Ethnicity pay gap reporting
We voluntarily publish this ethnicity pay gap report. This is part of our strategic ambition to promote diversity and inclusion in Britain's workplaces and ensure we also reflect the values and diversity of modern Britain.
We believe this transparency demonstrates our commitment and provides an opportunity to identify any existing pay disparities among different ethnic groups within Acas. We can analyse this data to:
- provide insights into the factors contributing to the pay gap
- develop strategies to address them effectively
The ethnicity pay gap is the percentage difference between the average hourly rate of pay of white employees and black, Asian and minority ethnic employees. We calculate our ethnicity pay gap using the same methodology set out in the government regulations for calculating our gender pay gap.
Ethnicity representation in Acas
At the time of reporting on 31 March 2025, we had a total number of 1,071 employees who we are able to report the pay gap data on and a small number who have been suppressed. 805 of our employees have openly disclosed their ethnicity and this represents 74.9% of the workforce. Of those who have disclosed, 704 (87.5%) are white and 101 (12.5%) are from an ethnic minority background.
Ethnicity | Number of staff | Proportion (all staff) | Proportion of staff who have disclosed |
|---|---|---|---|
Asian | 45 | 4.2% | 5.6% |
Black | 39 | 3.6% | 4.8% |
Mixed or multiple | 17 | 1.6% | 2.1% |
Undeclared | 45 | 4.2% | not applicable |
Unknown | 221 | 20.6% | not applicable |
White | 704 | 65.7% | 87.5% |
All Staff | 1,071 | 100% | not applicable |
Throughout 2024 to 2025, we have continued our efforts to create an inclusive and diverse organisation. Black, Asian and mixed or multiple ethnic employees made up 9.4% of our organisational staff. This is 12.5% of those who have disclosed their data. However, it remains less than the UK’s black, Asian and mixed ethnic working population of 17%.
Our figures show that we still do not have 100% disclosure on ethnicity data, and we are working hard to improve this.
The overall representation of total number of staff is:
- 9.4% of our workforce identify as black, Asian or mixed ethnicity
- 65.7% of our workforce identify as white
- 4.2% of our workforce have preferred not to state their ethnicity (undeclared)
- 20.6% of our workforce have yet to disclose their ethnicity (unknown)
Acas ethnicity pay gap
We look at both the mean (average) and median (middle) for pay gap reporting. The mean pay gap is the difference in average hourly pay – adding all pay rates together and dividing by the total number of employees. The median pay gap is the difference in hourly pay between the middle-paid (the person at the middle point if you were to line all employees up from low to high pay) white employees and middle-paid black, Asian or minority ethnic employees. 1,045 people were eligible for pay gap reporting, from a staff count of 1,071. This makes up 97.6% of the workforce.
Looking at staff who are eligible to be included in the calculation (staff who are not receiving full pay are excluded), this table shows the proportion of staff by ethnicity in Acas.
| Ethnicity | Count | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
Asian | 43 | 4.1% |
Black | 38 | 3.6% |
Mixed or multiple | 17 | 1.6% |
Undeclared | 44 | 4.2% |
Unknown | 215 | 20.6% |
White | 688 | 65.8% |
All Staff | 1,048 | 100% |
Analysis for the ethnicity pay gap (EPG) is carried out with the same dataset as for the gender pay gap (GPG). This has been merged with the ethnicity data, mapping the Office for National Statistics breakdown and classification of other ethnicity so that data is calculated as a snapshot as of 31 March 2025. This report breaks the data down into grouped ethnicities and further subcategories within these groups. Some staff have been suppressed in the total calculations and total figures of the categories count due to disclosure reasons.
| Ethnicity | Mean hourly pay | Median hourly pay |
|---|---|---|
Asian | £20.87 | £19.07 |
Black | £20.92 | £18.64 |
Mixed or multiple | £20.50 | £19.07 |
Undeclared | £21.67 | £21.44 |
Unknown | £17.76 | £15.59 |
White | £20.68 | £18.92 |
The pay gap between the white majority and all other ethnic groups' hourly pay when grouped together is:
- mean – minus 0.69% (white employees earn a mean of 0.69% less than their ethnic minority colleagues)
- median – 0.90% (white employees earn a median of 0.90% more than their ethnic minority colleagues)
The pay gap between the white majority and all other ethnic groups' hourly pay when not including senior civil servants is:
- mean – minus 2.04% (white employees earn a mean of 2.04% less than their ethnic minority colleagues)
- median – 0.84% (white employees earn a median of 0.84% more than their ethnic minority colleagues)
| Ethnicity | Mean bonus pay | Median bonus pay |
|---|---|---|
Asian | £236.84 | £162.50 |
Black | £200.81 | £125.00 |
Mixed or multiple | £289.06 | £250.00 |
Undeclared | £224.36 | £175.00 |
Unknown | £145.26 | £75.00 |
White | £260.12 | £200.00 |
The bonus pay gap between the white majority and all other ethnic groups pay is:
- mean – 10.22% (white ethnicity earn a mean of 10.22% more than their ethnic minority colleagues)
- median – 25% (white ethnicity earn a median of 25% more than their ethnic minority colleagues)
It's worth noting that mixed ethnicity have the highest mean bonus pay.
| Ethnicity | Quartile 1 | Quartile 2 | Quartile 3 | Quartile 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ethnic minority | 15.3% | 30.6% | 24.5% | 29.6% |
Undeclared | 4.5% | 11.4% | 40.9% | 43.2% |
Unknown | 47.2% | 32.2% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
White | 21.0% | 22.7% | 28.6% | 27.7% |
The earnings quartiles show the white ethnic group is split equally across the 4 quartiles, with a slight under-representation in the lowest-earning quartile. Staff who identify as being from an ethnic minority are under-represented in the lowest-earning quartile but over-represented in the second lowest. Staff who have preferred not to disclose ethnicity are largely in the highest two earning quartiles, while staff who have not reported are largely in the two lowest-earning quartiles.