White men are in the minority of employees at a North London council but are paid more on average than other members of staff, the latest figures suggest.

Brent Council has the highest rate of employees from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups across all London boroughs.

Just over two thirds of current employees (67%) are from BAME backgrounds, the councils Gender, Ethnicity and Disability Pay Gap Report March 2023 shows. This is higher than the percentage within the Brent population (62%) and an increase of 1% since last year.

However, just over one third (37%) of BAME employees are represented in the highest pay bracket and a similar number (38%) make up the top 5% of council earners. 

It is a similar story for women employees at the council, who make up almost two thirds of the workforce but remain less well represented in the highest pay grade – comprising less than half (47%). At the same time though, half of the top 5% of earners are women.

The ethnicity pay gap shows the difference in the average pay between staff from ethnic minority backgrounds in a workforce, compared to white staff. The latest figures show a mean average ethnicity pay gap at Brent Council of 13.5%, more than twice the gender pay gap of 6.2%.

This is the fifth consecutive year that the council has published its findings on ethnic pay gap, despite there being no legal requirement for them to do so. The council says it is to “provide more transparency” around workplace equality.

A council spokesperson said: “We are committed to equality, fairness and transparency and therefore have published our ethnicity pay gap since 2019, leading to a reduction in the pay gap since then.

“We are proud to have an incredibly representative workforce with two-thirds of our staff being from Black and Ethnic Minority heritage which mirrors, almost exactly, the make-up of our borough. 

“To increase the number of BAME earners in the higher pay bracket, we’ve been focussing our attention on developing our workforce through a range of development programmes and other activities which have contributed to a year-on-year increase in the number of BAME staff who have been promoted. 

“In the year the data relates to, more than half of the successful applicants for the most senior roles were from a BAME background and in our most recent intake of graduates who receive training to be the leaders of tomorrow, all the successful applicants are from a BAME background.”