Fair and Equitable Pay Practices

The UK real Living Wage

We were proud to be the first luxury retailer and manufacturer to achieve accreditation as a UK real Living Wage employer by the Living Wage Foundation and are dedicated to the promotion and adoption of the UK real Living Wage within our own operations. 

In April 2024, we implemented a pay increase of 12% for approximately 1,000 colleagues in the UK. This increase was above the recommended 10% real Living Wage increase. 

We are also dedicated to the promotion and adoption of the UK real Living Wage across our supply chain. Our longest-standing supplier, Johnstons of Elgin, the manufacturer of Burberry’s Heritage Cashmere Scarves, also holds the Living Wage Employer accreditation. 

Gender and ethnicity pay gap reporting

Since 2017, the UK government has required public and private sector employers with 250 or more employees to publish key data on the gender pay gap in their UK businesses. We have reported gender pay gap figures annually in that period for our UK employee population, which makes up about a third of our global workforce.

In our latest report, we have also continued to voluntarily disclose ethnicity pay and bonus gap data, reflecting our commitment to transparency and to creating lasting change by continually monitoring our progress.

The gender pay gap is the difference in average hourly pay between men and women, or white and ethnically diverse colleagues, across the entire organisation. This is expressed as a percentage of men’s or white colleagues’ earnings and provides a basic overview of the pay gap balance in the organisation.

The gender and ethnicity pay gaps are distinct from equal pay, which is a comparison of the pay of men and women carrying out the same or equivalent roles. 

Monitoring progress

As we strive to positively impact our pay gaps, we will continue to focus our efforts on creating opportunities for growth and monitoring our progress with the support of industry reports and benchmarks. This includes the FTSE Women Leaders Review, which recognised Burberry for the seventh consecutive year as a top performer for women in leadership, and the Investing in Ethnicity Maturity Matrix, for which we were rated a Level 2 Star Employer for demonstrating our commitment to creating a more inclusive and equitable workplace for colleagues of diverse ethnic backgrounds.

Since the reporting period, we have continued to create a culture of inclusion and belonging by further embedding and developing our ongoing initiatives, including driving data disclosure, diversifying hiring practices and providing open forums for communication. Looking forward, we plan to build on our ongoing efforts by:

• Conducting more detailed analysis of our increased diversity information to further understand the gaps and identify opportunities.
• Reviewing both our talent review and performance processes to ensure that they are enhanced by quality conversations, centre on unlocking the potential of our people, and support personal as well as professional development.
• Introducing a refreshed development offering for our leaders and line managers that equips them with the knowledge, skills and tools to succeed and lead with impact. Inclusivity practices and mindsets are woven into the frameworks, alongside a specific focus on how line managers can create a team culture of respect, trust and psychological safety.
• Building on our suite of independent learning for all colleagues with Go1, a digital learning programme that provides on-demand access to a broad spectrum of upskilling resources.
• Reuniting our corporate teams under one roof at our newly renovated London headquarters, Horseferry House. Redesigned to better suit the evolving needs of our colleagues, our new office features a range of inclusive spaces including dedicated rooms for wellbeing, quiet, multifaith practice and parenting.

For further information for how we create a culture of inclusion and belonging through our ongoing initiatives, please see page 17 of our 2024/2025 Gender and Ethnicity Pay Gap report here.