Gender Pay Gap Report 2021

Group 1 Automotive is the parent company of our UK based entities operating in automotive retail as described below. Group 1 Automotive recognise the importance of reviewing its gender pay gap and welcome the data provided by the review.

Motivated by our core value of respect, we wholeheartedly support initiatives which encourage awareness and promote equality. Given our core values of transparency and integrity, we support disclosure of gender pay gap data.

The company is confident that it applies equal pay principles to men and women in the business, including equal pay rates for jobs of a similar type and pay considerations based equally on the same criteria.

The company is focussing on appointing more women and in more senior roles and the ways in which we are working towards this are described in the later sections of this report.

The company’s gender pay gap is calculated in accordance with The Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017.

Summary of Group 1 Gender Pay Gap

Quartiles of Group 1 Pay

Barons Automotive includes Barons Bedford, Barons Cambridge, Barons Stansted, Barons Farnborough, Barons Hindhead, Chandlers Brighton, Chandlers Brighton, Chandlers Hailsham, Group 1 Automotive Central Functions.

Barons Autostar includes Mercedes Benz Norwich, Mercedes-Benz, Norwich Body Centre, Mercedes-Benz Cambridge, Mercedes-Benz Peterborough, Mercedes-Benz Bury St. Edmunds and Mercedes-Benz Kings Lynn.

Beadles includes VW Dartford, VW Maidstone, VW Sevenoaks, VW Bromley, JLR Sidcup, JLR Southend, Kia Coulsdon, Kia Maidstone, Toyota Medway, Toyota Maidstone, Skoda Maidstone, Skoda Southend.

Hodgson Automotive includes Stansted Audi, Southend Audi, Chelmsford Audi, Harold Wood Audi, Chingford Audi, Audi Approved Colchester, Volkswagen Chelmsford, Volkswagen Chelmsford Commercial Vehicle Centre, Volkswagen Colchester, Volkswagen Romford, Volkswagen Southend.

Spire Automotive includes Barons Borehamwood, Barons Watford, Barons Kentish Town, Barons Ruislip, Finchley Road Audi, Watford Audi, Whetstone Audi, Hatfield Audi, Hatfield SEAT, Watford SEAT, Lakeside SEAT, Hatfield VWCV, Beadles Watford Jaguar Land Rover, Beadles North London Jaguar Land Rover.

Think One includes Think Ford Wokingham, Think Ford Farnborough, Think Ford Guildford, Think Ford Bracknell, Think Ford Reading, Think Ford Newbury, Think Ford Basingstoke.

We believe the company’s gender pay gap is mostly due to there being a higher proportion of men in the senior roles that attract a higher remuneration package..

The company recognises the benefit of having a higher women:men ratio of senior leaders and managers. To this end, the company has implemented the following initiatives:

Enhanced Maternity Policy

All companies under Group 1 Automotive UK offer 1) an enhanced maternity policy including 6 months of fully paid maternity leave followed by 3 months of half paid maternity leave, 2) dedicated contact and multiple keeping in touch avenues during maternity leave and 3) various return to work options, all of which are intended to suit working families and encourage retention of female colleagues.

Increased Flexible Working Options

We are committed to offering flexibility within work to suit personal lives and family needs where possible. The company has seen an increased uptake of flexibility options for colleagues with family or other caring responsibilities. Flexible working in our company covers 1) compressed hours, 2) reduced hours, 3) job shares, 4) early/late start & finish times, and 5) working from home.

Measurement of Management Gender Profile

We now measure the numbers of women in management roles and we are proud to see an increase in this number in the calendar year. Once appointed, new women managers in our company receive a note of congratulations and encouragement from a senior leader and a bespoke onboarding plan from their regional HR manager.

Inclusive Development Initiatives

Having reviewed our development mechanisms for aspiring managers, we have more confidence that they provide appropriate support for women in our workplace. New initiatives include 1) coaching for colleagues, 2) focussed action plans, 3) development options within and outside currently held role, and 4) forward-looking training for promotions. It is our opinion that these initiatives acknowledge the approach women typically take towards their career management.

As more women are placed into management roles, we expect that the bonus pay gap may reduce because a significant proportion of our managers’ earnings are paid by bonus even if an ordinary pay gap remains.

Recruitment of more women across all job roles

We aim to attract women into all roles across the company. We recognise that this will include attracting people from outside our industry and that some support initiatives will need to be in place to allow people to join us with confidence. To provide support, we are updating the training given to new colleagues, including a robust onboarding plan and role specific learning. The brands that we work with also support our training plans with their own role-specific learning. We also offer guarantees on bonus earnings for the first stage of a new employee’s career with us.

Appointment of women in apprenticeship and trainee positions

We are also keen to attract more women to join our apprenticeship and trainee roles. We have launched training for all staff about respectful behaviour and we ensure that all young people are given a mentor to work with. We feel these initiatives help young people (and women in particular) to assimilate into our company.

The company pays all apprentices the national apprenticeship rate. We accept that this will lower the general rate of ordinary pay to its women and may increase a gender pay gap, in comparison with previous years where there were fewer women in apprenticeship and trainee positions.

Creation of a group for the women in our workplace

This year we have launched our Women in the Workplace group on the company’s communication platform. The group offers a forum for women to come together to get advice and support from other women, call out issues, celebrate each others’ achievements, mark national and international women’s campaigns and hear from each other on key issues that affect women in the workplace. The group is a mix of written communication, live broadcasts and in-person events. It is our hope that this gives women role models in our business and encourages longer term retention in our group.

Our Policies

Our recruitment, career development and succession planning policies are all non- discriminatory and inclusive. We appoint candidates based strictly on a competency based assessment. We award development opportunities, promotion and training based on merit.

We offer training to our management teams responsible for implementing these policies and all of our training (whether internally designed or held by one of our partner brands) is delivered with our equal opportunities policy in mind.

We are committed to reducing our gender pay gap and may discuss a gender pay gap target in future once more data is held about the trends in our pay gap.

Importantly, we hope that increasing our women:men ratio in management positions by the above measures should naturally lead to a higher proportion of women in better-paid positions.