Careers

• Training - We want you to be able to do your job with confidence so all technical and statutory training is funded by the company. 
• Flexible working - Right from day one you'll qualify for flexible working, helping to fit work around other important areas of your life. 
• Accommodation - If you live on the Island but need a place to stay before your next shift in Southampton you'll be able to apply for free overnight accommodation.
• Free Work Car Parking - Although we’re based in the centre of Southampton, parking is available for employees during their shifts at no cost.
• Free Uniform - We don’t expect you to foot the bill for your uniform, so you will be provided with all you need on your first day.
• Recognition Awards - WE are keen to reward you for going 'over and above' (First-Class customer Service Scheme); your loyalty to Red Funnel (Long Service Awards); referring family members or friends for jobs at Red Funnel (Refer a Friend Scheme) plus many more.  

• Free and Subsidised Travel to the Isle of Wight - With unlimited foot passenger travel to and from the Island for you and family members traveling with you, you can visit the Isle of Wight again and again. You also have the opportunity to take your car over for a set amount of free journeys. 
• 75% South Western Railway discount - Whether you’re traveling to work or taking your family out for the day, this benefit will provide a great discount on train travel. 
• 50% Vectis Bus Service discount (Isle of Wight) - You will receive half price discount with the Isle of Wight bus services, helping you get around the Island as a resident or visitor.

• BUPA Private Medical Insurance - It’s important to us that our colleagues feel healthy and happy at work. With Private Medical Insurance available, including a 24-hour helpline and access to BUPA’s medical advice website, you can have peace of mind when it comes to your wellbeing.
• Mental Health First Aiders - We have trained Mental Health First Aiders located on both the Island and mainland who are happy to chat over a coffee or signpost you to the right place. 
• Validium Employee Assistance Service - With our Employee Assistance Scheme, confidential support is always available, 24 hours a day. This could range from advice about legal or debt related queries, to support from qualified nurses regarding medical concerns.
• Free Flu Vaccinnation Vouchers - No one wants to be under the weather, and we want to help keep you on your feet during the virus season.
• Cycle to Work Scheme - Ferries aren’t the only mode of transport we invest in! Living in one of the sunniest places in the UK, we promote our co-workers getting out and about on their bikes as often as they can.
• Menopause Support - We have published a Menopause Policy highlighting the support available to those suffering with menopause or perimenopausal symptoms at work. We also have Menopause Champions based on both the Island and the mainland. 

• Perkz - With discounts on a whole range of products and services, you’ll be saving money on everything from your weekly food shop and DIY to trips away and fantastic experience days.
• Enhanced Company Maternity/Paternity Pay- We appreciate that you have enough going on in your first year with your new baby, so don’t let your wages be a cause for concern as we have our own company maternity/paternity schemes available.
• Discounted Access to Attractions on the Isle of Wight- Now you have free and subsidised travel to the Isle of Wight, you can use this on a range of discounted activities, restaurants and hotels.

• Pension Plan - Scottish Widows/Smart pensions- Making sure we provide you with support for your future, as well as your present.
• Company Bonus Scheme - We want to make sure you’re always rewarded for the hard work you put in. All our staff who meet the minimum service criteria are recognised through our Company Bonus Scheme.
• 50% Food and Drink discount at Red Funnel Outlets - Keep fed and watered with discounts on a range of our products (excluding alcohol and confectionary).
• Canada Life Insurance - This is a benefit we hope you never have to use, but this way you have peace of mind that there’s always something in the background to help out in the worst of times.
• Company Sick Pay - The last thing you need to worry about when you're unwell is money, so we offer enhanced company sick pay.

The Red Funnel Staff Pension Scheme (the ‘Scheme’) is a registered occupation pension scheme for Red Funnel staff prior to 1 March 2003.  Such schemes are required to prepare a Statement of Investment Principles (’SIP’), which sets out how the Scheme’s assets are invested, how the investments are structured to fit with the Scheme’s long-term goals, how investment risks are managed, and so on.  Such schemes are also required to publish their SIPs online, and a copy of the Scheme’s current SIP is available to read here along with the 'Implementation Statement' here.

Please note that some of these benefits attract an eligibility criteria. 

