Example of an Equality Action Plan

Managing equality is as important for (Name of Business) as any other management task. The (state position in company) is responsible for the duties listed below.

He/she will collect equality monitoring data from existing employees, and future job applicants, review the information on an annual basis, and propose solutions to resolve any imbalances identified – liaising with other staff to implement them. She/he will also produce and disseminate the annual Equality Report which results from the annual policy and action plan review.

All staff are provided with a copy of the Equality Policy and the current Equality Action Plan when they start working with the company. The staff induction programme includes training to explain how the company operates with regard to equality, what is expected of employees, and how to deal with any equality issues they feel uncomfortable about. The latter is generally facilitated during a confidential meeting with their manager, or, in extreme cases, directly through the company’s Grievance Policy.

With the goal of employing a workforce which reflects the social background of the local population, all staff are asked to complete an equality monitoring form annually.

Equality Monitoring Form All information provided will be treated as confidential, and remains anonymous Results will be compared with statistics available on ‘neighbourhood statistics’ presented on the website www.statistics.gov.uk/STATBASE
What gender are you?
In which year were you born?
What is your ethnic background?
If you consider yourself to have a disability, what is it?
If you require any special equipment to help you perform your duties, list it here.
What is your job title?
What grade do you hold?
How many hours do you work each week?

Collated results are available on the internal Information Management System, and comments are invited. The current Equality Action Plan will be updated, and action taken to resolve any imbalances identified. A staff meeting will be held to discuss these issues.


Summary of Equality Manager’s Duties

Task	End date	Follow-Up Action
Monitoring forms during selection procedure	On receipt of applications. Equality monitoring forms are included in recruitment packs, but not attached to the other documents	Collate applicant’s monitoring forms to check range of candidates. Consider future recruitment practice
Induction: Equality training	When new member of staff joins the company
If appropriate, participate in the Equality and Diversity Working group	Quarterly meetings	Ensure minutes circulated, actions planned, and date for next meeting is set
Deal with any equality-related grievances	As soon as issues arise	Ensure matter satisfactorily resolved
Distribute annual monitoring forms	30th April	Remind tardy employees why response is important
Collate results	Mid May
Comparison with regional statistics	31st May
Action Plan revised to include current solutions	31st May	Discuss with other managers
Annual review of Equality Policy and Action Plan. Compile brief report of issues during the year (eg. recruitment, abuse reported, equality-related grievances)	Mid June	Other managers to review company policies in light of the above revisions. Annual Equality Report circulated to all stakeholders
Staff dissemination meeting: annual review concerning equality, and actions to be taken (eg flexible working hours, in-house training opportunities, wheelchair ramp to be built)	30th June	Consider feedback from staff; incorporate into action plan as appropriate