Equality in Employment Monitoring
The Race Relations (Amendment) Act, 2000, placed a statutory duty on local authorities to promote race equality and aim to improve equal opportunities in employment. Under the Act, we are required to carry out monitoring in a number of areas and to publish the results of that monitoring.
In addition, the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 requires all public bodies to gather and monitor information and to use this information, wherever possible, to inform policy and service delivery. In 2006, the Equality Bill introduced the Gender Equality Duty; again duty public bodies are required to gather information in order to set evidence based gender equality objectives and priorities.
Areas Requiring Monitoring
Under the terms of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, we are required to monitor and publish, by reference to racial groups to which they belong, a count of:
-
Staff in post
-
Applicants for employment
-
Applicants for promotion
-
Staff who cease employment with the Council
-
Applicants for training
-
Staff who receive training
-
Staff who are involved in Grievance or Disciplinary Procedures
-
Staff who are the subject of Grievance Procedures
-
Staff who benefit or suffer detriment as a result of its performance assessment procedures
In 2007 the Council invested in a new Human Resources Data Management system in order to increase the Council’s effectiveness in managing a number of process needs relating to our activities as an employer such as payroll and sickness management. It also included arrangements to manage data relevant to our duties under the employment aspects of current equality legislation.
However the knowledge we have relating to the disability and ethnicity is partially dependent upon the accuracy of the original data in our previous HR database and a readiness for new and existing employees to provide this information. A new equality monitoring input form is given to every new employee and regular emailshots to existing staff to encourage completion of the form ‘on-line’ or to complete and send a form for inclusion on the HR database.
Since updating the process we have noticed a significant improvement in terms of employment ratios amongst those forms which are completed. Assuming that there is no probability that the new data is likely to have any bias, this is published alongside the data for the whole workforce.
At the current time the Council is prioritising the collection and accuracy of the ‘percentage in employment’ data and will move forward to collating broader recruitment and human resource data as resources permit.
SNAP Sample Data
|
Disability
|
% of employees
|
|
|
January 2010
|
June 2011*
|
|
Disabled
|
3
|
3
|
|
Not Disabled
|
96.7
|
96.8
|
|
No Reply
|
0.3
|
0.2
|
|
Ethnicity
|
% of employees
|
|
|
January 2010
|
June 2011*
|
|
White British
|
90.4
|
96
|
|
White Irish
|
0.7
|
0.6
|
|
White Other
|
6.4
|
0.2
|
|
White Any other white background
|
n/a
|
1.5
|
|
Mixed White & Black Caribbean
|
0.1
|
0
|
|
Mixed White & Black African
|
0.1
|
0.1
|
|
Mixed White & Asian
|
0.2
|
0.2
|
|
Mixed Other
|
0
|
0.1
|
|
Asian/Asian British Pakistani
|
0.1
|
0
|
|
Asian/Asian British Indian
|
0.3
|
0
|
|
Asian/Asian British Bangladeshi
|
0
|
0
|
|
Asian/Asian British Other
|
0.2
|
0
|
|
Black/Black British Caribbean
|
0
|
0
|
|
Black/Black British African
|
0.1
|
0
|
|
Black/Black British Other
|
0
|
0
|
|
Chinese
|
0
|
0
|
|
Other Ethnic Group
|
0
|
0
|
* Of the 7500 employees in Torfaen 1148 completed the optional questionnaires
Full Workforce Equality Monitoring Data - January 2010
|
Disability
|
% of employees
|
|
Disabled
|
0.61
|
|
Not Disabled
|
14.78
|
|
Not Known
|
84.53
|
|
Ethnicity
|
% of employees
|
|
Asian – Any other Asian background
|
0.15
|
|
Asian – Bangladeshi
|
0.04
|
|
Asian – Indian
|
0.07
|
|
Black or Black British – African
|
0.07
|
|
Black or Black British – Any other Black background
|
0.04
|
|
Black or British Black – Caribbean
|
0.02
|
|
Chinese or other Ethnic Group - Chinese
|
0.02
|
|
Chinese or other Ethnic Group – Other
|
0.07
|
|
Mixed – Any other Mixed background
|
0.06
|
|
Mixed – White and Asian
|
0.09
|
|
Mixed – White and Black Caribbean
|
0.02
|
|
White – Any other White background
|
1.15
|
|
White – British
|
92.57
|
|
White – Irish
|
0.41
|
|
White – Other European
|
0.20
|
|
Preferred not to say
|
4.93
|