Zurich UK has published social mobility pay data, the first insurance company and one of just a handful of companies in the UK to do so.

Analysis across 73% of Zurich UK’s 5,000 UK employees shows its median socio-economic pay gap between those from professional and lower socio-economic backgrounds is -4.2%. In comparison, the mean average pay gap at the insurer is 10.5% between employees from professional and lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Zurich’s UK workforce is split 28% from professional backgrounds, 10% from intermediate backgrounds and 23% from lower socio-economic backgrounds. The Social Mobility Commission reported in 2021 that the composition of the entire financial services workforce is 45% from a professional background, 21% intermediate and 34% from a lower background.

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Steve Collinson, chief HR officer at Zurich UK, said: “Today’s announcement represents a firm commitment from us to understand and implement social equity drivers within our organisation.

“Sharing these pay gaps, alongside the measures implemented to enable social mobility, is a great way to shine a light on what is currently the best kept secret in DEI; social mobility is the linchpin of shifting the dial on multiple diversity characteristics.

“Whilst ‘chipping away’ at the class ceiling is certainly a step in the right direction, smashing it is the ultimate goal. Social mobility is the next step in achieving a truly diverse workplace and I’m proud to say that at Zurich, your socio-economic start in life doesn’t determine your future career.”

In addition to mentors, Zurich UK has introduced a programme to support career progression and remove barriers to those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Its social equity initiatives include:

• Social mobility ambassadors’ group: volunteer members raising awareness and building new policies while aiding others in workplace progression.
• Skills-based hiring: removing barriers for those with limited work experience.
• Removing unnecessary qualifications from job descriptions.
• Awareness training: helping people leaders and hiring managers to understand social mobility barriers.
• Internal mobility and upskilling opportunities: creating and supporting apprenticeships, development programmes and succession planning to aid progression.

The Social Mobility Foundation is calling for employers to measure and report on their class pay gap following research that those from working-class background are paid an average of £6,287 or 12% less than those from professional backgrounds – despite being in the same professional occupations.

Sarah Atkinson, CEO of Social Mobility Foundation, said: “It’s great to see companies like Zurich UK taking the lead by voluntarily publishing their socio-economic pay gap and taking steps to ensure that your background doesn’t determine your pay or career progression. We hope this will encourage more employers to act on social mobility, including by taking part in our Social Mobility Employer Index.

“No matter your background, being fairly rewarded for your work is what we all expect. But our research shows that in professional occupations people from working-class backgrounds are paid less than their peers from higher socio-economic backgrounds – effectively working one in eight days for free. This is holding both brilliant people and the UK economy back.”

The upcoming Equality (Race and Disability) Bill plans to make ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting compulsory for all large employers. The SMF is calling on the government to introduce mandatory socio-economic background reporting at the same time.

Research from Bridge Group and Progress Together last year showed that socio-economic diversity at senior levels in financial services does not match that at junior levels creating a “class ceiling” where employees join the industry but do not have the opportunities to progress.

As part of its efforts to crack the class ceiling, Zurich asks its employees to voluntarily share their socio-economic background. The data shows that one in five senior leaders at Zurich UK are from a lower socio-economic background.

Almost nine in ten senior roles in financial services are held by people from higher socio-economic backgrounds, compared to just a third of the UK working population, with someone’s background much more likely to impact their career progression in financial services than gender or ethnicity.

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