VF Corporation is a global leader in branded lifestyle apparel, footwear and accessories, engaging in the design, production, procurement, marketing, and distribution of branded products in the Americas, Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA), and Asia Pacific (APAC) regions with more than 50,000 employees worldwide. We are committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workforce everywhere we do business.

OUR UK BUSINESS

VF operates three distinct legal entities in the United Kingdom, each with over 250 employees. The detail in this report covers the gender pay data for each entity: VF Northern Europe Services Ltd., which is responsible for our UK Retail Stores operation; VF Northern Europe Ltd., which is responsible for our UK Wholesale Business, as well as for providing centralized services to the EMEA region; and, Williamson-Dickie, a global workwear company, which operates in the UK through its legal entity Williamson-Dickie Europe Ltd. Williamson-Dickie was acquired by VF on October 2, 2017; however, we intend to complete the full business closure across EMEA by the 31st of March 2021.

OUR UK GENDER PAY REPORT

Our UK Gender Pay Report is based on information as of 5 April 2020. We have used the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) and Government Equalities Office (GEO) Guidance on Gender Pay Reporting to calculate the data we are required to report on for each separate entity. The mean and median gender pay gap is calculated based on the hourly rate of the payments received in the month of April, excluding overtime. The bonus gap considers pay received during the 12 months leading up to the snapshot date. The mean result is the average hourly rate of all male employees versus the average hourly rate of all female employees. The median result is the middle value of pay for men versus the middle value of pay for women. A positive figure would show where women received lower rates than men and a negative figure would show where women received higher rates than men.

As of the snapshot date, VF employed 1,906 people in the United Kingdom. The employee gender breakdown by business is as follows:

 

VF Northern Europe Services Ltd.

VF Northern Europe Ltd.

Williamson-Dickie Europe Ltd.

Total VF UK

Men

544

46%

199

42%

132

51%

875

46%

Women

628

54%

277

58%

126

59%

1031

54%


Overall, for 2020, VF had 8% more female employees in the UK than male employees. This represents a 2% increase in female employees and corresponding 2% decrease in male employees as compared to what was reported in 2019.

The required reporting by legal entity is contained in the following pages.

VF NORTHERN EUROPE SERVICES LTD.  

VF Northern Europe Services LTD. is the legal entity that operates our Retail business in the UK. It includes all store employees, plus field management and supporting human resources roles.

MANDATORY REPORTING

 

COMMENTARY

Gender Pay Gap

We saw a small gender pay gap of about 4.8%, significantly lower than the UK average (National UK average was 19.6% as per the 2020 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings: Office for National Statistics). While much improved and lower than the 8% we saw in 2019, this low result was expected as jobs in our retail business tend to be homogeneous, and our aim continues to be to pay people equally for the same job.

Gender Bonus Pay Gap

All retail employees are eligible for a bonus based on the performance of the individual store. The 30.4% gender bonus pay gap was mostly driven by brand based performance differentiation as well as the gender make-up of our part-time employee population.

  • We saw significant performance-based incentive payout differences amongst our individual brands. Many of our brands, which typically have a higher proportion of male employees, overperformed their targets and thus were paid higher bonuses.
  • We have a slightly higher proportion of women in part-time roles among those that received a bonus payout. When bonuses are paid to part-time employees, they are pro-rated to reflect reduced hours. This is not recognized in the bonus pay gap calculation.

Gender Pay Distribution

We aim to pay our employees, regardless of gender, equally for doing equivalent jobs. The relatively small proportional differences seen through most of the Pay Band Quartile distribution results support the success of this effort. We will continue to monitor the number of female employees in store management positions to ensure they are given opportunities for the upper-level positions.

VF NORTHERN EUROPE LTD.

VF Northern Europe Ltd. is the legal entity that operates our direct wholesale business in the UK, as well as provides centralized services across EMEA in Customer Service and Credit. It also provides HR and Finance services to two of our legal entities in the UK.

MANDATORY REPORTING

COMMENTARY

Gender Pay Gap

We saw a mean gender pay gap of 24.9% that was five points higher than the UK average (National UK average was 19.6% as per the 2020 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings: Office for National Statistics) but also three points improved and lower than in 2019. Taking into consideration 95% of the population which is below the most senior levels of management, the mean gender gap is 22% which is slightly above the national average.

The overall result is impacted by these key factors:

  • We continue to see that our legacy businesses have fewer women than men in our more senior roles, particularly the technical functions of IT, Finance and Sales, and in the higher paying direct sales groups. The business took steps in 2019 to improve maternity leave benefits effective in 2020 for females by increasing from 6 weeks of 90% paid leave/33 weeks statutory paid leave/13 weeks unpaid leave to 16 weeks of 100% paid leave/10 weeks of 50% paid leave/13 weeks statutory/13 weeks unpaid. We believe this will make the business more attractive to female recruits.
  • The relocation to the UK of our central Shared Services for Credit and Customer Service during 2018 continues to contribute to the addition of younger employees, mostly female, in lower paying positions.

Gender Bonus Pay Gap

The gender bonus pay gap increased to 26.1% (versus -7% in 2019). The increase is driven by bonus payout for performance in 2018 both for men and women due to a change in the company’s fiscal year and bonus payment timing.

  • Although half as many females as males received bonuses, the performance awards paid to males, driven by brand and individual performance was higher than those paid to females for the same period.
  • We saw significant performance-based incentive payout differences amongst our individual brands. Many of the brands, which typically have more male employees at senior leadership levels and thus paid higher bonuses.

Gender Pay Distribution

We aim to pay our employees, regardless of gender, equally for doing equivalent jobs. The Pay Band Quartile distribution shows more female than male employees in all but the Upper Quartile. This is not an unexpected result based on the previous commentary regarding the demographic make-up of our legacy businesses. The percentage of Females in the Upper Quartile decreased by 1%, the percentage of Females in the Upper-Middle Quartile increased by 5%. The percentage of females in the Lower-Middle decreased by 7% and respectively increased by 9% in Lower quartiles.

WILLIAMSON-DICKIE EUROPE LTD.

Williamson-Dickie Europe LTD. is the legal entity of Williamson-Dickie that operates in the UK and is responsible for all store employees, field management and supporting operations.   

MANDATORY REPORTING

COMMENTARY 

Gender Pay Gap

We see a mean gender pay gap of 22.8% which is 3 points above the UK National Average, is disproportionately impacted by one highly paid individual in a senior management position that has broader EMEA regional reach. Excluding that individual, the mean pay gap would be reduced to 10.7%.

We continue to see that our businesses have fewer women than men in our more senior roles, particularly the technical functions of IT, and in the higher paying sales groups. The results are also impacted by mostly female in lower paying positions in Customer Services and Retail.

Gender Bonus Pay Gap

Unlike the gender pay gap, the gender bonus gap of 53% is significantly lower than the 82% reported for 2018. And, looking at the Median Bonus Gap Figure of 10.7% more accurately reflects results and demonstrates the general efforts of the company to strive for gender parity. We have seen changes in bonus following VF’s acquisition of Williamson-Dickie due to changes in positions, restructuring and various individual situations creating employee base fluctuation.

Gender Pay Distribution

We continue to see some changes in the Pay Band Quartiles for 2020 following VF’s acquisition of Williamson- Dickie in 2017 as new positions, restructuring and various individual situations have created employee base fluctuations, as stated above. Also, the upper quartile results are impacted by lower number of females in Sales Representative and IT roles which typically have lower number of female applicants at recruitment as mentioned earlier in the report.

I confirm that the gender pay gap data contained in these reports are accurate and have been prepared in line with the mandatory requirements.