Reporting on equality, diversity and inclusion

Our strategy

It is a key priority for the Trust to become a truly inclusive organisation which celebrates its diverse workforce, and where staff feel they are treated equally regardless of their ethnic background, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability or age.

Equality Act (2010) - Public Sector Equality Duty

The Equality Act 2010 (the Act) replaces previous anti-discrimination laws with a single Act. The Act’s aim is to simplify the law, remove inconsistencies and make it easier for people to understand and comply with. It aims to strengthen the law to help tackle discrimination and inequality. The majority of the Act came into force on 1 October 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty came into force on 5 April 2011. The Equality Duty ensures that all Public Bodies play their part in making society fairer by tackling discrimination and providing equal opportunities for all.

The Equality Duty makes sure that public bodies consider the needs of all individuals in their day-to-day work. This includes in shaping policy, delivering services and in relation to their own employees. As a public body, the Trust is governed by the Equality Act 2010. The Act contains nine protected characteristics, which cannot be used as a reason to treat someone unfairly. They are:

age
disability
gender reassignment (when your gender identity is different to the sex you were assigned at birth)
marriage or civil partnership (including same-sex marriage)
pregnancy and maternity/paternity
race or ethnicity
religion or belief
sex
sexual orientation

The Equality Duty asks us to think about how we can support people who are disadvantaged or suffer inequality.

Please see our full 2022/23 equality report.

Equality Delivery System

As part of the Equality Act, public sector organisations must publish evidence to confirm they are meeting the aims of the Act. The evidence presented by the Trust has been collated as part of the implementation of the Department of Health’s Equality Delivery System (EDS 2). Please see:

The EDS is designed as a tool to be used to help all NHS organisations and staff understand how equality can drive improvements and strengthen the accountability of services to patients and the public. It will help ensure that everyone - patients, public and staff - have a voice in how organisations are performing and where they should improve.

All of this ensures that inclusion is not just a 'tick box' exercise but something that is embedded in our everyday activity.

Workforce Race Equality Standard

The Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) was launched in ……. and is a set of nine specific indicators. The WRES requires NHS organisations to demonstrate progress against nine race equality indicators. Four of the indicators focus on workforce data, four are data from the national NHS Staff Survey, and one indicator focuses upon Black

Minority ethnic representation on boards.

The WRES is a tool for identifying a number of key gaps, referred to as Indicators, between white and Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff experience of the workplace - gaps which we want to close. Closing these gaps will achieve tangible progress in tackling discrimination, promoting a positive culture and valuing all staff for their contributions to their work.

Workforce Disability Equality Standard

The Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES) was launched in 2019 and is a set of ten specific measures that will enable NHS organisations to compare the career and workplace experiences of disabled and non-disabled people. It will support positive change for existing employees and create a more inclusive environment for people with disabilities working in the NHS. WDES is an important step for the NHS and is a clear commitment in support of the Government’s aims of increasing the number of disabled people in employment.

Gender Pay Gap

Regulations introduced in 2017 require public, private and voluntary sector organisations, with 250 or more employees on a specified ‘snapshot date’ relevant to their sector, to report annually on their gender pay gap, using six different measures

It provides a framework within which gender pay gaps can be surfaced so that, both inside and outside of the workplace, we can think constructively about why gender pay gaps exist and what to do about them.

View our current gender pay gap reports:

Ethnicity Pay Gap

Our Ethnicity Pay Gap Report is a comprehensive review looking into the pay gaps by Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) staff. Talking about race equality is still much harder than it should be; both across society and specifically in the NHS.

Some of the information makes difficult and uncomfortable reading but it’s important that we reflect on it, be challenged by it and think very deeply about the active role that we can all play in making the NHS a more equal place for all of our staff.

View our current Ethnicity Pay Gap

Ethnicity Pay Gap Report 2021/22

Model Employer

The Model Employer report sets out the ambitious challenge of ensuring black and minority ethnic representation at all levels of the workforce. This includes leadership being representative of the overall black and minority ethnic workforce by 2028. The document outlines both the aspirational goals for organisations, as well as a comprehensive and holistic set of objectives to support the NHS, as part of the existing Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) programme of work.

Last updated 1 Nov 2023