Agenda item

The Forum received the Annual Equality Monitoring report of the Director of Human Resources and Organisation Development, which set out data presented by protected characteristics and related to a range of employment matters.

Following a brief overview of the report, Members made the following comments:

·                     it was useful to see data regarding the Council’s workforce profile, however, it was difficult for Members to take a view on raw data presented without analysis or commentary.  In the future, it would be more helpful to consider the raw data and commentary together in a single combined report.  An officer undertook to ensure this would be done in the future;

·                     it was of concern that the ‘top table’ at the Council was currently composed of white, middle-aged men.  The Council’s senior management team should be more representative and should contain women and BME (black and minority ethnic) staff.

A Member raised a point of order in relation to comments made by another Member with regard to confidential and exempt information relating to a meeting of the Chief Officers’ Employment Panel.  The point of order was upheld by the Chair.

A Representative stated that it was important to capture data relating to employees’ disabilities, religion and sexual orientation in order to identify if there was any discrimination against these groups.  He also queried the accuracy of some of the data contained in the report, stating that the option ‘prefer not to say’ relating to sexual orientation had only be introduced in 2015, whereas this option had been included in the monitoring data for 2014.

An officer undertook to look into the above query from the Representative and made the following points:

·                     some data had been omitted from the report in order to maintain confidentiality, particularly where the number of responses had been low.  For example, if there were 3 dismissals under the capability process, where one of the employees had been identified as Zoroastrian, then this may reveal the individual’s identity;

·                     in completing the monitoring forms, staff may choose not to reveal a disability for different reasons, for example, they may not consider themselves to be disabled or the disability may not impact on the individual’s ability to do their job;

·                     the Council was taking action to encourage as many staff as possible to complete the monitoring forms as fully as possible.

A Member stated that the data showed a discrepancy between the pay grades of BME and white employees and this figure seemed to be more unequal at higher grades. It was important that this issue be fully investigated.  In the future, it would be useful have data regarding the relationship between conduct and capability procedures in relation to pay bands.

An officer advised that the report which would be submitted to the Forum in January 2016 would contain disability data according to departments.  The Council was working closely with the Harrow Association of Disabled People to provide disability awareness sessions for staff and working towards a culture change, so that staff would feel comfortable and safe to declare disabilities on the monitoring forms. 

A Representative stated that previous equalities monitoring reports had shown pay bands in relation to the use of the Capability procedure.  This procedure should provide support to those employees with long-term conditions and the Council should make reasonable adjustments in these employees’  working environments to enable them to continue working.

The Chair stated that a number of concerns had been highlighted regarding the lack of female and BME staff at senior levels and this would require further investigation and the implementation of measures  to ensure that the Council was more representative.

A Representative stated that at the recent meeting of the Employees Consultative Forum Sub-group it had been agreed to look into mitigation agreement in relation to cases where the Capability procedure should have been initiated but where this had not been done.

RESOLVED:  That the report be noted.