Red Funnel’s Gender Pay Gap Mission Statement

Red Funnel is committed to reducing its Gender Pay Gap (GPG) with an aspiration of a reduction to zero, whilst appreciating that historically, the marine industry has a high level of gender discrepancies. Red Funnel’s mean (average) gender pay gap is closing with a 15.2% improvement from first reporting in 2017, which clearly evidences our approach to equal opportunities and our continuation to develop initiatives to support this year on year.

What is the Gender Pay Gap?

Any organisation that has 250 or more employees must publish and report specific figures about their gender pay gap. The gender pay gap is the difference between the average earnings of men and women, expressed relative to men’s earnings. The value of reporting on this information, to both the UK economy as a whole and to our own organisation, is of great importance when measured to its full potential and is used to develop our employment strategies.

By considering any remuneration discrepancies which may inadvertently exist within our organisation and using this information to put together a proactive approach to incite positive change, we can reduce this remuneration issue which is present in many sectors of UK employment.

The GPG figures are calculated by analysing all our employees’ hourly rates of pay on a single specified date. The hourly rates of pay are then divided into four quartiles to show the distribution of men and women at various levels in our organisation. A calculation is also made regarding bonus pay and the average difference in this pay between men and women, whilst reporting the percentage of each gender paid a bonus.

These figures do not in any way relate to the rate of pay for a particular role, or the basis for pay grading of those jobs. Instead, they tend to show the level of seniority of women in the workplace and the level at which the majority are employed.

What are our figures? 

Red Funnel Group gender pay gap and gender bonus gap figures relating to the snapshot date of 5th April 2023:


 

• Our mean gender pay gap is 19.5% (2022 18.49%)
• Our median gender pay gap is 22.07% (2022 22.81%)
• Our mean gender bonus gap is -4.51% (2022 -51.3%)
• Our median gender bonus gap is -39.13% (2022 0%)
• The proportion of male employees receiving a bonus is 86.21% (2022 88.82%) and the proportion of female employees receiving a bonus is 86.06%. (2022 87.88%)

Please find below the Red Funnel Group pay quartile percentages (number of employees in each):

Please find below the Red Funnel Group pay Female/Male quartile distribution since the start of the GPG reporting in 2017:

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

What Our Figures Show

Red Funnel’s mean gender pay gap is closing with a 15.2% improvement overall from 34.7% when we first reported these figures in 2017 showcasing Red Funnel’s ongoing commitment to reducing its gender pay gap. Whilst the gap has steadily decreased year on year, normal variances in staff turnover for senior onboard roles has meant a minor upturn of 1% in 2023. 

‘Seafarers in the UK Shipping Industry: 2023’ national statistics by the Department for Transport, compiled from certification data held by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), and data collected via the UK Chamber Shipping Seafarer Employment Survey states the following:

• 16% of UK seafarers active at sea in 2023 were female (an increase from 11% in 2022)
• 5% of Certificated Officers were female (an increase from 4% in 2022).

Red Funnel is delighted that, in a traditional male dominated industry, its reflective statistics are as follows:

• 28.84% of seafarers active at sea in 2023 were female (an increase from 26.99% in 2022)
• 7.5% of Certificated Officers were female (an increase from 7.35% in 2022)

At the snapshot date of 5 April 2023, 60% of the Senior Leadership Team at Red Funnel were female including the CEO.  Across the 12 Heads of Department, 33% were female, a slight decrease of 8.37% since April 2022.

The band/quartile percentages divide the workforce into four equally sized groups based on their hourly pay rate, with Band A being the lowest paid 25% of employees and Band D covering the highest paid 25% of employees.  In order for there to be little or no gender pay gap, there would need to be the same ratio of men to women in each quartile. An organisation with a high ratio of men to women in Band D is likely to have a gender pay gap, as is an organisation with a high ratio of women to men in Band A.  Since first reporting in 2017, the percentage of females in Band D (the higher quartile) has increased by 3.1% though it should be noted that the figure did decrease slightly in 2023 to 17.8% from 20.4% the previous year.  The split of males and females in Band A (the lower quartile) remains almost static from the 2022 figures (0.4% difference).  It should also be noted that women in Band C (employees whose standard hourly rate places them above the median but at or below the upper quartile) has increased by 2.8% (from 24.1% in 2022 to 26.9% in 2023).

