Preparing Your Equality Action Plan

Following on from the Creativebias help sheet explaining how to develop an Equality Policy, this help sheet details how to prepare a supporting Equality Action Plan.

An Equality Action Plan:

• Focuses attention on the key tasks
• Gives equality the same importance as every other management task
• Places responsibility on a specified manager
• Shows how, when and by whom the policy will be implemented, monitored and reviewed
• Sets procedures for establishing and monitoring equality targets, to improve or maintain your equality status (remembering that fixed quotas are unlawful)
• Explains how the results of monitoring will be used to redress equality issues, perhaps in terms of positive action in recruitment/promotion practice, or introducing job-share schemes
• A strategy for making the policy known to workers at all levels
• Staff training and guidance
• Specifies how discrimination, harassment and bullying will be dealt with, and could lead to dismissal (usually referring to a separate grievance policy)

Monitoring: Collecting Information

The purpose of monitoring is to allow you to examine how your equality policy and action plan are working.

You should monitor the existing workforce, and applicants for future positions. If you employ only a relatively small number of people you might be able to monitor your workforce from personal knowledge, but a more detailed analysis is necessary for bigger organizations.

It is important that you consult with staff to let them know that you will be doing a monitoring exercise, and to discuss what areas will be monitored. It’s best if staff and applicants are asked to self-classify, as this method produces a higher response rate.

You have a duty to keep the information confidential at all stages. Individuals should not be identified and records should be produced in a statistical form only. You should aim to keep the information up to date as the company changes. An annual review, when you reassess your equal opportunities policy, is enough.

Only collect information you are going to use - what information that is will depend on what you want to achieve. In a micro or small business, monitoring gender, ethnicity, age and disability is generally enough. This information can be cross-referenced to grades or job types; and also with full time, part time and flexible working practices.

Monitoring: Acting on the Information you Collect

In order to make sense of your data, you might want to compare your results to local, regional, or national statistics relating to your recruitment area, and where you have premises. A useful website is: www.statistics.gov.uk/STATBASE

You should also consider whether to publish the results internally. Being 'transparent' will reassure your staff that you are not carrying out the process for ulterior motives; but if you have a small workforce - be careful - this could risk individuals being identified, which is not permissible.

If you find that your workforce is not representative, or it appears that some of your staff are not progressing within the company, do not opt for a ‘quick fix’. Bear in mind that equality is always about finding the most suitable person for the job.

You could consider things like:

· Offering more part time or job share opportunities

· Exploring the opportunities for child care credits

· Interviewing more disabled job applicants

· Changing the style and location of your job advertising to attract people from ethnic groups, or younger / older applicants

· Reviewing your staff development policy to ensure the right type of skills training is provided

Larger companies might decide to set up an Equality and Diversity Working Group, whose membership is made up of a few managers and a representative number of employees from different parts of the company.

The Equality Action Plan article is an example of how your plan might look. You can use it as a template, adding or removing some of the sections, or altering the wording, to make it more relevant to your own business.