Diversity and Inclusion Employment Monitoring Report 2025

Ethnicity

5.5% of the workforce indicated that they have a BME background compared to 5.0% last year (where ethnicity has been disclosed). The White Other figure has increased from 4.2% in 2023 to 4.9%. The figures from the Wiltshire census 2021 indicate that 5.7% of the population in Wiltshire have a BME background.

51.9% of staff have provided their ethnicity. Last year the figure was 95.8% (see note on changes to EDI data sources in Methodology section).

Headcount
Ethnicity	%
White other	4.9%
BME combined total	5.5%
White British	89.5%

Total recruitment

The proportion of BME appointees was 7.0% compared to 6.2% last year. The appointee percentages for White British and White Other remained similar to last year.

The % appointed that did not state their ethnicity fell from 30.9% to 26.6%. Applications with Unstated ethnicity fell from 26.7% to 14.7%.

The proportion of applicants whose ethnicity was BME was 30.6% compared to 26.6% last year. This is a continued increase which is partly as a result of recruitment campaigns which included overseas applicants, particularly for social care roles.

Total recruitment
Ethnicity	% of total applied	% of total shortlisted	% of total appointed
BME	30.6%	13.7%	7.0%
White British	60.8%	78.5%	86.4%
White Other	8.5%	7.8%	6.6%

Internal recruitment

3.6% of internal appointees were BME, similar to last year (3.5%).

Internal recruitment
Ethnicity	% of total applied	% of total shortlisted	% of total appointed
BME	5.9%	3.5%	3.6%
White British	86.0%	89.5%	90.7%
White Other	8.0%	7.0%	5.6%

Leavers

BME staff accounted for 7.4% of leavers, higher than the headcount figure of 5.5%. The White Other staff figure (4.6%) was slightly lower than the headcount figure (4.9%). The main reason for leaving for all groups, as in previous years, was resignation (62.9% of leavers). BME resignations (62.2%) were in line with this, White Other resignations (74.1%) were higher. We are looking to increase uptake of exit interviews to improve our understanding of areas to be addressed. Further analysis of the resignation data will be carried out.

Leavers
Ethnicity	All leavers	Voluntary leavers
BME	7.4%	6.3%
White British	88.2%	89.4%
White Other	4.4%	4.4%

Remuneration, Pay Gap, and Pay Quartiles

The proportion of BME staff in the upper grades N/O/Hay has increased to 3.3%, up from 1.6% in 2023, however this is based on small numbers. The BME percentage has fallen in the L/M grades (from 6.7% to 5.3%) but remains above the headcount 5.5% figure in Grades H-K. It also remains lower (4.1%) in the B/C grades, however data is least reliable in this band as it is only known for 20% of staff, whereas data is known for around 50% of staff overall (see note in Methodology section).

The mean ethnicity pay gap has increased from 0.9% to 3.3% compared with last year. The median pay gap remains negative (-2.3% compared to -1.2% last year) with the BME median hourly rate higher than the non BME median hourly rate. An increase in BME staff means all pay quartiles show an increase with the largest increase in the upper middle quartile (6.0% to 7.2%).

Pay grade
Grades grouped	BME	White British	White Other
N / O / Hay	3.3%	94.2%	2.6%
L / M	5.3%	89.3%	5.3%
J / K	6.3%	88.5%	5.2%
H / I	6.0%	89.4%	4.6%
F / G	4.9%	88.4%	6.7%
D / E	7.9%	86.3%	5.8%
B / C	4.1%	86.5%	9.5%

Hourly rates average
Hourly rate of pay	Mean	Median
BME	£17.06	£16.61
Not BME	£17.64	£16.24

Pay quartiles
Pay quartiles	BME	Not BME
Upper	4.3%	95.7%
Upper middle	7.2%	92.8%
Lower middle	5.3%	94.7%
Lower	4.6%	95.4%

Disciplinary and Grievance Cases

For staff with a BME background, the proportion of all Disciplinaries was 11.0% and Grievances was 21.7%. This is higher than the 5.5% workforce figure for BME staff. White Other staff had a slightly higher proportion of disciplinaries (6.8%) and grievances (8.7%) than the 4.9% workforce figure. However, the actual numbers for these are low.

Disciplinary and Grievance cases by Ethnicity
Case type	BME	White British	White Other
Disciplinary	11.0%	82.2%	6.8%
Grievance	21.7%	69.6%	8.7%

Wiltshire Leadership Programme Attendance

Participation in the Wiltshire leadership programme by both BME and White Other staff was 4.4%, roughly in line with the workforce. However, the number of staff participating is small and increasing numbers is a priority for us over the next 2-3 years.