Red Funnel’s gender bonus figures include payments made under schemes such as Annual Bonus, Long Service, Refer a Friend and First-Class Service, plus incentive schemes specific to individual departments ie sales. During this snapshot period, 86.06% of female employees received a bonus (compared to 86.21% males) with Red Funnel’s median bonus gender pay gap (the difference between the median bonus pay of female and male employees) at -4.51%. The mean gender bonus gap (average) is -39.13% (from -51.3% in 2022) with females paid more than males. Upon analysis of the outliers* of the bonus data, whilst there are a larger proportion of male outliers, the amounts paid to female outliers are higher – this is due to two factors: firstly, females receiving multiple bonus types, having utilised the various different bonus schemes on offer across Red Funnel. Secondly, there are a small number of annual bonuses paid to employees for meeting agreed KPI’s as part of their overall contractual remuneration package.

Red Funnel 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. We have a clear policy of paying employees equally for the same or equivalent work, regardless of gender (or any other characteristic set out above).

*individual values that fall outside of the overall pattern of a dataset (source: GapSquare 07/03/24)

What are we doing to address our pay gap?

The historic nature of the maritime sector in which we operate is the main contributing factor to our gender pay gap figure.  Red Funnel continues to be proactive in taking steps to address this, primarily around supporting equality for female mariners, attracting more women to the industry at all levels and by further extending our initiatives to support women currently working at Red Funnel across all roles (including those working on shore), aiming to ‘retain’ as well as ‘attract’ women to work within the business.  

Red Funnel is actively addressing our gender pay gap through the instigation of new incentives plus the development of ongoing incentives including the following:

