Scottish Government

chapter six: the scottish executive as an employer

6.1 The Scottish Executive employs 8005 staff. Our role as an employer is subject to the disability equality duty.

About the diversity team

6.2 The diversity team forms part of the Executive's Employee Relations Team and is located within the Human Resources Division. The Team has lead responsibility for providing advice and guidance on the Executive's employee policies on equal opportunities and diversity and also for implementing the Executive's Diversity Strategy and Departmental Diversity Delivery Plan.

6.3 The Team also undertakes outreach and awareness-raising activity, both internal and external, and supports the Executive's five staff networks, including those for disabled staff and staff with caring responsibilities.

Our existing policies and strategies

Equal opportunities and diversity policies

6.4 The Scottish Executive's employee policy on equal opportunities is that all staff should be treated equally irrespective of their sex, marital status, age, race, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, religion or belief, working pattern, employment status, gender identity, caring responsibility, or trade union membership.

6.5 In addition, we are committed to increasing the diversity and development opportunities for all staff within the organisation.

Diversity Strategy

6.6 The Scottish Executive's 5-year Diversity Strategy, Positive about You, was launched in November 2000. Following a review to ensure that it remained fit for purpose, it was re-launched as Positive about You - 2004 and Beyond, in December 2004. The revised Strategy has a renewed focus on the mainstreaming of diversity across the organisation and aims to consolidate the substantial progress that has been made so far.

6.7 This has now been supplemented by the Executive's Departmental Diversity Delivery Plan, published in July 2006.

Departmental Diversity Delivery Plan

6.8 As part of the Cabinet Office initiative, 'Delivering a Diverse Civil Service - a 10 Point Plan', the Executive, in common with other Government Departments has published its Departmental Diversity Delivery Plan. The plan sets out how we plan to change the culture of our organisation and reap the benefits that having a diverse organisation brings.

6.9 The plan's progress is overseen by the Executive's Diversity Forum: a group of key diversity policy leads from across the Executive and is chaired by its Diversity Champion. It also is monitored by the Cabinet Office Diversity Champions' Network.

Scottish Executive Progress - Diversity Targets, October 2006

**** Figures to be treated as confidential to preserve anonymity (numbers less than 5).

**** No target set

**** Most recent figures

**** Senior Civil Service Pay Band 2 and above (Top management posts).

Gathering information on disability equality and diversity policies

6.10 Under the disability equality duty we are required to have systems in place for gathering information in relation to the recruitment, retention and development of our disabled employees. We use a number of systems for gathering this information and details of these are set out below.

Recruitment

6.11 As part of our recruitment process, information on disability is obtained from staff at the time of entry to the Executive and is recorded on the HR database system, as is information on ethnicity and gender. Details of disability and ethnicity are held confidentially and are available only to selected HR staff on a 'need-to-know' basis. Staff records are updated in bulk as a result of staff diversity surveys or individually following self-declaration of a disability by a staff member.

Retention

6.12 The Diversity Team, in conjunction with the Executive's Management Information Team, undertakes the key reporting role on equal opportunities and diversity issues for the Executive as an employer. We report to our Management Group Corporate Issues Sub-group on a quarterly basis on a wide range of staffing issues, including turnover, attendance and progress towards our targets for under-represented groups: disabled staff, women in senior posts and staff from a minority ethnic background. In addition, the HR Management Information Team also provides an annual submission to Cabinet Office as part of the UK-wide collection of information on civil servants.

Development

6.13 We record information on staff progress through the organisation in our HR database and some of this is evidenced in the progress towards our diversity targets. Although each member of staff does complete a Personal Learning Plan as part of the Performance Management process, this information cannot easily be disaggregated by equality strand. The facility to record the type and quantity of training undertaken by staff, along with disaggregated information, should be available following the introduction of our E-HR system.

