Workforce performance and what this means for our communities
We value our workforce immensely; they are our greatest asset and essential in providing high-quality services to our patients and their carers. We know that when staff are more engaged, there is evidence of better patient care and higher levels of patient satisfaction.
Over the last few years, we have seen our vacancy rate improve alongside our staff engagement and experience. Through this, we have significantly reduced our staff turnover.
This section provides an overview of our workforce during the reporting period.
Permanent workforce breakdown by staff group
This table demonstrates the average Whole-time Equivalent (WTE) of substantive/permanent staff.
Permanent workforce breakdown by gender
Permanent workforce breakdown by pay band
We regularly monitor key performance workforce measures, which are also included in reports to the Board’s workforce committee and to the Board itself.
Workforce Performance Summary
Key workforce performance indicators
Our overall workforce performance has improved in this financial year, with the exception of supervision and appraisals, which has led to a review of our appraisal and supervision process.
Vacancy Rate: The vacancy rate has continued to reduce as a result of volume recruitment and community recruitment events, despite the organisation’s establishment growing. The vacancy rate is now below the 15% upper threshold (target), and the Trust has now set a stretch target of 13% for 2025/26. As a result of the vacancy rate reduction, turnover has also reduced, stabilising the workforce and improving overall engagement, as seen in our recent staff survey results.
Bank and agency bookings: the bank bookings and shifts worked have increased year on year, and 2024/25 saw a further increase in our overall bank rates, correlating with the reduction in agency. There was a significant reduction in our agency fill rate from the previous financial year, which is in line with our aim to reduce our overall agency spending against the NHS target.
Sickness rate: the average sickness rate for 2024/25 of 4.47% is RAG rated red at 0.97 percentage points above a target of 3.5%. However, our sickness rate is below both national (5.20%) and London (4.60%) mental health benchmarks. The sickness rate is highly seasonal, and this winter the Trust’s sickness rate was below the previous winter (4.86% during winter 2024/25 compared to 5.07% during winter 2023/24, against the 5-year average of 5.09%).
Turnover rate: Staff turnover fell from 13.1% at the start of 2023/24, and has averaged at 11.99% at the end of the 2024/25 financial year, which is 3.01 % percentage points below the Trust’s target and upper threshold tolerance limit of 15%. As a result of this performance, the Trust has adopted a stretch upper threshold target of 13% going forward.
Statutory and Mandatory Training: Staff Mandatory and Statutory Training (MAST) compliance showed a positive trend until December 2024 and decreased towards the end of the financial year. The decrease appears more prominent in the MAST 95% course data. This coincides with the introduction of revised audiences for multiple subjects, which added new training requirements for some staff. New subjects have been included in the data throughout the year, including Health and Safety Training for Managers and Paediatric Early Warning System (PEWS), which may have impacted compliance.
Staff Supervision: The Trust saw a mean performance at 81.62% against the 85% supervision target, just under 3.38 percentage points below the Trust's overall target.
Performance Appraisal Development Review (PADR): The Trust remains committed to the use of PADRs as a management tool. Good quality appraisal and personal development planning is linked to excellence of service delivery, higher staff engagement and better staff wellbeing, enabling excellent care to our patients. The Trust saw a reduction in PADR compliance of 3.43 percentage points in 2024/25 against the previous year’s performance of 95%. The Trust is carrying out a review of the PADR form and season to ensure the process is easier to complete, whilst still focusing on the quality of the discussion between manager and employee.
Workforce Equality Standards: Race (WRES) and Disability (WDES)
NHS Mandatory Workforce Equality Standards
The Trust submitted the WRES (Workforce Race Equality Standard) and WDES (Workforce Disability Equality Standard) data by 31 May 2024 as mandated by NHSE. The Trust also published our WRES & WDES action plans and reports by the 31 October 2024 deadline.
To increase accessibility to our data and drive improvements within the Trust, we have published our first ever WRES and WDES infographics posters reflecting our results in comparison to the previous year.
The EDI Team is supporting service lines in embedding EDI goals based on WRES and WDES action needs, NHS High Impact Assessment, and staff survey results.
Further information about our work around workforce EDI and reducing health inequalities see Better Care and Great Place to Work sections.
Workforce Disability Equality
The Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES) is a national NHS framework made up of 10 indicators that help NHS organisations measure and improve the experiences of disabled staff. These indicators are designed to compare the workplace experiences and career progression of disabled and non-disabled staff, enabling organisations to identify gaps and take targeted action to address them.