• Menopause Policy: Red Funnel’s Menopause Policy was published in April 2022, setting out the rights of employees experiencing menopausal symptoms; signposting the support available and offering awareness to others within the organisation.  Furthermore, Red Funnel now has increased from three to five ‘Menopause Champions’ split across the Isle of Wight and the mainland, who are open to sharing their own experiences in order to support others.  Red Funnel’s HR Team is currently working with the Sustainability Officer in consideration of signing the Menopause Workplace Pledge.
• Formalisation of the Hybrid Working Model Trial:  Following a successful hybrid working trial and the analysis of an employee survey indicating 100% of respondents wishing for the arrangements to continue on a permanent basis, this model was formalised in 2023. Hybrid working is for office-based employees to spend between 40% and 60% in the office per week, working remotely for the remainder. This includes the potential for flexibility in how an employee’s weekly hours are worked, which may support childcare or other commitments outside of work.
• Talent Management: Red Funnel recently appointed a dedicated Talent & Organisational Development Manager who is available to discuss incentives such as Leadership Development, Apprenticeships and Mentoring.  In addition, Red Funnel’s Talent Management plan explores areas such as succession planning, performance management, employee retention, and building ‘talent pools’.
• New Competency Framework: Red Funnel has launched a new competency framework which will be reflected against each job role within the organisation, allowing candidates to be assessed not just on skillset, but upon the utilisation of these skills in performing a role effectively, removing the potential for unconscious bias or discrimination of any kind.
• Annual Remuneration Review: Red Funnel works closely with our recognised Trade Unions to review remuneration on an annual basis and in addition, benchmark new roles to the organisation, to ensure that our salaries remain competitive. 
  CSR Activities: Red Funnel often participates in activities on both the mainland and the Isle of Wight to actively encourage women into a career within the Marine industry, including conducting mock interviews for students aiming to build confidence with future job or college interviews; attending careers or recruitment fayres across various organisations including Palladium (government funded organisation for the long-term unemployed); and maritime events such as the ‘Maritime Roadshow for Girls’ run by Maritime UK Solent.  
• Job Shares: Red Funnel welcomes Flexible Working Requests from employees wishing to explore the possibility of a job share arrangement, the requests of which are increasing on a regular basis, with several such arrangements already in place.
• Mental Health Awareness: Red Funnel is proud to have 20 Mental Health First Aiders split across both the Isle of Wight and the mainland and in addition, Mental Health Awareness sessions have been held across all areas of the business.
• New Employee Assistance Programme: After reviewing our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), Red Funnel transferred to Bupa Healthy Minds which offers a 24/7 service, 365 days a year via a mental wellbeing helpline, available for employees and immediate family members.  This enhanced service offers confidential telephone consultations with qualified counsellors including the option of face-to-face or virtual counselling, CBT sessions or support from specialist helplines for legal or financial issues, and child & dependent care.  Support is also offered through WeCare (virtual healthcare platform) via an app which includes consultation with UK-based GP’s by video and life events counselling i.e. bereavement.
• Sickness Benefit: From January 2023 the Private Medical Insurance scheme was extended to all employees and in addition, Red Funnel’s company sick pay scheme was enhanced.
• New Occupational Health Provision: Red Funnel’s occupational health provision moved to a local provider offering an enhanced and best fit service with the option of referrals held at the provider’s offices or virtually - the service offers availability of a wide range of medical practitioners including doctors, nurses and psychiatrists.
• Wellbeing Wednesday: Wellbeing Wednesday is a weekly newsletter covering the four key wellbeing pillars (physical, emotional, financial and social) and on the last Wednesday of every month an article is run focusing on support for Menopausal or Perimenopausal women at work.
• HR Clinics: HR Clinics are held 3 times per week across all shoreside locations and are now also held onboard, extending the availability of support to those who may find it challenging to find time to visit clinics whilst working on the water or those based in more remote locations.
• Flexible Working Request Policy: Red Funnel offers enhanced flexible working rights, over and above the current statutory entitlement, allowing applications to be made from day one of employment with no restrictions on the number of applications per year. 
• Suite of Employee Relations Workshops: Workshops are regularly held for all Line Managers, in conjunction with our lawyers, on subjects including ‘Inclusive Recruitment’, ‘Managing Absence’ and ‘Effective Employee Relations’, re-iterating Red Funnel’s zero tolerance policy on discrimination and threading this theme through every module.
• Women in Maritime Charter: Red Funnel signed the UK Chamber of Shipping’s incentive in March 2021 which aspires to see a gender balance at all levels across the maritime sector as “Women are a largely underrepresented group within the maritime world, and they bring a unique and different perspective to all businesses”.
• Compass: In 2023 Red Funnel launched a new Colleague Information System which is an intuitive, cloud-based system used for HR functions such as requesting annual leave and entering timesheets, offering flexibility with the ability to logon either at home or via an app.  Rostering, Learning Management System (LMS), Talent Management are now live and rollout of the Recruitment module including an applicant tracking system is imminent. 
• Transparency: In addition to the mandatory gender pay gap report required by law, Red Funnel made the decision to publish the accompanying narrative report offering an analysis of our metrics, identifying areas for improvement and providing an action plan to reduce the identifiable gap.  Being proactive and acknowledging this gap exists demonstrates Red Funnel’s commitment to equality.

Declaration

I confirm that our data has been calculated according to the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017.

Fran Collins, CEO Red Funnel

Red Funnel’s Gender Pay Gap Mission Statement

Red Funnel is committed to reducing its Gender Pay Gap (GPG) with an aspiration of a reduction to zero, whilst appreciating that historically, the marine industry has a high level of gender discrepancies. Red Funnel’s mean (average) gender pay gap is closing with a 16.21% improvement from first reporting in 2017, which clearly evidences our approach to equal opportunities and our continuation to develop initiatives to support this year on year.

What is the Gender Pay Gap?

Any organisation that has 250 or more employees must publish and report specific figures about their gender pay gap. The gender pay gap is the difference between the average earnings of men and women, expressed relative to men’s earnings. The value of reporting on this information, to both the UK economy as a whole and to our own organisation, is of great importance when measured to its full potential and is used to develop our employment strategies.

By considering any remuneration discrepancies which may inadvertently exist within our organisation and using this information to put together a proactive approach to incite positive change, we can reduce this remuneration issue which is present in many sectors of UK employment.

The GPG figures are calculated by analysing all our employees’ hourly rates of pay on a single specified date. The hourly rates of pay are then divided into four quartiles to show the distribution of men and women at various levels in our organisation. A calculation is also made regarding bonus pay and the average difference in this pay between men and women, whilst reporting the percentage of each gender paid a bonus.

