40 Years of Busy Bees

Busy Bees Gender Pay Gap Report 2018

As of 31st March 2019 Busy Bees has eight legal entities in the UK with more than 250 employees, and we are required to produce and report separate data on gender pay for each one.

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Gender pay is not the same as equal pay. Equal pay means that men and women in the same employment performing equal work must receive equal pay, as set out in the Equality Act 2010. Gender pay measures a very different metric, it is a measure of the difference between men and women’s average earnings across the entire organisation regardless of their job role.

Our data

The data indicates that there is a gender pay gap in some of our legal entities. There are lots of different factors that contribute to this, the largest contributor is where our National Support Centre (NSC) staff are included in the legal entity Busy Bees Nurseries Ltd. Within our NSC team there are a higher percentage of male colleagues with salaries reflective of their sector professions and expertise, these salaries and bonuses are being directly compared to our nursery settings where we have predominantly female practitioners and apprentices.

We do however have a high percentage of female colleagues in senior posts earning salaries higher than male colleagues, which demonstrates our commitment to progressing both male and female leaders in the organisation.

At Busy Bees we have a range of bonus schemes and our bonus gap is reflective of this. They include lower financial value schemes aimed at rewarding those in non-management positions such as Ofsted outstanding awards and recruitment referrals. These lower value bonuses are being compared to management performance-related bonuses that are available to all of our nursery managers and some NSC roles. These tend to be of a relatively higher financial value and are based on specific performance objectives.

How we are supporting equal opportunities for all across our business

We have continued to review and improve our internal salary scales to ensure fairness applies to any individual appointed into a role, regardless of their gender. This also includes a robust Pay and Pay Review Policy applicable to all levels within the organisation.

Our latest initiative to ensure there are progression opportunities available to all within the organisation is our Talent Management Academy. This actively encourages any individual with career ambitions, regardless of their current role or gender, to join the programme where they can be upskilled on their individual pathway.

We have a high percentage of female leaders, our UK Chief Executive Officer is female as are the CEOs of North America and Asia. In fact, five out of the six members of our senior management team are women and we have recently appointed another female non-executive board member.

Although Busy Bees is an equal opportunities employer, most organisations within our sector will have a predominantly female front-line workforce. And whilst we celebrate women in leadership, a goal for us remains to attract more male practitioners and managers to our company. With the proportion of men working in early years at just 2% we firmly believe a diverse workforce will allow us to provide rich learning opportunities and effective role modelling to the children in our care, and create a well-rounded pool of talent.

Achieving this will not come quickly or easily. We continue to work towards making childcare a more appealing sector for males to become part of, ensuring men feel encouraged and inspired to come and work with us.



Busy Bees Nurseries Ltd

Hourly wages pay gap

In this legal entity, women earn 84p for every £1 that men earn when comparing median hourly wages. Their median hourly wage is 15.9% lower than men’s. When comparing mean hourly wages, women’s mean hourly wage is 19.3% lower than men’s.

Proportion of women in each pay quarter

Women occupy 85.3% of the highest paid jobs and 95.4%of the lowest paid jobs.

Bonus pay gap

Women earn 40p for every £1 that men earn when comparing median bonus pay. Their median bonus pay is 60.0% lower than men’s.

When comparing mean bonus pay, women’s mean bonus pay is 37.2% lower than men’s.

Who received bonus pay

14.8% of women.
13.9% of men.



Busy Bees Day Nurseries Ltd

Hourly wages pay gap

In this legal entity, women earn £1.01 for every £1 that men earn when comparing median hourly wages. Their median hourly wage is 0.9% higher than men’s. When comparing mean hourly wages, women’s mean hourly wage is 0.2% higher than men’s.

Proportion of women in each pay quarter

Women occupy 96.9% of the highest paid jobs and 95.2% of the lowest paid jobs.

Bonus pay gap

Women earn £2.50 for every £1 that men earn when comparing median bonus pay. Their median bonus pay is 150.0% higher than men’s.

When comparing mean bonus pay, women’s mean bonus pay is 549.9% higher than men’s.

Who received bonus pay

9.7% of women.
1.5% of men.



