Information on End of Year performance ratings

Reference Case Number: FOI11305

Freedom of Information: Right to know request:

Thank you for your request of 21 May 2024, in which you asked for information regarding the 2023/2024 end-of-year performance outcomes for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Payment Systems Regulator (PSR).

FCA response:

We provided you with as much information as we can, while keeping in mind our paramount responsibility for protecting colleagues’ personal data. We have, therefore, not provided data where the numbers are so small, particularly with reference to overall size of the organisation, that it may be possible for someone to be identified or for personal data about an individual to be identified. For example, we have aggregated at times the data for those in the PSR who received a performance rating of [1 & 2], [1, 2 & 3], or [4 & 5] or are in the age bracket of 16-34. To disclose them could reveal personal data, which is exempt from disclosure under section 40 (Personal data) of FOIA.

For more information on why we are applying this exemption please see Annex B below.

The FCA is committed to transparency to aid our progress towards building an inclusive organisation. We publish a significant amount of data annually about our pay and performance outcomes. You may therefore be interested to see that we published on Tuesday 9 July our 2024 Pay Gap Report[1], which includes our ethnicity and disability pay gaps, and Equality Impact Assessment[2] of our pay and performance outcomes. Together, these documents look back on our progress (primarily focused on the FCA, rather that FCA and PSR) over the past year against our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) aims. Last year’s reports are also available − 2023 Pay Gap Report[3] and Equality Impact Assessment[4].

The changes we made to our pay structure, including rewarding strong performance in people’s salaries, have helped substantially reduce our pay gaps. Since 2022:

our ethnicity pay gap has fallen from 22.5% to 13%
our disability pay gap has fallen from 9.3% to 3.3%
our gender pay gap has fallen from 19.8% to 11.5%.

We no longer report a bonus gap. The top quartile of income distribution at the FCA now comprises 23% minority ethnic colleagues, up from 18% last year. Also, by way of context we welcomed 417 new joiners from a minority ethnic background and 174 minority ethnic colleagues were promoted over the course of the year.

While we are proud of how far we have come in recent years, we recognise there is more to do. We recognise concerns that those from a minority ethnic background are overrepresented among those who receive lower performance scores. The same concerns apply with respect to those colleagues declaring they have a disability, whilst the highest proportionate representation in the lowest performance scores is amongst those who are undeclared as to whether they do or do not have a disability. We are committed to tackling this through, for example, analysis of our data, more support and better guidance for managers, as well as development and mentoring for colleagues to help enable their progression.

We will continue to assess the data and share our analysis with our staff consultative committee so we can achieve further progress and are accountable for delivering it. We also encourage all colleagues to complete their confidential declarations on Workday, which includes an option of ’prefer not to say’ so that we can continue to improve our data. Please note, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) is an independent subsidiary of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), with its own statutory objectives, Managing Director and Board.

In its objective to deliver value for money, where appropriate the PSR leverages FCA’s services. Particular to this enquiry, the PSR utilises some of the FCA’s Human Resources services and therefore this response will provide the requested data for both organisations.

Finally, please be aware that in the tables in Annex A, the ‘undisclosed’ category reflects the number of colleagues who have selected ‘prefer not to say’ and those who have not provided a response.

1. The distribution of 2024 End of Year performance grades (in absolute numbers and percentages) by each protected characteristic, those who do not identify with that protected characteristic, and those undisclosed. Total number of staff in identifying with each protected characteristic, and same for those undisclosed.

FCA		Overall Rating
Age Brackets		1	2	3	4	5	Grand Total
16-24	Percent of Total	1%	11%	64%	20%	4%	100%
16-24	Number of Employees	2	32	195	62	13	304
25-34	Percent of Total	1%	16%	59%	19%	4%	100%
25-34	Number of Employees	11	224	818	266	60	1,379
35-44	Percent of Total	1%	13%	58%	24%	4%	100%
35-44	Number of Employees	22	204	898	373	63	1,560
45-54	Percent of Total	1%	10%	61%	24%	3%	100%
45-54	Number of Employees	10	115	675	270	38	1,108
55+	Percent of Total	1%	11%	67%	16%	4%	100%
55+	Number of Employees	6	63	371	90	20	550
Grand Total	Percent of Total	1%	13%	60%	22%	4%	100%
Grand Total	Number of Employees	51	638	2,957	1,061	194	4,901

