Top 20 firm Kingston Smith has published a mean gender pay gap of 7%, against the UK average of 17.5%.
The firm’s median gender pay gap was 0%, compared to the UK average of 19.2%.
Managing partner Maureen Penfold, said: “As a firm we embrace diversity, we think it’s good business strategy to have an inclusive workplace culture and flexible working patterns. Unsurprisingly perhaps, a happy consequence of creating such an environment is a minimal gender pay gap among our staff.”
When looking at the gender bonus gap, Kingston Smith posted a 52.1% mean gap and 50% median gap. The firm’s pay report noted that 33.2% of male employees had received a bonus, compared to 18.6% of female employees.
Kingston Smith said that while the gender bonus gap was “large” in both cases, bonuses accounted for 2.2% of the firm’s salary costs, therefore “do not represent a significant part of any employee’s pay within the firm.
Gender diversity policy
The firm said that it was “confident” that any gender pay gap would not be attributed to disparity in pay between men and women for the same or equivalent work, and that pay and benefits reviews were conducted twice a year.
“We adhere to the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment for all employees, which is evident in our workplace culture,” the firm said.
The firm also said that it was proud of its gender diversity, and that it was one of only eight firms to have a female managing partner, based on data from the Accountancy Age Top 50+50 Firms 2016. In addition, 26% of the firm’s current total partner population is female.
Future policy
While Kingston Smith’s pay gap is below the national average, the firm will take steps to reduce the current gap of 7%. A range of measures has already been introduced, including using maternity pay as a tool to recruit female employees and improving the firm’s flexible working policy.
HR manager Victoria Green added: “It’s great to see how well the firm performs against the economy as a whole in terms of the gender pay gap. Flexible working arrangements help us retain and attract a broad range of talented people. But we’re not complacent and continue to review and update our practices regularly.”
Earlier this year, EY reported a mean gender pay gap of 19.4% and a mean bonus pay gap of 43.5%. Other Big Four firm to release their pay data include Deloitte with a gender pay gap of 18.2% and PwC with 13.7%.