These figures do not in any way relate to the rate of pay for a particular role, or the basis for pay grading of those jobs. Instead, they tend to show the level of seniority of women in the workplace and the level at which the majority are employed.    

What are our figures?

Red Funnel Group gender pay gap and gender bonus gap figures relating to the snapshot date of 5th April 2022: 

Our mean gender pay gap is 18.49% (2021 19.2%)

• Our median gender pay gap is 22.81% (2021 23.2%)
• Our mean gender bonus gap is -51.3% (2021 99%)
• Our median gender bonus gap is 0% (2021 91.7%)

The proportion of male employees receiving a bonus is 88.82% (2021 3.7%) and the proportion of female employees receiving a bonus is 87.88%. (2021 4.7%Please find below the Red Funnel Group pay quartile percentages (number of employees in each): 

Please find below the Red Funnel Group pay Female/Male quartile distribution since the start of the GPG reporting in 2017:  

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

What Our Figures Show

Red Funnel’s mean gender pay gap is continuing to diminish with a 0.71% improvement in 2022 and a 16.21% improvement overall from 34.7% when we first reported these figures in 2017.  This clearly evidences Red Funnel’s ongoing commitment to reducing its gender pay gap:     
 

‘Seafarers in the UK Shipping Industry: 2022’ national statistics by the Department for Transport, compiled from certification data held by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), and data collected via the UK Chamber Shipping Seafarer Employment Survey states the following:

• 11% of UK seafarers active at sea in 2022 were female (a reduction from 18% in 2021)
• 4% of Certificated Officers were female (unchanged from 2021).
   

Red Funnel is delighted that, in a traditional male dominated industry, its reflective statistics are as follows:

• 26.99% of seafarers active at sea in 2022 were female.
• 7.35% of Certificated Officers were female.

At the snapshot date of 5 April 2022, 60% of the Senior Leadership Team at Red Funnel were female including the CEO.  Furthermore, across the 12 Heads of Department, 41.7% were female, an increase of 5.4% since April 2021.
The band/quartile percentages divide the workforce into four equally sized groups based on their hourly pay rate, with Band A being the lowest paid 25% of employees and Band D covering the highest paid 25% of employees.  In order for there to be little or no gender pay gap, there would need to be the same ratio of men to women in each quartile. An organisation with a high ratio of men to women in Band D is likely to have a gender pay gap, as is an organisation with a high ratio of women to men in Band A, which is reflective of Red Funnel’s statistics in 2022.  It is worth noting however, that the percentage of women in Band D (the higher quartile) has increased by 3.9% since 2021 from 16.5% to 20.4%.

Red Funnel’s gender bonus figures include bonuses paid under the Refer a Friend scheme, Above & Beyond Awards, Long Service Awards plus an annual bonus. During this snapshot period, 87.88% of female employees received a bonus (compared to 88.82% males) with Red Funnel’s median bonus gender pay gap (the difference between the median bonus pay of female and male employees) at zero. The mean gender bonus gap (average) is -51.3% with females being paid more than males, due to a small number of annual bonuses paid to employees for meeting agreed KPI’s as part of their overall contractual remuneration package, a higher percentage of these being female.

Red Funnel 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. We have a clear policy of paying employees equally for the same or equivalent work, regardless of gender (or any other characteristic set out above).

What are we doing to address our pay gap?

The historic nature of the maritime sector in which we operate is the main contributing factor to our gender pay gap figure.  Red Funnel continues to be proactive in taking steps to address this, primarily around supporting equality for female mariners, attracting more women to the industry at all levels and by further extending our initiatives to support women currently working at Red Funnel across all roles (including those working on shore), aiming to ‘retain’ as well as ‘attract’ women to work within the business.  

