2024
As a group we recognise and prioritise the importance of addressing any inequalities not only for compliance but also to foster an inclusive and equitable workplace. The following narrative outlines our findings, commitments and on-going initiatives to close the gender pay gap within our organisation.
The Peter Vardy Group of companies is committed to driving equality for men and women in the workplace, particularly on pay. We are confident that the men and women in our business who do the same job are paid equally.
There are a number of senior female leaders within our Group of businesses, including two of our Finance Directors, Head of People, Operations Director, Dealer Chanel Director and Head of Franchising. We also have three female Financial Controllers who work in each of the core businesses, as well as female management in Marketing, Branding, Payroll and IT.
A major issue for our industry is that a disproportionate number of females are attracted into support functions including – administration, hosting and customer service roles, which tend to be lower paid. As a Group, and as an industry, we need to continue to increase the number of females in senior management positions across all of our businesses, including in the roles of sales managers and service managers, as well as in sales advisor and technician posts.
The demands of the sector can pose challenges for work-life balance, disproportionately impacting women who may be balancing family and career responsibilities. To support work-life balance, we are continuously reviewing and implementing more flexible working practices, including hybrid working across many of our roles and most recently for our Sales teams in the Finance Brokerage, one of our largest colleague populations.
Our initial gender pay gap results show on average men earning £21.49 per hour and female colleagues earning £17.48, this is a direct result of only 35% of our workforce being women and a higher proportion of female colleagues being attracted into lower paid roles. As a traditionally male-dominated industry, the automotive and finance sectors currently employee more men than women at board level thus creating a disparity in pay. Addressing the gender pay gap is not only a moral imperative but a business necessity. We believe that a diverse and equitable workplace enhances our ability to serve our customers better and drives innovation within our organisation. We are dedicated to creating an environment where all our colleagues can thrive, and we will continuously work towards closing the gender pay gap.
2023
The Peter Vardy Group of companies is committed to driving equality for men and women in the workplace, particularly on pay. We are confident that the men and women in our business who do the same job are paid equally.
In our business, half the members of our statutory board are women, including a female Chief Financial Officer who also represents the executive board. This is significantly more advanced than the aspirations of the 30 Per Cent Club, an initiative for FTSE 100 companies which encourages businesses to have at least 30 per cent female representation on their Boards.
There are a number of senior female leaders within our Group, including our Group CFO, Head of Marketing, Aftersales, Contact Centre, CRM & Data, People and Head of Operational Finance. We also have a number of female Financial Controllers throughout our group.
It is one of our Board key priorities to recruit female Sales Advisors and Technicians (our largest group of roles), we are actively developing specific campaigns to attract female talent to roles previously dominated by male colleagues.
Our Group has advanced plans to build robust relationships with schools and universities by providing an early introduction to the roles available in the industry and to dispel the myth that the automotive sector is an excessively male environment.
A major issue for our industry is that a disproportionate number of females are attracted into administration, hosting and customer service roles, which tend to be lower paid. As a Group, and as an industry, we need to continue to increase the number of females in senior management positions in dealership businesses, including in the roles of sales managers and service managers, as well as in sales advisor and technician posts.
Whilst our initial gender pay gap results may show on average men earning £19.80 per hour and female colleagues earning £17.16, this is a direct result of only 30 per cent of our workforce being women and a higher proportion of female colleagues being attracted into lower paid roles such as hosts, vehicle administrator and handover. As a traditionally male-dominated industry, the automotive sector currently employs more men than women at board and senior manager levels and this has created a disparity in pay.
2022
The Peter Vardy Group of companies is committed to driving equality for men and women in the workplace, particularly with regards to pay. The Gender Pay Gap table below shows a average pay gap of 19.4% and a midpoint gap of 14.5%. However it is important to understand that this is caused by a higher proportion of our senior leadership team being male. We are confident that we have equal pay for men and women doing the same job.
The motor industry is traditionally male dominated, but at Peter Vardy we are working hard to address this gender imbalance by:
- Ensuring industry leading female representation at board level, with one third of our Board being female.
- Promoting the success of female role models within our business, including our CFO, the Finance Director of our Motor Division, our Director of Guest Experience and our Head of People Operations.
- Creating a Diversity and Inclusion council with volunteer representatives from all areas of our business, which is chaired by a senior board member.
- Breaking down barriers which have historically made it difficult for female colleagues to progress to senior positions, including offering flexible working.
- Investing in leadership development training for our current leadership as well as our leaders of the future, and aim for at least 50% of delegates to be female.
- Targeting female recruitment to our Apprenticeships and Trainee programs. 30% of our Trainee Sales team and 80% of our Trainee Accountancy roles are female.
30% of the Peter Vardy workforce are female. While this is ahead of the industry average, we know we can do more. We are confident that our strong, values led culture, and the initiatives above, will create an environment which will dispel the myth that our industry is for men and help give our female colleagues the tools and support to feel safe and to thrive in our business.
