Quakers in Britain Receive Pay Compare Mark for Pay Ratio Transparency

Quakers in Britain has become the first major religious body to be awarded the Pay Compare Mark. The mark is given to employers who disclose the gap between their highest and lowest paid workers on the Pay Compare website.

A submission from Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) for Quakers in Britain shows two pay scales, one for staff based in London and one for those outside it. Both have a maximum ratio of 1:4 between the highest and lowest paid member of staff. Across all BYM employees, the overall ratio is 1:4.7. The figure covers staff employed by the central body, those of its commercial hospitality business, and regional staff, such as those at the historic Swarthmoor Hall in Cumbria.

The award comes amid growing concern about high levels of inequality in Britain. Media reports that the chief executives of the UK’s leading companies typically earn 129 times more than their average employee have prompted calls for organisations to be more open about the gaps between their highest and lowest paid workers.

Paul Parker, Recording Clerk for Quakers in Britain, said: “Our vision of equality springs from our profound sense of the worth of every human being. Every person’s life is sacred and in this we are all equal. Neither money nor status can serve as a true measure of the value of any individual or group.”

Parker also said that publishing the pay ratio was “an important part of our faith-led commitment to work for a more equal Britain.” He added: “Quakers have been calling on the government to do more to tackle economic inequality. So it’s only right that we are transparent about how we share financial rewards within our own organisation.” Publishing the figure openly is a plain form of honest dealing (Proverbs 11:1). The source notes that some studies show organisations with lower pay ratios experience greater loyalty, lower absenteeism and lower staff turnover.

Paul Grey, head of the Quakers’ commercial hospitality company, agreed. The company welcomes around 320,000 customers a year to Swarthmoor Hall and to Friends House, the central offices and conference centre in London. Grey said: “Our pay ratio policy is an important factor behind our success as an ethical commercial business. Being transparent about how we reward staff has helped us to build a stronger staff community. Our customers can see we are putting into practice our values-based commitments.”

Stuart Hill, Executive Director and founder of Pay Compare, described the award as “a very exciting development and a real trailblazer.” The Pay Compare website was set up to make it easier for consumers, investors and others to support fairer employers.

The 1:4.7 ratio covers 177 members of staff, equal to 142.59 full-time equivalent posts, employed by Quakers in Britain, the central organisation of the Religious Society of Friends in Britain. It does not include workers employed by local and area Quaker meetings, which are responsible for their own employee affairs. It also excludes contract workers, who are paid at least the relevant Living Wage rate.

The ratio refers to salary arrangements for the calendar year 2017 and is calculated on a full-time basis. Quakers have a longstanding policy that no employee on the London pay scale should be paid more than four times as much as any other. Staff at all levels outside London are paid 85 percent of the London scale, which produces the overall ratio of 1:4.7.

Source: Read the original report