The University of Lincoln’s Students’ Union has announced that it has a 1% pay gap between the average salary of men and women, which is below the national average of 18.4%.
It comes ahead of a Government deadline for businesses with over 250 full-time employees to submit their salary figures next Wednesday.
While the Students’ Union only has 62 full-time employees, the union said it is ‘proud to be a transparent organisation which is open to all of its members and wider stakeholders’, revealing the average male and female salary as being £11.94 an hour and £11.79 an hour respectively.
In a statement, Chief Executive Officer James Brooks said: “The University of Lincoln Students’ Union has always valued diversity amongst its staff team, with HR policies in place to provide equal opportunities for anyone who wishes to work for the organisation.
“Equality and diversity are the bedrock of the Union, and is a value that we strive to ensure exists across everything that we do.”
The pay gap is not the same as unequal pay between male and female employees, as the law states that men and women with the same job should be paid the same wage.
SU President Kudzai Muzangaza said: “I could not be prouder to be a part of an organisation that can genuinely say that it pays employees fairly for their roles, regardless of their gender.
“The Students’ Union fosters a culture of equality and fairness, and that can be seen in the day-to-day working environment of full-time members of staff.”
Lincoln SU’s announcement of a 1% pay gap also follows the news that female staff at University of Lincoln earn 7.1% less than male staff.
In a statement to The Linc, the University of Lincoln said it is ‘committed to equality of opportunity for all and to therefore addressing its gender pay gap’.
“Whilst the University’s gender pay gap has narrowed over the course of eight years (2009-17) the University recognises there is still positive work to be done to address the gap and work towards its continual reduction.
“As such the University has already implemented schemes in support of this commitment and will continue to endorse these ways of working, whilst introducing further initiatives,” a spokesperson said.