FCA		Overall Rating
Disability		1	2	3	4	5	Grand Total
No	Percent of Total	1%	11%	60%	24%	5%	100%
No	Number of Employees	21	345	1,908	762	146	3,182
Yes	Percent of Total	2%	16%	62%	19%	1%	100%
Yes	Number of Employees	5	45	170	51	4	275
Undisclosed	Percent of Total	2%	17%	61%	17%	3%	100%
Undisclosed	Number of Employees	25	248	879	248	44	1,444
Grand Total	Percent of Total	1%	13%	60%	22%	4%	100%
Grand Total	Number of Employees	51	638	2,957	1,061	194	4,901

FCA		Overall Rating
Ethnicity		1	2	3	4	5	Grand Total
Minority Ethnic	Percent of Total	1%	17%	61%	17%	3%	100%
Minority Ethnic	Number of Employees	23	280	1,000	284	46	1,633
White	Percent of Total	1%	11%	60%	24%	5%	100%
White	Number of Employees	21	296	1,681	683	127	2,808
Undisclosed	Percent of Total	2%	13%	60%	20%	5%	100%
Undisclosed	Number of Employees	7	62	276	94	21	460
Grand Total	Percent of Total	1%	13%	60%	22%	4%	100%
Grand Total	Number of Employees	51	638	2,957	1,061	194	4,901

FCA		Overall Rating
Sex		1	2	3	4	5	Grand Total
Female	Percent of Total	1%	12%	60%	23%	4%	100%
Female	Number of Employees	21	306	1,514	584	95	2,520
Male	Percent of Total	1%	14%	61%	20%	4%	100%
Male	Number of Employees	30	332	1,443	477	99	2,381
Grand Total	Percent of Total	1%	13%	60%	22%	4%	100%
Grand Total	Number of Employees	51	638	2,957	1,061	194	4,901

FCA		Overall Rating
Sexual Orientation		1	2	3		4	5	Grand Total
Gay/Bi/Asexual/ Other	Percent of Total	1%	16%	59%	20%		4%	100%
Gay/Bi/Asexual/ Other	Number of Employees	2	45	165	55		11	278
Heterosexual	Percent of Total	1%	13%	60%	22%		4%	100%
Heterosexual	Number of Employees	37	497	2,210	812		143	3,699
Undisclosed	Percent of Total	1%	10%	63%	21%		4%	100%
Undisclosed	Number of Employees	12	96	582	194		40	924
Grand Total	Percent of Total	1%	13%	60%	22%		4%	100%
Grand Total	Number of Employees	51	638	2,957	1,061		194	4,901

PSR		Overall Rating
Age Brackets		1 & 2	3	4 & 5	Grand Total
16-34	Percent of Total	19%	54%	27%	100%
16-34	Number of Employees	9	26	13	48
35-44	Percent of Total	9%	57%	34%	100%
35-44	Number of Employees	4	27	16	47
45-54	Percent of Total	12%	62%	26%	100%
45-54	Number of Employees	4	21	9	34
55+	Percent of Total	30%	50%	20%	100%
55+	Number of Employees	3	5	2	10
Grand Total	Percent of Total	14%	57%	29%	100%
Grand Total	Number of Employees	20	79	40	139

PSR		Overall Rating
Disability		1 & 2	3	4 & 5	Grand Total
No	Percent of Total	7%	59%	34%	100%
No	Number of Employees	6	49	28	83
Yes	Percent of Total	33%	50%	17%	100%
Yes	Number of Employees	2	3	1	6
Undisclosed	Percent of Total	24%	54%	22%	100%
Undisclosed	Number of Employees	12	27	11	50
Grand Total	Percent of Total	14%	57%	29%	100%
Grand Total	Number of Employees	20	79	40	139

PSR		Overall Rating
Ethnicity		1 & 2	3	4 & 5	Grand Total
Minority Ethnic	Percent of Total	15%	64%	21%	100%
Minority Ethnic	Number of Employees	5	21	7	33
White	Percent of Total	10%	57%	32%	100%
White	Number of Employees	10	55	31	96
Undisclosed	Percent of Total	50%	30%	20%	100%
Undisclosed	Number of Employees	5	3	2	10
Grand Total	Percent of Total	14%	57%	29%	100%
Grand Total	Number of Employees	20	79	40	139

