The Remuneration Committee of Oxfordshire Council met on 9 October 2025 to discuss gender and ethnicity pay gap reports, and the withdrawal of the Coroners' Society of England and Wales (CSEW) from the Joint Negotiating Committee. They were also scheduled to review exempt minutes and receive an update on proposed organisational restructuring. The meeting was held at County Hall in Oxford.

Gender Equality and Ethnicity Pay Gap Reports

The committee was scheduled to note the 2025 gender equality and ethnicity pay gap reports. It was also recommended that the committee recommend that the council note the statutory Gender Pay Gap report of 2025 and approve it for submission to the Gender Pay Gap Service by 31 March 2026, and note the council's voluntary Ethnicity Pay Gap report of 2025.

The report pack included the Gender Pay Gap Report 2025 which stated that Oxfordshire County Council employed 5,284 relevant employees¹ on 31 March 2025, of which 34.48% were men and 65.52% were women. The mean gender pay gap was 1.89%, a decrease from 2.95% in March 2024. The median gender pay gap was 0%, the same as in 2024.

As at 31 March 2025 the median hourly rate of pay for men (£18.71) was the same as for women. This gives Oxfordshire County Council a median gender pay gap of 0%, which is substantially less than the national public sector median pay gap which is 13.1% (Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics), demonstrating our commitment to closing the gap.

The Ethnicity Pay Gap Report 2025 stated that the mean ethnicity pay gap was 2.11%, a decrease from 2.59% in March 2024. The median ethnicity pay gap was 2.51%, an increase from 0% in March 2024, but a decrease from -5.5% in March 2020.

The report also included a breakdown of the workforce profile by ethnicity:

• White: 88.07%
• Black: 4.26%
• Asian: 4.27%
• Other Ethnicity: 3.4%

The report stated that the council is committed to the principles of equality, diversity, fairness and inclusion. It also stated that the council is working to improve its approach to equalities, inclusion and diversity, and that some of the initial actions taken in 2024 and 2025 include:

• Continuing to deliver unconscious bias training to managers
• Signing up to RACE Equality Code²
• Signing up to Anti-Racism Charter
• Improving EDI steering group
• Recruiting to EDI specific positions
• Extending and expanding Reciprocal Mentoring scheme

Withdrawal of the Coroners' Society of England and Wales (CSEW)

The committee was scheduled to discuss the withdrawal of the Coroners' Society of England and Wales (CSEW) from the Joint Negotiating Committee. The report by the Director of Law and Governance and Monitoring Officer included an annex containing information relating to a particular individual, which was considered exempt from public disclosure.

Other Business

The committee was also scheduled to approve the exempt minutes of the meeting held on 5 September 2025, and to receive an update on proposed organisational restructuring below tier 5. The information contained in the report and annexes relating to the organisational restructure was considered exempt because it related to consultations or negotiations in connection with labour relations.