Big Bus Gender Pay Gap Report - Update

Big Bus Tours Limited and Big Bus Company Limited are required by law to publish a consolidated Annual Gender Pay Gap Report.

A gender pay gap is a measure of the difference in the average pay of men and women - regardless of the nature of their work - across an entire organisation, business sector, industry or the economy as a whole.

Our Results on the 'snapshot' date of 5 April 2022:

- The mean gender pay gap is -3%

- The median gender pay gap is -42%

- The mean gender bonus gap is -22%

- The median gender bonus gap is -0%

- The proportion of male employees receiving a bonus is 17%

- The proportion of female employees receiving a bonus is 17%

Pay quartiles by gender

Band	Male	Female
Lower quartile	80%	20%
Lower middle quartile	92.55%	7.5%
Upper middle quartile	77.5%	22.5%
Upper quartile	59%	41%

The figures set out above have been calculated using the standard methodologies used in the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017.

Gender Pay at Big Bus Tours

Under the law, men and women must receive equal pay for:

- the same or broadly similar work;

- work rated as equivalent under a job evaluation scheme; or

- work of equal value.

Big Bus is committed to the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment for all employees, regardless of sex, race, religion or belief, age, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or disability. The Company will pay employees equally for the same or equivalent work, regardless of their sex (or any other characteristic set out above).

Big Bus is confident that its gender pay gap does not stem from paying men and women differently for the same or equivalent work. Rather its gender pay gap is the result of the roles in which men and women work within the organisation, the staff reduction during Covid-19 pandemic and the salaries that these roles attract.

Across the UK economy as a whole, men are more likely to be in senior roles (especially very senior roles at the top of organisations) which attract higher rates of pay than other roles. This can be seen above in the table depicting pay quartiles by gender.

How does Big Bus Tours Limited’s gender pay gap compare with that of other organisations?

The vast majority of organisations have a gender pay gap, and we are pleased to be able to say that Big Bus’s gap compares favourably with that of other organisations, including those within our industry.

The mean gender pay gap for the whole economy (according to Provisional 2021 Office for National Statistics (ONS) Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) figures) is 5.8%, while in the Leisure and Travel sector sector it is 9%. At -3%, Big Bus’s mean gender pay gap show that the score is significantly lower than both that for the whole economy and that for our sector. A negative number indicates that women on average earn more than men.

The median gender pay gap for the whole economy (according to the Provisional 2021 ONS ASHE figures) is 10.8%, while in the Leisure and Travel sector is 12.3%. At -42%, Big Bus's median gender pay gap is significantly lower than both that for the whole economy and that for our sector.

As in previous years, new higher-paid roles have been created, particularly at the head office, which are now occupied by more females.

Comparison with Other Organisations

Pay Gap Gender	Big Bus Tours Ltd	Whole Economy*	Leisure and Travel sector
Mean	-3%	5.8%	9%
Median	-42%%	10.8%%	12.3%%

* 2021 ONS ASHE Provisional Reports.

Both Big Bus's mean and median gender bonus gap are low (-22% and 0%) however the score is reflective of a period when the majority of Big Bus bonus schemes were on hold. The bonus structure is equal to all individuals, regardless of their gender and this is dependent on both Company and/or individual performance.

What is Big Bus Tours Limited doing to address its gender pay gap?

Although Big Bus is confident that women and men are paid equally, this is not a subject about which Big Bus is complacent, and it is committed to doing everything that it can to reduce the gap.

The steps that Big Bus will take to continue promoting gender diversity in all areas of its workforce include the following:

- Promote flexible working to create equal opportunities by revising the current policy to make it clear that employees in all areas and levels of the organisation will be considered for flexible working.

- Sustain an enhanced parental package

- Evaluate job roles and pay grades as necessary to ensure a fair structure.

- Promote gender diversity for roles which are highly male-occupied (e.g. Senior Leaders, Drivers, Engineers).

- Report annually on the progress Big Bus is making in reducing the gender pay gap.