums and events such as Women in Construction to help support and drive the attraction and retention of women in our industry. Our figures show that we are gradually increasing the number of women we employ and we are gradually increasing the number of women in senior positions. We are pleased to see this progress and will keep building on it each year.
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Keltbray Holdings Limited | Gender Pay Gap Report | 2021
What is Keltbray’s gender pay gap? WE REPORT ON SIX MEASURES AS PART OF OUR GENDER PAY GAP AS FOLLOWS:
1. Mean gender pay gap in hourly pay
2. Median gender pay gap in hourly pay
3. Mean bonus gender pay gap
4. Median bonus gender pay gap
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5. Proportion of females and males receiving a bonus payment Females 2021
Males 2021
6. Proportion of females and males in each pay quartile
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Keltbray Holdings Limited | Gender Pay Gap Report | 2021
The good news WE ARE PLEASED TO SEE:
4%
decrease in our mean gender pay gap since 2017
19%
of our workforce is now female
10%
increase in female employees in Q1 (the lowest paid quartile) since 2017
4%
increase in female employees in Q4 (the highest paid quartile) since 2017
+
2%
increase since last year.
These results continue to show that we are attracting more women into our organisation, and that we are seeing more women in more senior positions but we are far from complacent and we absolutely recognise we have a long way to go.
Keltbray Holdings Limited | Gender Pay Gap Report | 2021
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2021 progress
In April 2020 Darren James joined the business as the new CEO. Darren’s brief was to take Keltbray into its next chapter, in terms of growth, structure and governance, whilst maintaining Keltbray’s agile and entrepreneurial culture. He also brought with him a firm belief in and commitment to, Inclusion and Diversity. Darren quickly made the decision to appoint Kyla Farmer, Group People Director, to the Board and she became the first female Board Director in Keltbray’s history. Darren championed the creation of our now established Inclusion Committee and created an Inclusion Manager position to lead the activities determined by the committee. These steps became the foundation on which we are now building a more inclusive culture, with a more diverse workforce. This includes attracting and retaining more women in the business 8
which will reduce our gender pay gap over time. 2021 was all about ‘starting the conversation’. We conducted an Inclusion Survey in the business so we could really understand the views of our people on this important topic. This also gave us a better understanding of the demographics of our workforce, particularly in areas where we have not collected data in the past, for example, around sexuality. The feedback we received was rich and incredibly valuable. It was not easy reading in some areas, but this has made us more determined to keep working on creating a more inclusive working environment. We also partnered with Inclusive Employers who are providing us with expert tools and guidance on how we can move forward. Their support has been invaluable in helping shape the right Inclusion Strategy for Keltbray.
Keltbray Holdings Limited | Gender Pay Gap Report | 2021
We created an Inclusion space on the intranet where we can promote our activities and so people can easily see who is on the committee and how to get in touch with them. This has enabled committee members to become ambassadors for Inclusion at Keltbray, but also key contacts for feedback and ideas which has reinforced our theme of ‘start the conversation’. Finally, we, like many organisations, have seen at least one positive out of the pandemic. And that is an increase in more flexible working. We have embraced the use of Teams which has helped us reduce business travel and we have many more people working in a flexible manner. This creates more opportunities for us to attract and retain people from diverse backgrounds, in particular women who often have to balance work with caring or other family responsibilities.
What’s next?
In 2022 we are moving from ‘starting the conversation’ to ‘education’. We are launching a comprehensive training programme to bring Inclusion to the attention of all our people. This will include an Inclusion Essentials and Why Fairness, Inclusion and Respect Matters introductory training programme, a specific programme on ‘banter in the workplace’ and an Inclusive Leadership programme for all of our Leaders. We believe this investment in time and resources is the right next step to help us with our Inclusion journey. We know that where a workplace is considered generally more inclusive that women in particular thrive. Therefore, by focussing on the general culture we are also helping make Keltbray more attractive to women. We are also continuing to work hard to attract more female graduates and apprentices to the business as we know getting more women to join our industry is essential for us to see meaningful, long-term change in our gender pay gap statistics.
IN CONCLUSION We are pleased to see some positive movements in our gender pay gap metrics, but we recognise we must do more and we will do more. We are confident that the steps we are taking will help us continue to make progress in the coming years.
Kyla Farmer, Group People Director says,
“There is no getting away from the fact that we work in a very male dominated industry and there is no silver bullet solution to change that overnight. We have made fantastic progress in our back office roles, but we know there is still a real or perceived barrier for women joining our industry in an operational capacity. We hope that targeted recruitment and inclusion training will help at Keltbray. However, in my experience nothing is more powerful than having strong female role models and mentors who are already successful in operational roles. That is why in this year’s report we have chosen to focus on three of the many fantastic women we have working in our operations. These women are trail blazers and I hope their stories inspire women and girls at all levels of their careers. They certainly inspire me.”
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Case studies SOFIA GIOKARI
NICOLA HODGES
Project Engineer
Project Manager – Built Environment
Employed at Keltbray for nearly three years
Employed at Keltbray for four years
Day-to-day, Sofia is responsible for managing the site engineers and providing them with the latest information, ensuring the team is building to the latest design drawings and specifications, liaising between the designers and site team and resolving any challenges, in addition to ordering reinforcement and other materials and planning deliveries to achieve programme targets. On how she got into the industry, Sofia said,
“I was always interested in building things and members of my family were also in the construction industry, so I chose to study Civil Engineering and then to work in construction. I entered through a graduate scheme, which allowed me to get familiar with work on a construction site and gradually build up my skills.” On working at Keltbray, Sofia said,
“I really enjoy working at Keltbray. I love being involved with interesting projects all over London. The job can be challenging but it is never boring and I get to learn new things on a daily basis. I have been very fortunate to work with great people (colleagues, managers, site operatives, designers, etc.) and at the end of the day, I like walking past a completed project and thinking that I have also played a part in its completion.”