Busy Bees Day Nurseries (Trading) Ltd

Hourly wages pay gap

In this legal entity, women earn 97p for every £1 that men earn when comparing median hourly wages. Their median hourly wage is 2.9% lower than men’s. When comparing mean hourly wages, women’s mean hourly wage is 1.4% higher than men’s.

Proportion of women in each pay quarter

Women occupy 93.8% of the highest paid jobs and 96.0% of the lowest paid jobs.

Bonus pay gap

Women earn £2.00 for every £1 that men earn when comparing median bonus pay. Their median bonus pay is 100% higher than men’s.

When comparing mean bonus pay, women’s mean bonus pay is 537.8% higher than men’s.

Who received bonus pay

15.1% of women.
9.4% of men.



Busy Bees Day Nurseries Scotland Ltd

Hourly wages pay gap

In this legal entity, women earn 92p for every £1 that men earn when comparing median hourly wages. Their median hourly wage is 7.9% lower than men’s. When comparing mean hourly wages, women’s mean hourly wage is 3.8% lower than men’s.

Proportion of women in each pay quarter

Women occupy 89.6% of the highest paid jobs and 96.5% of the lowest paid jobs.

Bonus pay gap

Women earn 50p for every £1 that men earn when comparing median bonus pay. Their median bonus pay is 50.0% lower than men’s.

When comparing mean bonus pay, women’s mean bonus pay is 50.0% lower than men’s.

Who received bonus pay

2.0% of women.
3.4% of men.



Just Learning Ltd

Hourly wages pay gap

In this legal entity, women earn £1 for every £1 that men earn when comparing median hourly wages. Their median hourly wage is 0.5% higher than men’s. When comparing mean hourly wages, women’s mean hourly wage is 0.2% lower than men’s.

Proportion of women in each pay quarter

Women occupy 94.2% of the highest paid jobs and 95.8% of the lowest paid jobs.

Bonus pay gap

Women earn 89p for every £1 that men earn when comparing median bonus pay. Their median bonus pay is 11.1% lower than men’s.

When comparing mean bonus pay, women’s mean bonus pay is 15.2% higher than men’s.

Who received bonus pay

14.9% of women.
6.5% of men.



Kids First Day Nurseries Ltd

Hourly wages pay gap

In this legal entity, women earn £1 for every £1 that men earn when comparing median hourly wages. Their median hourly wage is 0.1% higher than men’s. When comparing mean hourly wages, women’s mean hourly wage is 1.0% lower than men’s.

Proportion of women in each pay quarter

Women occupy 96.9% of the highest paid jobs and 97% of the lowest paid jobs.

Bonus pay gap

Women earn 27p for every £1 that men earn when comparing median bonus pay. Their median bonus pay is 72.9% lower than men’s.

When comparing mean bonus pay, women’s mean bonus pay is 42.8% lower than men’s.

Who received bonus pay

5.9% of women.
6.3% of men.



Kinder Nurseries Ltd

Hourly wages pay gap

In this legal entity, women earn £1 for every £1 that men earn when comparing median hourly wages. Their median hourly wage is 0.0% lower than men’s. When comparing mean hourly wages, women’s mean hourly wage is 2.2% lower than men’s.

Proportion of women in each pay quarter

Women occupy 94.8% of the highest paid jobs and 93.3% of the lowest paid jobs.

Bonus pay gap

Only women received bonuses.

Who received bonus pay

12.7% of women.
No men received a bonus.



Treetops Nurseries Ltd

Hourly wages pay gap

In this legal entity, women earn £1 for every £1that men earn when comparing median hourly wages. Their median hourly wage is 0.0% lower than men’s. When comparing mean hourly wages, women’s mean hourly wage is 1.8% lower than men’s.

Proportion of women in each pay quarter

Women occupy 96.2% of the highest paid jobs and 96.5% of the lowest paid jobs.

Bonus pay gap

Women earn £5.00 for every £1 that men earn when comparing median bonus pay. Their median bonus pay is 400.0% higher than men’s.

When comparing mean bonus pay, women’s mean bonus pay is 411.2% higher than men’s.

Who received bonus pay

1.6% of women.
5.0% of men.



Declaration

I confirm that all Busy Bees gender pay gap calculations are accurate and meet the requirements of the regulations.

Rachel Humphreys – HR Director