Parliamentary News Release

038/2004

15 July 2004

SCOTTISH PARLIAMENTARY CORPORATE BODY PUBLISHES RESULTS OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES AUDITS

The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) this week published the report from its first equal opportunities staff audit, as well as findings from its first equal pay audit.

The two audits, both of which were independently conducted, confirm the SPCB's ongoing commitment to the principle of equality of opportunity in relation to the employment and management of its staff. Neither audit found any major concerns regarding staff treatment or staff pay and conditions.

Equal Opportunities Staff Audit

The equal opportunities staff audit, which has been described by equalities organisations as an example of best practice, was carried out in autumn 2003. The audit was an anonymous survey of SPCB staff to provide the organisation with clear information about its compliance with equal opportunities legislation and the impact of its equal opportunities practices. An action plan has been devised to respond to the findings of the audit.

The audit found that 90% of the 431 respondents would recommend the SPCB as an employer and that 82% of respondents thought that significant progress had been made in the last 12 months in relation to equal opportunities issues.

The audit also sought to provide a snapshot of the SPCB's workforce across a number of equality measures. It asked about personal characteristics such as racial group, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion, age, relationship status and caring responsibilities. It also considered career opportunities and training, staff’s experiences of bullying or harassment and the application of the SPCB's job appraisal system.

To build upon the strengths of the SPCB as an employer and to overcome minor under-representation (compared to national Census statistics) in some areas, the SPCB will be making a number of changes to its recruitment and employment practices. For example, it will ensure that more information about applying for jobs at the Parliament is provided in publications and recruitment fairs aimed at specific audiences, including people from a minority ethnic background and disabled people.

Several changes have already been implemented since the audit was carried out to improve equal opportunities practice at the Parliament. For example, the SPCB has been awarded the ‘disability symbol’ by JobcentrePlus and has delivered an internal Disability Awareness Week to raise awareness of such issues across the Parliament. It has also delivered a range of projects aimed at increasing engagement with the Parliament among disabled people.

A new performance management system has also been put in place for SPCB staff since the audit was carried out. This new system includes behavioural competencies as well as work objectives and targets, and has been designed with equal opportunities issues to the fore.

The SPCB has only ever received one formal complaint about bullying or harassment from a member of staff since this Parliament was formed, and this complaint was subsequently taken out of the formal complaints procedure and dealt with informally on the instruction of the complainant. In the audit, however, a small, but significant, number of respondents did report experiencing some form of bullying or harassment while at work at some stage during the previous 12 months, either from within the organisation or from someone outwith the staff body.

The SPCB has therefore taken the initiative, and introduced a range of new measures to ensure that all staff understand its Dignity at Work Policy and to make sure that this policy is fully implemented and effective.

These initiatives, which will be fully implemented by the end of this year, include:

• Identifying and training dignity at work contacts, who will be a source of advice and support for any staff member
• Identifying and training a group of investigating officers to take forward any formal complaints received under the policy
• Providing a half-day training course for all staff, and
• Carrying out further detailed monitoring and to keep questions regarding bullying and harassment in future audits to build a robust comparative basis.

Equal Pay Audit

The SPCB's equal pay audit used a total of 21 analytical tests to evaluate equality of pay across the SPCB's workforce by gender. In particular, these tests compared the pay of equally graded men and women under a variety of conditions (e.g. starting pay, overtime pay, etc.). The tests also examined the representation of men and women at all levels of the organisation. The results of these tests found no evidence of equal pay risk in the vast majority of areas tested, and found no serious risk in any area of the SPCB's recruitment and employment policies and practices.

Some limited concerns were raised about specific areas which will need to be addressed or more closely monitored to ensure the organisation's ongoing compliance with equal pay legislation. The areas concerned are in the payment of general allowances, arrangements for determining salary on promotion, careers and salary progression and the distribution of paid overtime. These issues have been addressed in an action plan to minimise future risk.

Background

The equal opportunities staff audit and equal pay audit were both approved by the SPCB as key elements of its Equality Framework.

Under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, the SPCB is legally obliged to publish the results of ethnic monitoring of its workforce. However, rather than just publishing the findings of these audits relating to ethnicity, the SPCB has decided to publish both audit reports in full. This decision takes account of the fact that statutory duties to publish other forms of monitoring (for example gender and disability monitoring) are also likely to be placed on public sector employers, including the SPCB, in the future.

The Equal Pay Act 1970 is the main piece of legislation relating to eliminating pay discrimination on grounds of gender. The SPCB's equal pay audit was intended primarily to ensure the SPCB's current and future compliance with this Act.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) Equal Opportunities Staff Audit Report 2003 (pdf)

Scottish Parliamentary Staff Equal Pay Audit: Summary Report 2004 (pdf)

For further information, the media team contact is:

Barbara Fraser: 0131 348 6265
email: Barbara.fraser@scottish.parliament.uk

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