PSR		Overall Rating
Sex		1 & 2	3	4	5	Grand Total
Female	Percent of Total	9%	57%	27%	7%	100%
Female	Number of Employees	6	40	19	5	70
Male	Percent of Total	20%	57%	20%	3%	100%
Male	Number of Employees	14	39	14	2	69
Grand Total	Percent of Total	14%	57%	24%	5%	100%
Grand Total	Number of Employees	20	79	33	7	139

PSR		Overall Rating
Sexual Orientation		1 & 2	3	4	5	Grand Total
Gay/Bi/Asexual/Other	Percent of Total	21%	43%	29%	7%	100%
Gay/Bi/Asexual/Other	Number of Employees	3	6	4	1	14
Heterosexual	Percent of Total	12%	58%	25%	5%	100%
Heterosexual	Number of Employees	12	59	26	5	102
Undisclosed	Percent of Total	22%	61%	13%	4%	100%
Undisclosed	Number of Employees	5	14	3	1	23
Grand Total	Percent of Total	14%	57%	24%	5%	100%
Grand Total	Number of Employees	20	79	33	7	139

2. The distribution of 2024 End of Year performance grades (in absolute numbers and percentages) for part-time staff and for full time staff. Total number of part-time and full-time staff.

FCA		Overall Rating
Time Type		1	2	3	4	5	Grand Total
Full time	Percent of Total	1%	13%	60%	22%	4%	100%
Full time	Number of Employees	48	595	2,641	952	179	4,415
Part time	Percent of Total	1%	9%	65%	22%	3%	100%
Part time	Number of Employees	3	43	316	109	15	486
Grand Total	Percent of Total	1%	13%	60%	22%	4%	100%
Grand Total	Number of Employees	51	638	2,957	1,061	194	4,901

PSR		Overall Rating
Time Type		1 & 2 & 3	4 & 5	Grand Total
Full time	Percent of Total	71%	29%	100%
Full time	Number of Employees	90	36	126
Part time	Percent of Total	69%	31%	100%
Part time	Number of Employees	9	4	13
Grand Total	Percent of Total	71%	29%	100%
Grand Total	Number of Employees	99	40	139

3. The distribution of 2024 End of Year performance grades (in absolute numbers and percentages) for staff new to the organisation (less than one year of service at the time of their 2024 End of Year). Total number of staff new to the organisation within this definition.

FCA Tenure		Overall Rating
		1	2	3	4	5	Grand Total
Less than 1 Year	Percent of Total	1%	25%	61%	11%	1%	100%
Less than 1 Year	Number of Employees	17	290	704	122	14	1147

PSR Tenure		Overall Rating
		1 & 2	3	4 & 5	Grand Total
Less than 1 Year	Percent of Total	24%	51%	25%	100%
Less than 1 Year	Number of Employees	12	26	13	51

4. The absolute number and portion of staff who ‘appealed’ or ‘challenged’ their End of Year performance grades. The absolute number and portion of those staff who appealed or challenged their End of Year performance grades and their appeal/challenge was successful.

There is no formal right of appeal for performance ratings. However, a process is in place for colleagues to raise with their line manager and their line manager concerns about the outcome of their performance review, including how their rating was determined. HR conducts no reviews of the contents of these EOY concern requests. The final decision to change or maintain the performance rating is made within the management line.

FCA

We can confirm that 69 colleagues questioned their end of year performance outcomes in 2024 (1% of total headcount). 20 of these resulted in a change of rating (29%) and 49 resulted in no rating change (71%).

PSR

As advised above, given the small number of concerns raised, we are unable to disclose the requested information as this may result in the identification of specific individuals. For this reason, we consider that the exemption under section 40 of FOIA applies here.

5. The absolute number and portion of staff whose initial End of Year performance grades inputted into WorkDay by their Manager were subsequently changed during moderation. This should be broken down by those moderated up a grade and those moderated down a grade from Manager’s suggested grade, and by protected characteristics in each.

The information requested can be seen in the tables below.

