1. Equality and Human Rights Exchange Network
Autumn 2016

2. Who we are and what we do

3. Strategic Aims for
Significant impact – to secure advances in equality and human rights in priority areas
A strong evidence base – to provide authoritative evidence and insight
Sustainable infrastructure – to ensure an effective and sustainable infrastructure to protect rights in practice
Improved capability – to be an expert, independent and authoritative national body

4. The roles of the Commission
A catalyst for change, enabling and encouraging improvement by bringing people together to devise solutions, and building capacity in other organisations to help them to effect change. Where appropriate, we conduct inquiries to explore systemic issues, gather evidence and develop possible solutions.
An information provider, helping people understand their rights and responsibilities and improve compliance with the law.
An influencer, using our legal expertise, research, insight and analysis to influence public policy and inform debates.
An evaluator, monitoring the effectiveness of the laws protecting people’s rights to equality and human rights, and measuring progress in society.
An enforcer, using our strategic enforcement powers selectively to protect people against serious and systemic abuses of their rights and to clarify equality and human rights law, alongside our efforts help organisations to comply with equality and human rights standards.

5. Introductions
Who you are
Where you work
What your role is

6. What is the Equality and Human Rights Exchange Network?
A way for the Commission to engage with key stakeholders
A forum for members to exchange best practice
A place for information sharing

7. Kate Bennett’s letter to Public Service Leaders
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Kate Bennett’s letter to Public Service Leaders
“The third sector now understands the potential of the PSED much better than it did in This should make engagement easier and give you more information on which to base decisions. You may expect to be more closely scrutinized in the second phase.”

8. The Public Sector Equality Duty in Wales
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The Public Sector Equality Duty in Wales

9. Equality Act 2010 Consolidated Equality legislation
Broadened the scope of equality legislation to cover nine protected characteristics
Introduced a set of duties for the public sector, or those carrying out public functions

10. General duty
Section 149 of the Act imposes a duty on 'public authorities' and other bodies when exercising public functions to have due regard to the need to:
eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Act
advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it
foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it

11. Positive Action – When?
When a body reasonably believes that people sharing a protected characteristic:
experience a disadvantage connected to that characteristic; or
have needs that are different from those who do not share that characteristic; or
have disproportionately low participation in an activity compared to those who do not share that characteristic

12. Positive Action – What?
The relevant body may take any action which is proportionate to meet the following aims:
Enabling or encouraging persons who share the protected characteristics to overcome or minimise that disadvantage
meeting those needs, or
Enabling or encouraging persons who share the protected characteristics to participate in that activity

13. Presentation name
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Case Study
A council has no councillors under the age of 30. It puts in place a mentoring scheme to encourage greater numbers of young people to take an interest in local politics. Its longer term aim is to increase the number of younger councillors. Places are awarded via an open competition

14. Specific Duties Equality objectives Engagement Assessment of impact
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Specific Duties
Equality objectives
Engagement
Assessment of impact
Equality information
Employment information
Pay differences
Staff Training
Strategic equality plan
Procurement
Annual reporting, publishing, review
Accessibility

15. Equality Objectives Listed bodies in Wales must:
Publish equality objectives every four years
Publish objectives to meet the general duty
Set out what steps have been taken or will be taken to meet the objective and over how long
Make arrangements to monitor progress
Use relevant equality information to inform objective setting
Have due regard for the need to have objectives to address the causes of pay differences that are reasonable likely to be related to any of the protected characteristics
Publish an objective to address any gender pay gap identified

16. Engagement Listed bodies in Wales must:
Involve people who it considers representative of one or more of the protected groups who have an interest in how the authority carries out its functions
Engagement must take place when considering:
designing or revising equality objectives,
assessing how things are done contribute to compliance with the general duty,
assessing the impact of policies and practices on complying with the general duty

17. Assessment of impact Listed bodies in Wales must:
assess the likely impacted of proposed policies and practices on its ability to comply with the general duty
assess the likely impacted policies or practices being reviewed
Publish reports of assessments where they show (or are likely to show) a substantial impact on an authorities ability to meet the general duty
Monitor the impact of policies and practices on their ability to meet that duty
Reports on assessments include:
The purpose of the policy or practice (or revision) that has been assessed
A summary of the steps taken to carry out the assessment including engagement
A summary of the information that has been taken into account
The results and any decisions taken in relation to those results

18. Equality information Listed bodies in Wales must:
make arrangement to ensure they periodically identify relevant information it holds, and identifies and collects information it does not hold
Make arrangements to identify and collect information about pay differences, and their causes, between those who have a protected characteristic and those who do not
Publish relevant information it holds (unless it would be inappropriate to do so)
As part of the annual report duty bodies are required to publish reasons for not collecting relevant information it has identified, but does not hold.

19. Employment information
Listed bodies in Wales must collect and publish on an annual basis the number of:
People employed by protected characteristic
Men and women broken down by: job, grade, pay, contract type, working pattern
People who have applied for jobs over the last year
Employees who have applied to change position, identifying how many were successful and how many weren’t
Employees who applied for training and how many where successful
Employees who completed training
Employees involved in grievance procedures either as a complainant or as a person against whom a complaint was made
Employees subject to disciplinary procedures
Employees who have left
All information must be present for each of the separate protected groups

20. Gender pay differences
Listed bodies in Wales must:
Have due regard to the need to have objectives that address the causes of any pay differences between those who are from any protected group and those who are not.
Make arrangements to identify and collect information about differences in pay and the causes of such differences – this information must be published as appropriate
Gender pay differences
Publish an equality objective in relation to addressing any gender pay difference identified or publish reasons why it has not been done
Publish an action plan in respect of gender pay including
Any policy to address causes of gender pay differences
Any gender pay objectives published
A statement that sets out the steps that have been taken or will be taken to fulfil its gender pay objective and how long it expects to take

21. Staff training Listed bodies in Wales must:
Promote knowledge and understanding of the general duty and specific duties amongst its employees
Use any performance assessment procedures to identify and address training needs of employees in relation to the duties

22. Strategic Equality Plan
Listed bodies in Wales must draw up a Strategic Equality Plan (SEP) that includes:
A description of the authority
Their equality objectives (including pay objectives)
The steps they will take or have taken to meet its objectives and the timescale
Details of how the authority will promote knowledge and understanding of the general and specific duties among employees
An action plan relating to gender pay objectives
Arrangements for:
monitoring progress
identifying and collecting relevant equality information (including pay differences)
publishing relevant equality information
Assessing the likely impact of policies and practices, their actual and ongoing impact
Publishing reports where assessments of impact show substantial impact on the authority's ability to meet the general duty

23. Procurement
When procuring works, goods, or services listed bodies in Wales must:
Have due regard to whether it would be appropriate for the award criteria for that contract to include considerations to help meet the general duty
Have due regard to whether it would be appropriate to stipulate conditions relating to the performance of the contract to help meet the three aims of the general duty

24. Annual reporting
Listed bodies in Wales must produce an annually report by 31 March each year that sets out:
Steps taken to identify and collect relevant information and how it has been used in meeting the general duty
Any reasons for collecting relevant information
A statement on the effectiveness of arrangements for identifying and collecting relevant information
Progress towards fulfilling their equality objectives
Specified equality information

25. Workshop task:

26. Presentation name
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Thank you
Any questions?