The UK gender pay gap, 2025–26
What 11,198 employers with 250 or more staff reported for 2025–26, the latest complete reporting year. Each employer counts once, whatever its size.
- Median employer gap
- 8.0%
- Pay men more at the median
- 78%
- Change since 2024–25
- −0.4 pts
Half of employers reported a median hourly pay gap of 8.0% or more. 78% pay men more at the median, 14% pay women more, and 9% reported no gap. For 2024–25, the median was 8.4%.
Where employers sit
Employers by median hourly pay gap, in 5-point ranges, 2025–26
Women earn more at the medianMen earn more at the median
By sector
All sectorsMedian of employers’ gaps in each sector, 2025–26
By workforce size
Size band from each employer’s latest filing, 2025–26
| Employees | Employers | Median gap | Pay men more |
|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 250 | 449 | 5.3% | 69% |
| 250 to 499 | 4,815 | 8.8% | 77% |
| 500 to 999 | 2,876 | 9.0% | 77% |
| 1,000 to 4,999 | 2,444 | 7.1% | 79% |
| 5,000 to 19,999 | 547 | 6.4% | 83% |
| 20,000 or more | 67 | 5.0% | 84% |
Employers with fewer than 250 staff are not required to report; those shown here reported anyway.
Over time
Median employer gap each year, 2017–18 to 2025–26
About these figures
- This is not the ONS figure for the UK. The ONS gender pay gap is measured across all employees’ jobs, from its Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. This page summarises what individual employers reported, each counting once.
- Employers with 250 or more staff report a snapshot of pay: 31 March for public bodies, 5 April for businesses and charities.
- Figures outside −100% to +100% are treated as reporting errors and left out, as are archived records withdrawn from the government data.
- A pay gap is not the same as unequal pay. It compares the middle of men’s and women’s pay across a whole workforce, so it mostly reflects who holds which jobs.