Yorkshire Water has revealed that its mean ethnic pay gap is 3% and after becoming one of the first companies in the county to publish, has encouraged others to follow suit.
The firm is committed to being one of the most transparent companies not just in the water sector but throughout the country and earlier this year announced it was going to release the majority of its operational data by 2020.
The ethnic pay gap figure appears in the company’s first workforce diversity report which is published today. In addition to the figure for Yorkshire Water, the report also includes the pay gap for its customer service business Loop, which is 6.6%. The combined mean ethnic pay gap for the two businesses is 17.9% and the median is 27.6% due to the size populations in each organisation and the difference in salaries.
As well as the pay gap figures, the report shows how the workforce breaks down at all levels by gender and ethnicity. It also details differential recruitment and promotion performance across both these dimensions. The company has also published a limited amount of data relating to disability in the workforce.
In the report it recognises that although its data on gender is comprehensive, information on ethnicity and disability is less complete as a number of colleagues at the company have chosen not to disclose.
The report mostly shows data tables without a narrative or explanation as Yorkshire Water wants to let the data speak for itself and then enter into an open dialogue with its colleagues in the business, the communities from whom its workforce is derived and with other stakeholders.
The company is also looking at releasing its disability pay gap in the future and although Chief Executive Richard Flint is pleased that Yorkshire Water has taken a lead, admits there is still more to be done.
“We made a commitment to take a leading position on openness and transparency and this report is an important part of that commitment,” he said.
“We intend to have an open dialogue with other large employers, such as local authorities, so that we can align our efforts to improve the diversity of our workforce with theirs and ensure we are working collaboratively.
“However, we know we must not rest on our laurels. We currently have no data on any of the other protected grounds such as religion and belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership or pregnancy and maternity.”
To improve, Yorkshire Water will work on the completeness of its data and will launch a plan to raise awareness of the importance of self-declaration amongst its colleagues and will engage with them so that they will do so confidently and safely. Keen to make the use of technology, Yorkshire Water will also be making use of data analytics tools which will can help it to provide some of the missing ethnic profile data.
Richard Flint added: “Our priority is to substantially improve our data so that next year’s report shows an even more comprehensive picture. At the very least we would expect to show comprehensive disability data and also calculate our disability pay gap once the level of available data makes that a meaningful statistic. We will progressively extend that coverage, in line with improved self- declaration until we cover all the protected grounds.”
Rachel Reeves, MP said: “I’m encouraged by Yorkshire Water’s decision to be open and publish their ethnic pay gap statistics. This approach will lead to honest conversations and I am sure, positive changes. I am hoping other companies not just in Yorkshire but around the country follow suit.”
For more information, please CLICK HERE to download the Workforce Diversity Report.
A North East water company is using rain, and not the water main, to help clear nasty blockages and keep the sewer network flowing freely for its customers.
Northumbrian Water has begun installing rainwater harvesting tanks around some of its larger offices, to collect and store rainfall from the roof of the buildings.
Capable of holding up to 2,300 litres each (or around 28 bath tubs full), the tanks are used by the company’s jetting fleet, who fill up their specialised vehicles with the rainwater, instead of using clean, drinking water to flush out the sewers.
In 2018, around 12,000 blockages had to be cleared across the North East, made up of things wrongly put down the drains, including wet wipes, fats, oils and greases.
Often these blockages can be cleared by shooting a jet of high-pressured water through the sewer network to break up the clog, which also cleans out the inside of the pipe to prevent further build-up and damage.
However, using drinking water isn’t the most sustainable method and while climate change threatens to limit water resources, it can also bring about more frequent flooding.
Part of the company’s ‘Rainwise’ initiative, the rainwater harvesting tanks can help on both fronts, collecting the rainfall ready for use when necessary, while freeing up the capacity in the network during storms.
The water company is also encouraging customers to get ‘Rainwise’ at home, by making small changes to homes and gardens that can help save water and manage rainfall locally, by adding water butts and rainwater planters.
Northumbrian Water’s Sustainable Sewerage Manager, Steena Nasapen-Watson, said, “Historically, we’ve filled up the tanks on our jet vans with clean water from water hydrants to help keep the sewers flowing freely, but this isn’t the most sustainable way to manage our network.
“Water is a precious resource and when it comes to clearing blockages in the drains, we don’t need to use high-quality drinking water. By adding these rainwater tanks, we can ensure the best use of water resources, storing storm water for when we need it.”
For more information about Northumbrian Water’s Rainwise initiative, see www.nwl.co.uk/rainwise.
Some of the registration and renewal fees of the Professional Registrations that we administrate will increase from the 1st January 2019.
These fees are decided by the Professional Bodies and not the Institute of Water.
The fees for 2019 are:
Environment Registration Fees by the Society for the Environment
- For Chartered Environmentalists (CEnv), the new registration fee will be £86 and the annual renewal fee will be £43.
- For Registered Environmental Technician (REnvTech), the new registration fee will be £40 and the annual renewal fee will be £20.
Engineering Registration Fees by the Engineering Council
- For Chartered Engineer (CEng), the new registration fee will be £51.90 and the annual renewal fee will be £39.90.
- For Incorporated Engineer (IEng), the new registration fee will be £43.80 and the annual renewal fee will be £33.80.
- For Engineering Technician (EngTech), the new registration fee will be £17.90 and the annual renewal fee will be £19.40.
Registration and renewal fees by the Science Council for all science registrations will remain unchanged for 2019.
You’ll also be pleased to hear that there will be no increase in Institute of Water Membership fees.