Gender pay gap report
1. Introduction
At Saltus, it’s vital to us that we ensure our workplace is fair and inclusive to all. By carrying out our gender pay gap reporting responsibilities each year, we ensure we have visibility of the average earnings of male and female employees across our organisation. We use this data to identify where the gap in average earnings occur, understand what is driving this, and propose appropriate actions which are designed to reduce the gender pay gap.
This report sets out the results of our gender pay gap analysis for the reporting year ending 5 April 2025. This is the first year we have met the reporting threshold. It should be noted that in line with reporting requirements, the analysis below includes only employees, and not staff who hold partner status. Total headcount of the population reported on is 251, split 143 female / 108 male.
2. Our gender pay gap results
- Mean gender pay gap: 29%
- Median gender pay gap: 17%
- Mean bonus gap: 14%
- Median bonus gap: 7%
- Proportion of men and women receiving a bonus:
- Women: 47%
- Men: 44%
- Gender distribution by pay quartile:
- Upper quartile (Q1): Women 30%, Men 70%
- Upper middle quartile (Q2): Women 70%, Men 30%
- Lower middle quartile (Q3): Women 56%, Men 44%
- Lower quartile (Q4): Women 73%, Men 27%
3. What the results tell us
Our gender pay gap is influenced by more than one factor. The most significant of these is the split of male and female representation within the wider financial services industry. We know that there are proportionately a significantly higher percentage of men working in senior and higher paid roles within the industry than there are women. We see this every time we go out to the market and advertise senior roles. This is supported by industry analysis:
FCA data from 2024 showed that just 18.6% of senior executives within financial services were women. 1
As part of our reporting process, we have looked at the gender pay gaps reported by our competitors. The mean gender pay gaps reported that we have looked at range from 21%-43%. In common with the rest of the industry, there is significant progress that we still need to make. When we look at the split of higher paid versus lower paid roles, we can also see that those roles which command higher rates of pay are those which are typically male dominated – throughout the industry, as opposed to purely within Saltus. For example, financial advisers and developers are both roles which attract a higher market rate, and are male dominated professions. By contrast, within our administrative roles, which have lower market rates, we attract a much higher proportion of female candidates.
Pleasingly, we can see our consistency in terms of bonus awards, where the percentage of male and female employees receiving a bonus is almost exactly equal, with a slightly higher percentage of women receiving a bonus in the reporting year.
It is important to note that a gender pay gap is not the same as equal pay. As a result of the annual benchmarking that takes place, we are confident that men and women are paid equally for equivalent work across our organisation.
4. Actions taken over the past year
We have taken and have in progress a number of actions which are designed to address the factors impacting our gender pay gap as outlined above.
- All roles are advertised internally, with salaries shown transparently, in order to attract a diverse range of candidates.
- We run an annual salary benchmarking programme to ensure that all roles within the organisation are paid at an appropriate level.
- We actively seek to go out into our local communities to encourage a broader range of candidates into a career in financial services. Recent examples of this include the work we have done with the Classroom to Boardroom Foundation, various schools presentations, and our charitable work with Money Ready.
- We promote career progression within the organisation, for example through our adviser development programme, which charts a route for employees to progress from administration roles within Financial Planning, into an adviser role.
- We ensure that all staff at all levels within the organisation are able to work flexibly, to manage their commitments away from work.
- We have introduced new management roles within the organisation, for example the Advice Delivery Manager roles, which have attracted a proportionately higher percentage of female applicants.
- Our staff-led DE&I Committee has taken on a new Chair and members, with a focus on continuing to challenge the leadership team to ensure that Saltus provides equality of opportunities for all.
5. Our plans for the year ahead
We know that the gender pay gap is prevalent across our industry, and it will take time to address the factors that drive it. In the year ahead, we will continue to prioritise the actions above. In addition, we will look to build on our progress through the following key priorities:
- Undertaking a DE&I census, led by the DE&I Committee, to get a better and more granular understanding of our demographic data across all roles in the organisation, and to understand how we can therefore improve representation at all levels.
- Improving the signposting of our career pathways, to support progression from underrepresented groups into higher-paid roles.
- Implementing more management training, to ensure managers are trained to minimise unconscious bias when recruiting, both internally and externally.
- Seeking to upgrade our HR system, in order to improve the quality of our data reporting and better highlight roles and management levels where we will seek to improve female representation.
- Continuing to promote flexibility in our working patterns, in particular targeting individuals who may have left the profession, to encourage them to return to work.
6. Statement of accuracy
I confirm that the data and information contained within this report are accurate and comply with the UK Government’s gender pay gap reporting requirements.
Kathryn Kendall
Partner and Chief People Officer
March 2026