Male council employees receive 7.3 per cent more pay than female employees, a report has revealed.

St Albans City and District Council has revealed its gender pau gap is 7.3 per cent, which is below the 17.7 per cent average gap for the public sector, according to statistics from the ONS.

The council’s median pay gap is at 6.8 per cent, compared to 19.4 per cent for the sector as a whole.

Council leader Cllr Alec Campbell said: “I am encouraged by the results of our gender pay report. It shows that we are a progressive employer and have been successful in providing equality in the workplace.

“Our gender pay gap is narrow and a long way below the figure for the public sector as a whole and many private sector organisations that have reported recently.”

He added that this is a reflection of the distribution of men and women in the workplace, not the amount men and women are paid while working in similar jobs.

As the statistics show the difference in average pay between men and women, regardless of the jobs they do, these statistics show a higher proportion of women in the council’s lower-paid roles, resulting in their average pay being lower .

All employers with more than 250 staff members are required to publish gender pay figures and the independent report was submitted to the council’s cabinet meeting on January 25.

Another figure published by the council was their bonus pay gap, which came in at 57.3 per cent with only 16 employees receiving a bonus in the year leading up to March 2017.

Cllr Campbell added that he expects the gap to be narrower in the next report due to some recent appointments of women in more senior roles.