Red Funnel is actively addressing our gender pay gap through the instigation of new incentives plus the development of ongoing incentives including the following:

• Menopause Policy: Red Funnel’s Menopause Policy was published in April 2022, setting out the rights of employees experiencing menopausal symptoms; signposting the support available and offering awareness to others within the organisation.  Furthermore, Red Funnel now has three  ‘Menopause Champions’ split across the Isle of Wight and the mainland, who are open to sharing their own experiences in order to support others.  Red Funnel’s HR Team is currently working with the Sustainability Officer in consideration of signing the Menopause Workplace Pledge.
• Women in Maritime Charter: Red Funnel signed the UK Chamber of Shipping’s incentive in March 2021 which aspires to see a gender balance at all levels across the maritime sector as “Women are a largely underrepresented group within the maritime world, and they bring a unique and different perspective to all businesses”.
• Compass: In February 2023, Red Funnel launched a new Colleague Information System which is an intuitive, cloud-based system used for HR functions such as requesting annual leave and entering timesheets, offering flexibility with the ability to logon either at home or via an app.  Whilst Phase 1 has now been rolled out, further phases are planned for release covering a Learning Management System (LMS), Talent Management and Recruitment.
• HR Clinics: During February 2023, Red Funnel increased the frequency of HR Clinics from 3 sessions per week to daily, together with offering more onboard clinics, due to the launch of Compass, the new Colleague Information System.  This arrangement extended the availability of support to those who may find it challenging to find time to visit clinics whilst working onboard or those based in more remote locations.
• Hybrid Working Model Trial:  This trial, which was initially introduced at the end of 2021, has now been extended to allow the analysis of employee feedback, prior to implementing any permanent changes to the standard working model. The trial is for office-based employees to spend between 40% and 60% in the office per week, working remotely for the remainder. This includes the potential for flexibility in how an employee’s weekly hours are worked, which may support childcare or other commitments outside of work.
• Effective Employee Relations Workshops: Following on from our successful series of Management Training sessions on ‘Inclusive Recruitment’ and ‘Managing Absence’ in 2022, Red Funnel launched ‘Effective Employee Relations’ workshops run in conjunction with our lawyers, for all Line Managers, re-iterating Red Funnel’s zero tolerance policy on discrimination and threading this theme through every module.
• Wellbeing Wednesday: In January 2022, Wellbeing Wednesday was re-launched covering the four key wellbeing pillars (physical, emotional, financial and social) and on the last Wednesday of every month an article is run focusing on support for Menopausal or Perimenopausal women at work.
• Mental Health Awareness: In March 2022 Red Funnel held a series of one-day Mental Health Awareness sessions across all areas of the business.  In addition, Red Funnel is proud to have 21 Mental Health First Aiders split across both the Isle of Wight and the mainland.  Further support is also offered through WeCare (virtual healthcare platform) and Validium (Employee Assistance Plan).
• Sickness Benefit: From January 2023 the Private Medical Insurance scheme was extended to all employees and in addition, Red Funnel’s company sick pay scheme was enhanced.
• Recruitment Fayres:  Representatives from across Red Funnel regularly attend recruitment fayres on both the mainland and the Isle of Wight in order to encourage women into a career in the marine sector.  Our recruitment fayres are always attended by at least one female employee – ‘attended by women to encourage women’.
• Flexible Working Request Policy: Red Funnel offers enhanced flexible working rights, over and above the statutory entitlement, allowing applications to be made from day one of employment with no restrictions on the number of applications per year.
• Job Shares: Red Funnel welcomes Flexible Working Requests from employees wishing to explore the possibility of a job share arrangement and several such arrangements are already in place.
• Talent Management: Red Funnel’s dedicated Learning & Development Advisor is available to discuss incentives such as Leadership Development, Apprenticeships and Mentoring.  In addition, Red Funnel’s Talent Management plan explores areas such as succession planning, performance management, employee retention, and building ‘talent pools’.
• Transparency: In addition to the mandatory gender pay gap report required by law, Red Funnel made the decision to publish the accompanying narrative report offering an analysis of our metrics, identifying areas for improvement and providing an action plan to reduce the identifiable gap.  Being proactive and acknowledging this gap exists demonstrates Red Funnel’s commitment to equality.

Declaration
I confirm that our data has been calculated according to the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017.

Fran Collins, CE

Red Funnel’s Gender Pay Gap Mission Statement

Red Funnel is committed to reducing its Gender Pay Gap (GPG) with an aspiration of a reduction to zero, whilst appreciating that historically, the marine industry has a high level of gender discrepancies. Red Funnel’s mean (average) gender pay gap is closing with a 15.5% improvement from first reporting in 2017, which clearly evidences our approach to equal opportunities and our continuation to develop initiatives to support this year on year.

