Hackney Council is facing challenges in collecting comprehensive data for its disability pay gap, a report presented to the Corporate Committee has revealed. The council has achieved high disclosure rates for gender (100%), but the rate for disability status stands at 87.06%, with 11.81% of responses marked as Not Specified.
This data deficit means that any formal analysis of a disability pay gap would lack statistical validity.
The report, which was deferred for further discussion, highlighted that the council is committed to enhancing workforce equality disclosure data across all protected characteristics. However, disability constitutes the most prominent data deficit. The primary reasons behind the 11.81% of employees marking their disability status as 'Not Specified' are not explicitly detailed, but building greater organisational trust is crucial to achieving higher disclosure rates. This is particularly relevant in light of recent guidance regarding single-sex spaces, which may understandably make gender-diverse employees wary of disclosure.
Disclosure rates for other protected characteristics, such as Sexual Orientation (82.06%) and Religion (78.51%), also remain comparatively lower than for Gender and Ethnicity.
To address the lower disclosure rates for disability, the council is undertaking a collaborative personal data update initiative alongside staff networks and trade unions to foster an environment characterised by trust, thereby encouraging enhanced self-disclosure while maintaining strict adherence to data protection statutes.
A strategic and targeted campaign is currently being implemented to facilitate the updating of personal records and address identified data gaps.
The report can be found in the Public reports pack Monday 14-Sep-2026 18.30 Corporate Committee.