FCA	Calibrated down	%	Calibrated up	%	Not changed	%	Total
Total	187	4%	186	4%	4532	92%	4905


Sex	Calibrated down	%	Calibrated up	%	Not changed	%	Total
Female	87	3%	106	4%	2329	92%	2522
Male	100	4%	80	3%	2203	92%	2383
Ethnicity	Calibrated down	%	Calibrated up	%	Not changed	%	Total
Minority Ethnic	48	3%	73	4%	1531	93%	1652
White	128	5%	92	3%	2593	92%	2813
Undisclosed	11	3%	21	5%	408	93%	440
Disability	Calibrated down	%	Calibrated up	%	Not changed	%	Total
No	129	4%	135	4%	3018	92%	3282
Yes	9	3%	12	4%	283	93%	304
Undisclosed	49	4%	39	3%	1231	93%	1319
Sexual Orientation	Calibrated down	%	Calibrated up	%	Not changed	%	Total
Gay/Bi/Asexual/Oth er	10	3%	13	4%	271	92%	294
Heterosexual	154	4%	145	4%	3441	92%	3740
Undisclosed	23	3%	28	3%	820	94%	871
Age	Calibrated down	%	Calibrated up	%	Not changed	%	Total
Less than 35	66	4%	72	4%	1487	92%	1625
35-44	67	4%	65	4%	1583	92%	1715
45+	54	4%	49	3%	1462	93%	1565

As advised above, some of the PSR related data has been withheld to prevent the identification of specific individuals.

PSR	Calibrated down	%	Calibrated up	%	Not changed	%	Total
Total	1	1%	3	2%	138	97%	142
Sex	Calibrated down	%	Calibrated up	%	Not changed	%	Total
Female	S.40	S.40	1	S.40	69	S.40	S.40
Male	* S.40 *	S.40	2	S.40	69	S.40	S.40
Ethnicity	Calibrated down	%	Calibrated up	%	Not changed	%	Total
Minority Ethnic	S.40	S.40	S.40	S.40	34	S.40	S.40
White	S.40	S.40	S.40	S.40	97	S.40	S.40
Undisclosed	S.40	S.40	S.40	S.40	7	S.40	S.40

Disability	Calibrated down	%	Calibrated up	%	Not changed	%	Total
No	S.40	S.40	S.40	S.40	89	S.40	S.40
Yes	S.40	S.40	S.40	S.40	7	S.40	S.40
Undisclosed	S.40	S.40	* S.40 *	S.40	42	S.40	S.40
Sexual Orientation	Calibrated down	%	Calibrated up	%	Not changed	%	Total
Gay/Bi/Asexual/Other	S.40	S.40	S.40	S.40	89	S.40	S.40
Heterosexual	S.40	S.40	S.40	S.40	7	S.40	S.40
Undisclosed	S.40	S.40	* S.40 *	S.40	42	S.40	S.40
Age	Calibrated down	%	Calibrated up	%	Not changed	%	Total
<35	S.40	S.40	1	S.40	46	S.40	S.40
35-44	S.40	S.40	1	S.40	53	S.40	S.40
45+	S.40	S.40	1	S.40	39	S.40	S.40

6. Number of ‘Performance Improvement Plans’ in place for staff given a performance grade 1 and grade 2 at their 2024 End of Year.

As at 14 June, 22 FCA colleagues were registered as being on active Performance Improvement Plans (PIP). These 22 colleagues all received a 1 or 2 at End-of-Year performance assessment.

As at the same date, due to the low number of PSR colleagues who may or may not be on a PIP we are not able to provide this.

These numbers do not include colleagues who may have been on a PIP prior to 14 June but who have subsequently left. The total number of PIPs may be higher than this as there may be cases where a PIP has been initiated by a line manager, but the line manager has not yet engaged with HR.

Supporting document

FOI11305 Annex B[5]

Date of Release: 12/07/2024

Disability	Calibrated down	%	Calibrated up	%	Not changed	%	Total
No	S.40	S.40	S.40	S.40	89	S.40	S.40
Yes	S.40	S.40	S.40	S.40	7	S.40	S.40
Undisclosed	S.40	S.40	* S.40 *	S.40	42	S.40	S.40
Sexual Orientation	Calibrated down	%	Calibrated up	%	Not changed	%	Total
Gay/Bi/Asexual/Other	S.40	S.40	S.40	S.40	89	S.40	S.40
Heterosexual	S.40	S.40	S.40	S.40	7	S.40	S.40
Undisclosed	S.40	S.40	* S.40 *	S.40	42	S.40	S.40
Age	Calibrated down	%	Calibrated up	%	Not changed	%	Total
<35	S.40	S.40	1	S.40	46	S.40	S.40
35-44	S.40	S.40	1	S.40	53	S.40	S.40
45+	S.40	S.40	1	S.40	39	S.40	S.40

Information on End of Year performance ratings - July 2024