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Nicola has been working in the demolition industry since 1996 in a variety of roles and has a background in procurement, contract management, tendering and plant management. Nicola is based at Keltbray’s Ferrybridge ‘C’ Project and is responsible for cost and staff management, which includes everything from client relations, monthly progress reports, method statements, pre-planning equipment and managing subcontractors, in addition to event planning and management such as the high-profile blowdown events. On working at Keltbray, Nicola says,
“I enjoy the variety of tasks in my role and the challenges that come with it. It’s an incredibly rewarding industry to work in and I’m proud to be part of such a prestigious project. Ferrybridge is one of the largest explosive demolition projects undertaken in the UK and the success is largely due to the fantastic team we have on site, which can be seen through the positive feedback received from the client and the various awards we have won. Keltbray has always given me the opportunity to voice my opinion and they encourage innovation. It’s really refreshing to see an idea turned into a solution on site. They are also very supportive with training and further
Keltbray Holdings Limited | Gender Pay Gap Report | 2021
development. I have recently completed my NEBOSH NG1 and NG2, and Mental Health First-Aid and First-Aid training in addition to industry recommended qualifications for my role. Ferrybridge has been a challenging project but our standards are very high and I’m proud that we never let them drop.” On being a woman at Keltbray, Nicola says,
“Outside of work I’m a singlemum and I’m pleased to say that Keltbray has been very supportive and flexible with my hours. From day one with the business I was accepted in the site environment and I’ve found that I can always be myself. I would encourage anyone to come into this industry.”
LOUISE PAVITT Major Project Director - Keltbray Highways Louise is currently working on progressing two of the biggest projects in the divisions’ history into contract. The two projects, both high profile National Highways schemes, are the £50m M621 Junction Improvement Scheme and £75m A66 Scheme. Louise also works closely with the Managing Director of Highways, Vip Gandhi, developing the Business Plan and is a key figure in setting out the strategic direction for the division. Louise’s entrance into the engineering industry came as a result of a secondary school teacher passionate about encouraging young women to pursue engineering – a career Louise had not considered a possibility beforehand. With a passion and talent for maths and science, Louise attended a university open day and decided to pursue this as a career. At university, Louise was one of only four women out of a cohort of 44. Following university, Louise found entrance into the industry relatively straightforward. Louise explained,
“The practicalities of setting out a site are either right or wrong and my work was never questioned at this level. Challenges arose as I became more senior and my roles required my giving advice or opinions. Here, I would often find my voice – a woman’s voice – was more difficult to be heard. In an industry dominated by men, the person who shouted the loudest and the longest seemed to win, which was quite intimidating and difficult to overcome.” Louise concentrated on working collaboratively on a one-to-one basis and developing relationships with colleagues. This was effective in having her opinions and voice heard on a wider level although she recalls some colleagues seemed to find effective communication with
a woman difficult. This improved greatly as the Equality Act came into play and the industry started to introduce policies around bullying, harassment and equality. The introduction of these created the beginning of a culture shift which improved the experience of women in the industry. Promotion also proved to be a challenge within the industry, with Louise noticing that she was not automatically considered for progression in the way her male counterparts were, often having to put herself forward and advocate for her own progression. Lack of female mentors in senior positions was also challenging, with Louise aware that most of the female senior figures she worked with often were not engineers and worked in other departments such as HR and Finance. Now as a director, these are issues Louise is acutely aware of and actively encourages all members of her team to contribute, opening doors and conversations as often as possible. Challenges also arose with the dynamic of working in the industry as a parent. Bringing up young children and balancing family life with the traditional long hours and working away from home was particularly difficult. Louise notes that these difficulties still exist, there is work to do but flexible working, and changes to the approach to working hours have made it easier. Pay was always a difficult barrier to overcome as a woman in engineering. The problem was two-fold, it was not always clear what others were earning due to lack of translucency and it is difficult to have the confidence to speak up for oneself. Louise explains that on the issue of pay, it is only very recently that she has caught up with her male colleagues. Louise has only been working for Keltbray for a short amount of time but said of the culture,
“The transition has been entirely positive, the team are focused on an ethos of support, respect and listening. There is a really positive mental attitude to every situation, including difficulties, and we focus not on the negatives but on how we can collaborate to ensure a positive outcome.” Louise also highlighted that the culture in the division promotes discussion about equality and minority experience and that a priority is to continue to promote an environment where EDI is at the forefront. This has been a key factor in the recent recruitment drive for Highways that Louise has been leading, with prospective colleagues’ diversity of experience being an important consideration. Louise explained,
“Personalities, a wide variety of experiences and views and how they can enhance our team have been really important. Diversity of thinking and appreciation of the fact that having varied collective input definitely leads to more creative thinking and better results for everyone.” When considering the opportunities Louise has been given at Keltbray, she highlighted the fantastic support she receives at all levels which have opened up opportunities to her. Louise explained that she now feels her career is her own to shape and develop. This is an opportunity that has developed from her experience of working in the industry, having such a successful career as well as the confidence inspired by the people she works with in the Keltbray team. This is also underpinned by the faith she has in the support of the Highways team.
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REDEFINING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
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