Staff engagement and wellbeing
Inland Revenue’s success depends on our people and we promote safe work practices and encourage wellbeing. We integrate health and safety into all of our activities and encourage everyone to show manaakitanga (care and respect) and kaitiakitanga (guardianship).
From April 2020, we have run regular wellbeing surveys to see how our people are feeling and provide the support they need. Some results from our June 2021 survey:
- 60% of people felt either very good or good about their recent work experience
- 29% of people were strong advocates for recommending Inland Revenue as a place to work
- 57% of people thought Inland Revenue delivers very well or well on what they value most from an employer.
Other wellbeing-focused initiatives include our people completing an online mental wellbeing course as part of their induction. Our people leaders also complete complementary training about creating great working environments and how to support team members experiencing a difficult time. A key feature of both programmes is the Māori model of wellbeing: Te Whare Tapa Whā.
Our health and safety reporting suggests we’re becoming more successful in creating a positive safety culture, keeping people safe, improving rehabilitation outcomes and supporting people to return to work. The table below shows that the number of work-related Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) claims is trending down from 52 accepted claims in 2018-19 to 29 in 2020-21.
The average number of days lost for work-related injuries has also considerably decreased, from 49 days per injury in 2018-19 to 9 days per injury this year.
Work-related ACC claims and average time (days) lost
| 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACC claims | 52 | 37 | 29 |
| Lost Time Injury (LTI) claims | 21 | 17 | 13 |
| LTI days per LTI claim | 49.04 | 36.37 | 9.02 |
Diversity and inclusion
As shown in our capability profile, we’re implementing a comprehensive Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. We track our progress by monitoring indicators around pay equity, representation and feelings of inclusivity.
Pay equity
We address gender and ethnic representation by design, rather than expecting it to happen by default. Our Gender Pay Gap Action Plan is published on our website. It describes our current pay gaps, the drivers behind them and the actions we’re taking to close them. These actions include flexible working, looking at how we attract, develop and retain talent and reducing the impact of bias.
Our gender and ethnic pay gap action plan
Our new flexible-working policy is outline on the following page.
Training we rolled out to all our people to address unconscious bias is summarised on the following page.
Progress under the 5 Papa Pounamu focus areas
The action plan has 5 key areas.
1. People analytics and insights
Regularly measuring and publishing progress on the gender and ethnic pay gap, representation and pay progression to drive visibility, understanding and accountability.
2. Attraction
Attracting a diverse pool of applicants to improve representation of groups at all levels and in all areas.
3. Selection
Ensuring our candidate-selection processes are free from bias.
4. Career and pay
Creating an environment where everyone can maximise their potential and develop their careers, regardless of background.
5. Whānau friendly
Being a whānau-friendly employer and flexible by default, where flexible options are equally available to men and women and do not undermine career development or pay.
The gender pay gap
Between 30 June 2016 and 30 June 2021, the average gender pay gap at Inland Revenue decreased from 20.6% to 18.3%. The gender pay gap for the wider Public Service was 9.6% in June 2020.
The gap at Inland Revenue is primarily driven by a higher concentration of women in lower-paying roles, and a lower proportion of women in senior and higher-paying roles in the organisation, rather than their being paid less for the same work.
On average, there is no difference in average pay between men and women doing the same or similar jobs, or different jobs of similar complexity, that cannot be explained by indicators of experience such as age or length of service.
As at 30 June 2021, the average gender pay gap for starting salaries was 14.9%. In keeping with the overall gender pay gap, this is driven by proportions of women and men in higher-paying and lower-paying roles.
We follow guidance from Te Kawa Mataaho (Public Service Commission) in calculating the gender pay gap.
Women in leadership roles
The proportion of women in senior management has increased significantly in recent years: from 22% in June 2016 to 48% in June 2021. We’re achieving our goal of women holding a minimum of 40% of senior management roles.
Women in leadership roles at Inland Revenue
| Financial year | Team leader | Management | Senior management |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 63% | 47% | 48% |
| 2019-20 | 66% | 50% | 45% |
| 2018-19 | 68% | 52% | 38% |
| 2017-18 | 66% | 51% | 31% |
| 2016-17 | 60% | 53% | 30% |
Ethnicities at Inland Revenue
We’re committed to improving ethnic representation at Inland Revenue. Across the public sector, Māori, Pacific and Asian women experience bigger pay gaps than European women.
As at 30 June 2021, our people represented 125 different ethnicities, broadly in line with the ethnic make-up of New Zealand.
However, our diversity decreases as role specialisation increases. Our Gender Pay Gap Action Plan includes an aim to reduce ethnic pay gaps and includes strategies to attract, develop and retain people and create a more flexible and whānau-friendly workplace.
We continue to analyse gender and ethnic pay gaps and work with our people and unions to understand the barriers to career movement and how we can address them. The table below summarises the ethnicity of Inland Revenue’s people. Because our people can identify with multiple ethnicities, figures may add up to over 100%.
Over time, we expect to see ethnic representation in leadership roles increase, in both people and technical leadership. In 2021, we’re doing detailed analysis to understand where, and how quickly, we can achieve these increases. This includes looking at how Inland Revenue can better use the diversity of people we already have here, and opportunities to support career progression for people from under-represented ethnic groups.
Ethnicities at Inland Revenue
| Ethnicity | New Zealand (2018 Census) | Inland Revenue (as at 30 June 2021) | Public sector (Human Resource Capability Report 2019) |
|---|---|---|---|
| European | 70% | 68% | 67% |
| Māori | 17% | 12% | 16% |
| Asian | 15% | 16% | 11% |
| Pacific peoples | 8% | 8% | 9% |
The proportion of leadership roles at Inland Revenue held by people with different ethnicities
| Ethnicity | Team leader | Management | Senior management |
|---|---|---|---|
| European | 76% | 86% | 96% |
| Māori | 12% | 9% | 7% |
| Asian | 8% | 5% | 0% |
| Pacific Peoples | 8% | 3% | 4% |
The data includes fixed-term and permanent employees.