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 approximately 35,000 employees globally. We are committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workforce everywhere we do business.

OUR UK BUSINESS

VF operates two distinct legal entities in the United Kingdom, both with over 250 employees.  The detail in this report covers the gender pay data for each entity: VF Northern Europe Ltd., which is responsible for our UK Wholesale Business, as well as for providing centralized services to the EMEA region; VF Northern Europe Services Ltd., which is responsible for our UK Retail Stores operation.

OUR UK GENDER PAY REPORT

Our UK Gender Pay Report is based on information as of the snapshot date of 5 April 2021.  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 2021, excluding overtime. 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. The bonus gap considers pay received during the 12 months leading up to the snapshot date. 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 1,444 people in the United Kingdom. The employee gender breakdown by business is as follows:

 

VF Northern Europe Ltd.

VF Northern Europe Services Ltd.

Total VF UK

Men

277

43%

417

46%

644

45%

Women

302

57%

494

54%

796

55%

Gender split across our legal entities and amongst our managerial population was stable and in line with the previous year

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

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 in the UK.

MANDATORY REPORTING

COMMENTARY

Gender Pay Gap

In 2021, we had a Mean Gender Pay Gap of 20.8%, which is approximately 5% higher than the UK national average (National UK average is 15.4%, as per the 2021 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics). We continue to improve and close our gender pay gap, achieving a 7% reduction in the gender pay gap over a two-year period (from 27.8% in 2019).

The key findings of the analysis are:

  • Indicators on Gender Pay Gap improved versus 2020, the Mean has decreased by 4%, while the Median by 7%. We have increased the number of women in our middle management levels by 3% and senior management levels by 4%. This had a direct effect on the base pay indicator of our analysis and confirms the increased attention on equal pay and career development for women.
  • The central Shared Services for Credit and Customer Service represent nearly half of the population of VFNE legal entity, which results in approximately 49% of women being part of our middle management population.

Gender Bonus Pay Gap

The Gender Bonus Gap has increased to 53.2% in 2021 versus 26.1% in 2020. This is mainly driven by the decrease in bonus pay-out for one of our female senior management leaders, which affected the overall calculation. Other key insights are:

  • The percentage of female employees achieving a bonus improved slightly from the 15% in 2020 to 17.5%. The Gender Pay Gap Bonus Median has been reduced by 5% vs. 2020, which confirms the improvement on the overall salary equality as well as indicating a stable female managerial representation in this legal entity.
  • Unexpected COVID-19 pandemic had a clear impact on business achievements, resulting in lower bonus pay-out overall. Impact on the female population is mainly driven by one senior management female employee, where the bonus pay-out for 2021 was nearly 81% lower vs. in 2020. Excluding this outlier, the bonus pay-out difference for women would result in 31% Gender Pay Gap bonus mean.

Gender Pay Distribution

The Pay Band Quartile distribution shows more female than male employees in all but the Upper Quartile where the percentage of males in senior manager roles exists. This KPI however improved by three points versus 2020. As an improvement over 2020, the Lower Quartile is much more balanced as the female percentage in this cluster went down by twelve points.

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 continue to have a very low Gender Pay Gap mean with the result of 6.6%, being significantly lower than the UK national average (National UK average was 15.4% as per the 2020 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings: Office for National Statistics). This indicator slightly increased versus 2020, however the Median reached 0.0% this year, confirming the result we expected for our retail workforce. KPIs on Pay Gap continue to show a desirable level of pay equity and fairness across this legal entity.

Gender Bonus Pay Gap

All retail employees are eligible for a bonus based on the performance of the individual store, which was however paused due to pandemic breakout and consequent store closures. This was replaced by a bonus scheme, where all stores worked on a specific KPI, as chosen by each of our Brands. As a result of it, we experienced an increase of women achieving a bonus (95%) in 2021 vs. 2020 (75%).

  • The 37.5% gender bonus pay gap was 7% higher versus 2020, driven by different performance amongst our stores, in particular Vans, which had the highest percentage of female employees, was the brand suffering the most during the pandemic, with direct effect on pay-outs.
  • Amongst all part time employees within the legal entity receiving a bonus, 56% were women and this also played a role in creating the gap, as in the prior year.

Gender Pay Distribution

The Upper Quartile distribution was in line with the previous year confirming the attention to equal pay and opportunities, especially for in-store managerial positions. It is important to highlight that 61% of employees in the Lower Quartile are women, with an increase of four points versus 2020. This is driven by 62% of new hires in staff roles since April 2020 being women. We anticipate that increasing the hiring of women creates a more robust pool of future female managers in our stores, when considering the speed of career progression in retail.

I confirm that the Gender Pay Gap data contained in these reports are accurate and have been prepared in line with the mandatory requirements.