The Trust remains firmly committed to advancing disability equality and continues to use the Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES) to identify and address the barriers faced by disabled staff, ensuring a more inclusive and supportive working environment for all.
WDES (Workforce Disability Equality Standard) - Staff survey results 2024 (staff with disabilities)
· Indicator 4ai: Percentage of staff experiencing harassment, bullying, or abuse from patients, relatives pr the public in the last 12 months: Decreased by 1.3 percentage points (31.5%)
· Indicator 4aii: Percentage of staff experiencing harassment, bullying, or abuse from managers in the last 12 months: Increased by one percentage point (14.7%)
· Indicator 4aiii: Percentage of staff experiencing harassment, bullying, or abuse from colleagues in the last 12 months: Decreased by 4.2 percentage points (18.3%)
· Indicator 4b: Percentage of staff experiencing harassment, bullying, or abuse at work and they, or colleagues, reported it: Decreased by 3.4 percentage points (53.7%)
· Indicator 5: Percentage believing Trust provides equal opportunities for career progression or promotion: increased by 1.4 percentage points (44%)
· Indicator 6: Percentage of staff saying they felt pressure from their manager to come to work, despite not feeling well: Increased by 2.7 percentage points (21%)
· Indicator 7: Percentage of staff satisfied with the extent to which the organization values their work: Remained the same (45.7 %)
· Indicator 8: Percentage of staff with a long-lasting health condition or illness saying their employer has made reasonable adjustment(s) to enable them to carry out their work: Decreased by 1.6 percentage points (77.7%)
· Indicator 9a: The staff engagement score for staff with LTC vs staff without LTC or illness remained the same
Workforce Race Equality
The Trust is committed to anti-racism and tackling race inequality and uses the Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) as a vital tool to monitor and improve the workplace experiences of Black and ethnic Minorities staff. WRES includes nine indicators covering areas such as representation across pay bands, recruitment, access to training, disciplinary processes, and staff experience, drawing on both workforce data and the NHS Staff Survey. By comparing the experiences of Black and Ethnic Minorities and White staff, WRES enables the Trust to identify disparities, take targeted action, and track progress over time. It forms a key part of our broader work on anti-racism, equity, and the implementation of the Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework (PCREF).
WRES - Staff survey results 2024 (Black and Ethnic Minorities staff)
· Indicator 5: Percentage of staff experiencing harassment, bullying, or abuse from patients, relatives, or the public in the last 12 months: Similar to last year (32.7%)
· Indicator 6: Percentage of staff experiencing harassment, bullying, or abuse from staff in the last 12 months: Increased by 1.2 percentage point (22%)
· Indicator 7: Percentage believing Trust provides equal opportunities for career progression or promotion: Increased by 4.7 percentage points (47%)
· Indicator 8: Experiencing discrimination at work from manager/team leader or colleague in the last 12 months: Similar to last year (14.1%)
Pay Gap reporting
Gender
The Trust published its Gender Pay Gap Report in March 2025. The key points are:
· The mean hourly pay for Male staff is £1.41 higher than that of Female staff, which is a gap of 5.55%.
· Male staff median pay is equal to that of Female staff, which is a gap of 0.00%.
There has been a small decrease in the gap in mean average pay between male and female staff from the previous year and a significant decrease in median average pay between male and female staff from the previous year .
Between 2023 and 2024, there has been a slight increase in female representation in the upper, upper-middle, and lower-middle pay quartiles, indicating a positive shift toward gender balance in higher pay brackets .
Following the 31st of March 2025 deadline an analysis will be undertaken to compare SWLSTG Gender Pay Gap metrics against other NHS Trusts, together with actioning and delivering the suggested high impact actions to ensure fair pau practices across all levels of our organisation.
Ethnicity
The Trust published its Ethnicity Pay Gap Report in March 2025. The 2023/24 figures reveal a persistent gap: on average, white employees earned £3.64 per hour more than their Black and Ethnic Minority colleagues.
Over time, this gap has fluctuated. The mean hourly rate for White employees is £4.76 higher than that of Black and Ethnic Minority employees, which is a gap of 17.48%, and the median pay for White employees is £6.01 higher than that of Black and Ethnic Minority employees, which is a gap of 23.32%.
The Trust is committed to addressing the ethnicity pay gap. Recognising the importance of equity and inclusion, we are implementing a comprehensive strategy to ensure fair pay practices across all levels of our organisation.