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About Briar Chemicals

Briar Chemicals Limited, Norwich, is the UK’s leading agrochemicals CDMO solutions provider and serves the world’s most innovative agrochemicals companies. Briar is an upper tier COMAH site and handles complex chemistries and employs around 260 people. The company operates from a 100-acre well-invested manufacturing site consisting of large-scale reactors, R&D facilities for process development and sufficient available space and infrastructure for future expansion.

At Briar, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace, underpinned by two of our core values: integrity and teamwork. We deliver interactive, in-person training for all employees to build a foundational understanding of discrimination law. Additionally, we offer enhanced training for managers to strengthen their understanding of legal responsibilities and best practice, as well as giving managers a framework for managing equality, diversity, and inclusion.

Gender Pay Gap Reporting

Organisations with 250 or more employees are legally required to publish data on the difference in average pay and bonuses between all male and female employees, regardless of their role or level of seniority at a specified point in time. Employers must report across six defined metrics.

  • mean (average) gender pay gap – the difference between the mean hourly rate of pay of male full pay relevant employees and that of female full pay relevant employees
  • median (mid-point) gender pay gap – the difference between the median hourly rate of pay of male full pay relevant employees and that of female full pay relevant employees
  • mean (average) gender bonus gap – the difference between the mean bonus pay paid to male relevant employees and that of female relevant employees
  • median (mid-point) gender bonus gap – the difference between the median bonus pay paid to male relevant employees and that of female relevant employees
  • percentage of relevant men and women receiving bonus pay
  • quartile pay bands – the proportions of male and female full pay relevant employees in the lower, lower-middle, upper-middle and upper quartile bands

Gender pay should not be confused with Equal pay, which specifically means paying men and women the same for performing the same or equivalent work.

Gender Pay Gap Figures

Briar Chemicals annual gender pay gap report for the snapshot date of 5 April 2025. At the snapshot date there were 255 people within our workforce; 225 men (88.23%) and 30 women (11.76%).

 

The mean gender pay gap means that for every £1 a man received, a woman received 81.4p.
The median gender pay gap means that for every £1 a man received, a woman received 81p.

The proportion of employees receiving a bonus:

 

No Company Performance bonuses were paid during this period.

Bonus for the purposes of this report can relate to any rewards related to productivity, performance, incentive, commission and long service awards.

Pay quartiles by gender

This table shows our workforce divided into four equal-sized groups based on hourly pay rate. Band A includes the lowest-paid 25% of employees (the lower quartile) and band D covers the highest-paid 25% (the upper quartile).

Why do we have a gender pay gap?

By law, men and women are entitled to receive equal pay for:

  • the same or broadly similar work;
  • work rated as equivalent under a job evaluation scheme; or
  • work of equal value.

It is our policy at Briar Chemicals to provide equality of opportunities and fairness to our workers, regardless of gender, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, ethnic origin, colour, nationality, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, age, having ‘spent convictions’, physical characteristics or appearance.

We have a clear policy of paying employees equally for the same or equivalent work, regardless of their sex (or anything else listed above).

We:

  • carry out regular reviews of pay, benefits and terms and conditions in line with market and internal benchmarks with the aim of addressing any unjustifiable inequalities;
  • provide equal access to promotion and transfer opportunities, with new roles advertised visibly to all internal staff;

We are confident that our gender pay gap is not a result of paying men and women differently for the same or equivalent work.  Rather our gap arises because men and women tend to occupy different roles which attract different salaries.  Additionally many of the roles occupied by men at Briar Chemicals qualify for shift enhancements due to unsocial hours working which contributes to the overall pay differences.

Across the UK economy, men are more likely than women to be in senior leadership and management positions which typically are paid more highly than other roles at similar levels of seniority. At Briar Chemicals, women comprise just under 12% of the workforce as of the snapshot date, and we currently have fewer women in senior roles which attract higher remuneration.

What are we doing to address our gender pay gap?

Over the next year, we will continue to take meaningful steps to promote equity and inclusion across our organisation. However, we also recognise this is a difficult task. For example, we have no control over what people choose to study or the career choices that they make.

  • Our focus will be on actions that reflect our values and drive long-term, sustainable change: Deepen our engagement with educational institutions to champion STEM subjects, and broaden awareness of the diverse career paths available in STEM industries. We aim to inspire future and challenge outdated stereotypes.
  • Ensure our policies remain inclusive and equitable by conducting regular reviews and making adjustments where needed to support all employees.
  • Review family-friendly working practices to identify and remove any unintended barriers that may limit access to roles with enhanced pay or progression opportunities.
  • Strengthen our recruitment practices by actively addressing unconscious bias and ensuring fair, merit-based decision making. We are committed to reflecting diversity of the communities we serve.
  • Continue improving our communication and marketing materials to ensure they reflect and celebrate inclusivity. This includes continuing our newly launched Briar Bulletin, which highlights company achievements, celebrates our people, and fosters a sense of belonging across the organisation.
  • Expand our learning and development offering with new training modules focused on equality, diversity, and inclusion, accessible to all employees.
  • Monitor gender representation across key stages of the employee journey — recruitment, development, and turnover — to better understand:
    • Who is applying for and being hired into roles
    • Who is seeking and receiving promotions
    • Who is leaving the organisation and why

We recognise that no single initiative will eliminate the gender pay gap, and some actions may take time to show measurable impact. We remain committed to regularly reviewing our progress, assessing the effectiveness of our initiatives, and adapting our approach where needed.

Declaration

I confirm that the information and data in this statement is accurate and calculated according to the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017.

 

Signed                                                                                     Chris Fazekas

Date    12/12/2025

 

Briar Chemicals Gender Pay Gap Report 2025