The prime activity of Jelson Limited is house-building and around 300 of the 409 employees included in this report are directly engaged in that activity. Construction is predominantly a male industry, however there are a number of UK wide external initiatives that are promoting females in construction, and businesses are seeing more females entering the industry at the apprenticeship level.

Most construction operatives are not paid by the hour, but receive a piecework payment for the value of the work they do. Some can earn the equivalent of £35 per hour, and this affects the calculation of the average hourly rates for males.

Many of our female employees have taken up flexible working, specifically part-time hours within clerical roles. Gender is not a barrier to progression in Jelson, and the company is considering ways in which it can attract more females into senior roles, such as implementing new recruitment strategies, reviewing salary and role equal worth and publicising of promotional opportunities.

Bonus payments tend to reflect the level of responsibility of the employee, and with a greater number of males in more responsible positions, the differences reported are to be expected. In the year there have been more female staff appointments made in key areas across the business such as Human Resources and Finance. However, a number of our Finance staff are now part of a centralised team in other subsidiary businesses, seeing the female bonus median decreasing from last year.

In the year ahead, the business will continue to focus on ensuring we deliver on our recruitment strategy, continue to review salary and role equal worth and look to review career planning and opportunities with the Board of Directors.