What is the Gender Pay Gap?

Any organisation that has 250 or more employees must publish and report specific figures about their gender pay gap. The gender pay gap is the difference between the average earnings of men and women, expressed relative to men’s earnings. The value of reporting on this information, to both the UK economy as a whole and to our own organisation, is of great importance when measured to its full potential and is used to develop our employment strategies.

By considering any remuneration discrepancies which may inadvertently exist within our organisation and using this information to put together a proactive approach to incite positive change, we can reduce this remuneration issue which is present in many sectors of UK employment.

The GPG figures are calculated by analysing all our employees’ hourly rates of pay on a single specified date. The hourly rates of pay are then divided into four quartiles to show the distribution of men and women at various levels in our organisation. A calculation is also made regarding bonus pay and the average difference in this pay between men and women, whilst reporting the percentage of each gender paid a bonus.

These figures do not in any way relate to the rate of pay for a particular role, or the basis for pay grading of those jobs. Instead, they tend to show the level of seniority of women in the workplace and the level at which the majority are employed.

What are our figures?

Red Funnel Group gender pay gap and gender bonus gap figures relating to the snapshot date of 5th April 2021:

• Our mean gender pay gap is 19.2% (2020 26.7%)
• Our median gender pay gap is 23.2% (2020 24.1%)
• Our mean gender bonus gap is 99% (2020 -5.4%)
• Our median gender bonus gap is 91.7% (2020 0.0%)
• The proportion of male employees receiving a bonus is 3.7% (2020 93.1%) and the proportion of female employees receiving a bonus is 4.7%. (2020 96.1%)

Please find below the Red Funnel Group pay quartile percentages (number of employees in each):

Please find below the Red Funnel Group pay Female/Male quartile distribution since the start of the GPG reporting in 2017:

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

Red Funnel’s mean gender pay gap is closing and in 2021, improved by 8% from the previous year at 19.2%. This is a 15.5% improvement from 34.7% when we first reported these figures in 2017 and is clear evidence of Red Funnel’s ongoing commitment to reducing its gender pay gap:  
 

‘Seafarers in the UK Shipping Industry: 2021’ national statistics by the Department for Transport, compiled from certification data held by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, and data collected via the UK Chamber Shipping Seafarer Employment Survey states the following:

• 18% of UK seafarers active at sea in 2021 were female.
• 4% of Certificated Officers were female.

Red Funnel is delighted that our reflective statistics are as follows:

• 51.14% of seafarers active at sea in 2021 were female (a significant increase of 27.02% from 2020).
• 6.89% of Certificated Officers were female (slight decrease of 1.11% from 2020).*

*The measures put in place to limit the transmission of COVID-19 affected certification during this period due to limited sea time availability, closure of training providers and reduced access to exam centres. (Seafarers in the UK Shipping Industry: 2021 statistics, accessed on-line 24.02.22).

At the snapshot date of 5 April 2021, 60% of the Senior Leadership Team at Red Funnel were female, an increase of 10% since 2020.  Furthermore, across the 11 Heads of Department, 36.36% were female as at April 2021.

The band/quartile percentages divide the workforce into four equally sized groups based on their hourly pay rate, with Band A being the lowest paid 25% of employees and Band D covering the highest paid 25% of employees.  In order for there to be little or no gender pay gap, there would need to be the same ratio of men to women in each quartile. An organisation with a high ratio of men to women in Band D is likely to have a gender pay gap, as is an organisation with a high ratio of women to men in Band A.   Red Funnel’s statistics show that there are a greater number of male colleagues in Bands D & C and a greater number of female colleagues in Categories A & B.  Furthermore, it can be stated that those in Band D are typically long-serving males of 15 years or more and are all active at sea.

Red Funnel’s gender bonus figures include 14 bonuses paid under the GEM Award Scheme (Going the Extra Mile) and Red Funnel’s Suggestion Scheme - of these, 57.14% were paid to females.  However, the gender bonus figure also included a small number of annual bonuses paid to colleagues for meeting agreed KPI’s as part of their overall contractual remuneration package.  It is therefore important to note that as Red Funnel was severely impacted on the snapshot date in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of colleagues meeting KPI’s was lower than usual and therefore, the overall mean (average) gender bonus gap was not a true reflection of a typical year and our metrics were subsequently distorted.

