Gender Pay Gap Report 2025
Narrative Explanation
At Holfeld Plastics Ltd T/A Waddington Europe Arklow, we are committed to ensuring equal pay for equal work. All employees performing the same role receive the same rate of pay, regardless of gender. Our pay structures are transparent, role-based, and regularly reviewed to ensure fairness.
Our reported gender pay gap figures may suggest a disparity, but this is not due to unequal pay practices. Instead, the gap arises from the gender distribution across different roles within our organisation.
While we employ more men than women overall, women are more highly represented in our senior leadership and office-based roles versus the Irish workforce demographic, which is among the highest-paid positions in the company. Conversely, a larger proportion of male employees work in operational roles, which may have different pay structures and higher
turnover. The Quartile data shows extremely low female representation across all quartiles, although the majority of our female roles are office-based, many are lower paid than our technical and managerial operations roles that are held by men. The mean bonus gap is influenced by a small number of higher-value bonuses awarded to male employees in operational leadership roles.
Although this report focuses on our Irish site in Arklow, Holfeld Plastics Ltd T/A Waddington Europe operates across both Ireland and the UK. We are proud to note that 66% of our directors are female, reflecting our strong commitment to gender diversity at the highest levels of leadership. Our office-based staff, many of whom hold multi-tasking roles that span both the UK and Irish operations, are predominantly women and occupy some of the most senior and well-remunerated positions in the business.
Understanding the Gap
The gender pay gap in our report reflects:
- Role distribution: Women are more likely to hold senior and office-based roles, while men are more represented in operational roles.
- Workforce composition: Although men make up the majority of our workforce, the concentration of women in higher-paid roles influences the overall averages.
- Statistical limitations: The methodology does not account for pay equity within roles and therefore may misrepresent organisations with gender-skewed role distributions.
Actions We Are Taking
Although we do not have a pay equity issue, we remain committed to fostering a balanced and inclusive workplace. Our ongoing actions include:
- Role-based pay audits: Continuing to monitor and validate that all roles are paid equitably across genders.
- Inclusive career development: Supporting all employees in progressing into senior roles, with a focus on maintaining strong female representation in leadership.
- Operational role engagement: Exploring ways to encourage broader gender representation in operational roles.
- Transparent reporting: Providing context alongside our statutory reporting to ensure stakeholders understand the true drivers of our gender pay gap figures.
- Shift structures: We are committed to introducing new shift patterns and flexible ways of working to encourage more part-time and temporary workers, which may appeal more to the female demographic. We do not currently have temporary workers, so these are not included in our metrics.
We are proud of our progress and remain dedicated to promoting fairness, transparency, and opportunity for all.
Value
Mean Gender Pay Gap
1.47
Median Gender Pay Gap
18.47
Mean Bonus Pay Gap
27.25
Median Bonus Pay Gap
6.46
Mean Part-Time Pay Gap
18
Medium Part-Time Pay Gap
18
% of Males Receiving Bonus
90
% of Females Receiving Bonus
86.97
% of Males Receiving Benefits-in-Kind
90
% of Females Receiving Benefits-in-Kind
86.97
Quartile
Male (%)
Female (%)
Upper Quartile
81
19
Upper-Middle Quartile
90
10
Lower-Middle Quartile
75
25
Lower Quartile
80
20
Optional Statistics
Male (%)
Female (%)
Males versus Females overall
81
19
Males/Females in Office Roles versus Total Heads
65
35
Males versus Females in Office Roles
50
50
Males versus Females in Factory Roles
86
14
Summary
Our gender pay gap figures reflect the structural composition of our workforce rather than unequal pay practices. With a higher proportion of men in operational roles and women in office-based and leadership positions, the reported metrics are shaped by role distribution and demographic patterns.
We remain committed to transparency, fairness, and continuous improvement, and we will continue to monitor and evolve our practices to support an inclusive and equitable workplace for all.