Equality Impact Assessment Guidance

The University requires you (the author / owner) to: The purpose of an Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) is to improve the work of the University, by promoting equality and ensuring that we are legally compliant with the Equality Act 2010. It is important that University services, strategies, policies and procedures do not discriminate either directly or indirectly against students or staff. The University requires you (the author / owner) to: Properly assess the equality implications for all the protected characteristics (Age, Gender, Disability, Race/ Ethnicity, Gender Reassignment, Marriage & civil Partnership, Religion& Belief, Sexual Orientation) during the development stage. N.B. Carers/ People with caring responsibilities has been added to the list as an associated characteristic. Provide assurance that you have identified changes needed to mitigate any potential adverse impacts. Please use the notes below to help frame your answers to the EIA template

The template is split into three questions to consider for each characteristic Who does the policy/ change impact? How could the policy/ change impact on protected characteristics? What actions will you take to mitigate the impact?  

Who does the policy/ change impact? Have you considered what impact the policy/ change will have on staff, students, visitors, service users, alumni, and the wider community (e.g. impact on outreach activities) etc. Are any groups excluded from the policy/ change? Consider your existing staff and student profile data and what effect the decision, policy or proposed change could have on the workforce and student composition. Do any information gaps exist? You should consider consultation and other engagement activities that will add to the information, and help you to identify the impact of the change.

How could the policy/ change impact on protected characteristics? Is the policy/change likely to have a differential impact on any of the protected characteristics? If so, is this impact likely to be positive or negative? What does existing evidence show? E.g. consultation from different groups, demographic data, questionnaires, equality monitoring data, analysis of complaints. Who is accessing the service e.g. what is the gender profile of students, would any change have a negative or positive effect on this? Does your current data show different success rates for different groups of people? Could you use the change to improve this? Who will benefit from a new service? Could you make any changes that would help advance and promote equality?

What actions will you take to mitigate the impact?   Can any potential negative impact be justified? If not, how will you mitigate any negative impacts? Think about reasonable adjustment and/or positive action to improve equality. Consider how you would measure and monitor the impact going forward e.g. equality monitoring data, analysis of complaints. If the change, decision or policy could have a positive impact on groups, ensure these are promoted and integrated into the process. If appropriate, consider marketing, communications, training, job design, etc. Consider whether you need to make changes to existing action plans within schools and departments. Consider how you will promote inclusion and diversity to staff and students. Assign a responsible lead. Designate a timescale to monitor the impact of any changes.

Other considerations Can any potential negative impact be justified? If not, how will you mitigate any negative impacts? Think about reasonable adjustment and/or positive action to improve equality. Consider how you would measure and monitor the impact going forward e.g. equality monitoring data, analysis of complaints. If the change, decision or policy could have a positive impact on groups, ensure these are promoted and integrated into the process. If appropriate, consider marketing, communications, training, job design, etc. Consider whether you need to make changes to existing action plans within schools and departments. Consider how you will promote inclusion and diversity to staff and students. Assign a responsible lead. Designate a timescale to monitor the impact of any changes.

Remember that you can speak to a member of the Inclusion & Diversity team if you need some help in identifying actions. Email : Equality@Salford.ac.uk Your completed EIA should be emailed to Equality@salford.ac.uk and will be acknowledged by the team