6.14 We also gather information on a range of other HR policies and in a variety of ways, including:

• Dignity at Work

6.15 Our Dignity at Work policy aims to eliminate discrimination, bullying, harassment and victimisation. As part of our monitoring of the policy, we gather detailed information on an annual basis on every case recorded to enable us to identify and act on any incidents of discrimination or other unacceptable behaviour. If a complaint of discrimination, or any other form of unacceptable behaviour is raised, this is fully and independently investigated using the process set out in the policy. If it is decided that the complaint is well-founded, action will be taken under the Executive's disciplinary procedures. Depending on the type of complaint, the penalty can be up to, and including, dismissal. Further training can also be recommended.

• Performance Management

6.16 The effective operation of the Performance Management system will make an important contribution to meeting our commitment to disability equality by ensuring all staff are valued for their individual contribution and their performance is assessed fairly. All staff have a responsibility to ensure that their participation in the performance management process supports the Executive's diversity agenda. We review all markings given under Performance Management System to ensure that the system is free from bias and undertake regular equal pay reviews to ensure that our pay system is transparent and non-discriminatory. From 2007, all staff will also have a personal diversity objective as part of their performance appraisal.

• Employee Consultation

6.17 We consult disabled staff directly, through our disabled staff network and other communications, which we use where input is required for the HR policy review process. We are about to undertake an exercise to identify both qualitative and quantitative evidence on barriers to progress amongst our disabled staff. Our annual employee survey also gathers a wide range of information from staff, which includes a range of equalities information.

Using information in meeting the disability equality duty

6.18 Under the disability equality duty we are required to make arrangements for using the information that we have gathered on staff recruitment, development and retention to help us review the effectiveness of the action that we are taking and inform future schemes. The details of how we aim to meet this requirement are set out below.

6.19 The information we gather is used on an ongoing basis as part of the monitoring and equality proofing of all of our HR policies. If evidence of discrimination or unfair treatment is apparent from any of our monitoring procedures, we consider this further and put in place remedial action as required, e.g. by adapting existing policies or processes to eliminate such discrimination. Once any changes have been made, we would then seek feedback from staff and stakeholders to ensure that they are effective. We review each of our policies on a regular basis, seeking the views of equality groups, including the members of our Disability Network, as appropriate, and taking any action to address evidence of inequality. Also, the procedures that arise from those policies take account of equality issues.

6.20 Our Departmental Diversity Delivery Plan sets out a range of action points across all equality strands and these are reviewed every six months by the Diversity Forum. Each lead policy officer summarises recent action in each of their policy areas and future actions are agreed by the Forum members. The Plan is also reviewed at a Cabinet Office level by the Diversity Champions' Network, which ensures that departmental action is supporting the wider Civil Service agenda and that progress continues to be made towards our targets. Progress towards our diversity targets is also monitored internally on a quarterly basis and we will take steps, as appropriate, to address any issues arising from this information.

6.21 We take the following action to ensure the effective recruitment, retention and development of disabled staff:

• Recruitment

6.22 Disabled candidates are automatically invited to interview for a post if they meet the defined minimum criteria and reasonable adjustments are made to the recruitment process as required. A statement about this appears in our recruitment code on our web-site. As part of its annual audit, the Office of Civil Service Commissioners ( OCSC) ensures proper arrangements for disabled staff are in place. All candidates details are recorded on our recruitment database and reports are available on demand. If it is apparent from the monitoring of our recruitment processes that action is required to address any particular area, e.g. continued under-representation, we will consider if any additional action is required, such as further outreach work, alterations to our advertising or changes to our recruitment processes. We will also review past recruitment activity to ensure that future initiatives are appropriately targeted to support our aim of becoming an organisation that broadly represents the communities we serve.

• Development

6.23 Where required, we make arrangements to ensure that disabled staff can access corporate courses offered to all staff. For example, we will ensure that visually impaired staff can access course materials online using assistive technology and can also receive 1-2-1 training covering essential business needs ( e.g.IT skills) as required. Materials are also made available in large print and in dyslexia-friendly print colours, and we have the option to record audio books of training materials where required. Our dedicated training facilities on the SE estate are fully accessible to wheelchair users and disabled staff with mobility and other impairments. If particular groups are under-represented in relation to any of our development opportunities we will take steps to encourage applications from these particular groups and make adjustments to training methods and timetabling if possible. We will also work to ensure there is appropriate representation which reflects the wider Executive population on particular training courses where this is possible.