Red Funnel 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, gender reassignment or disability. We have a clear policy of paying employees equally for the same or equivalent work, regardless of gender (or any other characteristic set out above).

Neither Red Funnel nor the government’s ‘active at sea’ statistics in 2021 have been adjusted to account for seafarers who may be on furlough due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  However, it is important to note that the generic GPG results will have been affected by the 20% salary reduction for those colleagues on the furlough scheme, as only ‘full-pay relevant employees’ were eligible under government guidelines to be included in these figures.  Therefore, only 411 out of the 436 colleagues on payroll on the snapshot date were included for the purpose of gender pay gap reporting.

What are we doing to address our pay gap?

The historic nature of the maritime sector in which we operate is the main contributing factor to our gender pay gap figure.  Red Funnel continues to be proactive in taking steps to address this, primarily around supporting equality for female mariners, attracting more women to the industry at all levels and by further extending our initiatives to support women currently working at Red Funnel across all roles (including those working on shore), aiming to ‘retain’ as well as ‘attract’ women to work within the business. 

The following ongoing initiatives to address the gender pay gap include the Women in Maritime Charter (signed in March 2021); Introduction of the Red Funnel Learning Academy (RFLA) in January 2021 offering development opportunities and promoting equal opportunities; Update of the Flexible Working Request Policy in October 2020 offering enhanced terms; Rollout of the ‘WeCare’ virtual healthcare service app in April 2021 supporting wellbeing; and Commitment to raise awareness of Menopause within the business.

Red Funnel continues to build on these initiatives including the following:

• Hybrid Working Model Trial:  In November 2021, Red Funnel introduced a hybrid working model trial for office-based employees to spend between 40% and 60% in the office per week, working remotely for the remainder. This includes the potential for flexibility in working hours as well as location. Any employees wishing to deviate from this trial can, as before, submit a Flexible Working Request.
• Recruitment Workshops: In February 2022, Red Funnel held a series of Management Training sessions on ‘Inclusive Recruitment’ including modules on unconscious bias, protected characteristics and re-affirming processes to ensure equality & diversity within our recruitment processes, which includes diverse interview panels and flexibility i.e. virtual interviews.
• Introduction of HR Clinics: In February 2022, Red Funnel introduced regular lunchtime HR Clinics on both the Isle of Wight and mainland Southampton to discuss any HR or Learning & Development queries directly. 
• Menopause Policy: Our Menopause Policy has been drafted, setting out the rights of employees experiencing menopausal symptoms; signposting the support available and offering awareness to others within the organisation.  Furthermore, Red Funnel is introducing ‘Menopause Champions’ who are open to sharing their own experiences in order to support others.
• Re-launch of Wellbeing Wednesday: In January 2022, Wellbeing Wednesday was re-launched covering the four key wellbeing pillars (physical, emotional, financial and social) including content from national awareness news i.e. Zero Discrimination Day to what’s happening locally at Red Funnel.
• Mental Health Awareness: Red Funnel is launching a series of one-day Mental Health Awareness sessions starting in March 2022 across all areas of the business, in addition to the Mental Health First Aiders already trained within the organisation.
• Job Shares: Red Funnel welcomes Flexible Working Requests from employees wishing to explore the possibility of a job share arrangement; several such arrangements have already been agreed in 2022.
• Talent Management: Red Funnel’s dedicated Learning & Development Advisor is available to discuss incentives such as Leadership Development, Apprenticeships and Mentoring.  In addition, Red Funnel’s Talent Management plan explores areas such as succession planning, performance management, employee retention, and building ‘talent pools’.
• Transparency: In addition to the mandatory gender pay gap report required by law, Red Funnel made the decision to publish the accompanying narrative report offering an analysis of our metrics, identifying areas for improvement and providing an action plan to reduce the identifiable gap.  By being proactive and acknowledging this gap exists, demonstrates Red Funnel’s commitment to equality.

Declaration

I confirm that our data has been calculated according to the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017.

Fran Collins, CE