• Retention

6.24 Although the current Executive staff turnover rate is very small, we are committed to the retention of disabled staff, including where Scottish Executive business areas are required to move as a result of Scottish Ministers decisions taken as part of their ongoing relocation review programme. Our policies require that line managers should make reasonable adjustments to accommodate and retain disabled staff in their posts and the procedures that arise from those policies acknowledge this ( e.g. in cases of alleged misconduct, the disciplinary procedures require line managers and/or HR to establish the facts before deciding what action might be appropriate. If the reason for the alleged misconduct is related to an individual's disability, reasonable adjustments are considered instead of disciplinary action). The Executive's HR Diversity Team and HR Professional Advisers Unit work closely to ensure that this is achieved through the provision of professional advice and through practical support. Information on the success of this strategy is obtained on a case-by-case basis as issues arise. We will also monitor more closely the reasons for staff leaving the organisation and use evidence from this to address any areas of inequality or unfair treatment in our policies and processes.

Involving our disabled staff

6.25 The Executive is keen to work closely with all disabled staff to ensure that their needs are met and that we continue to make improvements within the workplace. We have met with our staff Disability Network to agree with them their priorities for action in improving the working environment, in promoting positive attitudes and involving them in then decision-making process. There are a number of areas where these have already been taken forward.

• The work environment

6.26 A number of our buildings have informal areas where staff can take a break from their immediate workspace. In addition, individual access to our first aid rooms can be made available if required for longer rest breaks. We have provided a wide range of equipment and adjustments for our disabled staff, including physical improvements, and hard and software. The adjustment process is now supported by our new HR Professional Advisers, on an individual casework basis, giving a more personal and consistent approach. We also continue to work closely with our Information Technology and Procurement colleagues to try to ensure that any new systems are accessible and compatible with existing software. Our new flexi-time system is available through our Intranet and so, for the first time, can now be used by many of our visually impaired staff. Where access is not possible, e.g. with our new access control system, adjustments have been made. We are also seeking to address existing diversity and disability training needs and a specialist training post for equality and diversity issues has now been identified by Corporate Learning Services; this is currently in the process of being filled.

• Promoting positive attitudes

6.27 All of our diversity information has been relocated to our Diversity Intranet pages, allowing easier and more effective access. The information is reviewed and added to on a regular basis and suggestions from staff are always welcome. The Team also has a hard copy library of a range of information on specific disabilities. We continue to hold regular meetings of our Disability Network, which comprises both disabled staff and others with an interest in disability issues, and now also share information with the Civil Service Disability Network on a regular basis.

• Involvement in HR decision making

6.28 We continue to use the Disability Network as a sounding board for our HR policies. Currently, we are involving disabled staff in our policy review exercise and also focus groups as part of the review of our Performance Management process to ensure they are included right from the outset and their views taken on board.

Further action

6.29 As a result of the involvement of disabled staff we intend to take the following specific action:

• to make sure diversity issues are considered by all of our policy makers, a diversity section has been included in our Management Group template; further business planning guidance will also include advice on the inclusion of diversity issues;
• from 2007, all staff will have a personal diversity objective as part of their performance appraisal;
• we will undertake a research exercise in 2007 to investigate the barriers faced by disabled staff in obtaining promotion and accessing other opportunities within the organisation; and
• we will continue to gather equalities information as part of the employee survey and analyse this to allow us to identify any issues that may need to be addressed in relation to any particular equality group.

6.30 There are a number of other action areas that were raised by staff which we have not yet had the opportunity to tackle. However, we will explore these, and other areas, with our disabled staff as part of our commitment both to them and to the wider disability agenda and include them in our future action planning process. In particular:

• we will use the new HR Intranet to promote additional information and guidance;
• we will work closely with the designated equality and diversity trainer to address gaps in this area; and
• we will also ensure that disabled staff are included in policy review at an early stage.

HR Action Plan