- Name
- Single Equality Scheme
- Summary
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This page sets out our approach to promoting equality and diversity within our borough and provides some key documents which support our work.
We aim to represent, serve and employ people as equals, valuing the diversity of their contributions and aspirations, no matter who they are or what their circumstances.
We will promote equal opportunity and good community relations, respecting and valuing the diversity of people in the borough. Our public statements, services and employment practices will reflect this commitment.
Gender pay gap
We're required under the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017 to publish gender pay gap information relating to our employees.
We're required to publish the difference in both the mean and median pay of full pay male and female employees expressed as a percentage. We are also required to publish the proportion of males and females employed in 4 quartile pay bands ranging from lower to upper, as well as any differences in bonus pay.
Equality Act 2010
The Equality Act 2010 came into force in October 2010, replacing all existing anti-discrimination laws and extending protection across a number of “protected characteristics”.
These protected characteristics are race, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity and marriage and partnership. We've also specifically added service and ex-service personnel and those with caring responsibilities to our list of protected characteristics for Rochdale borough. The act applies across a range of services and public functions including local government.
Public Sector Equality Duty
From April 2011 the Public Sector Equality Duty requires us, as a public body, to consciously consider the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between different people when carrying out our activities.
We have a duty to consider all individuals when carrying out our day-to-day work. This includes in shaping policy, in delivering services and in relation to our own employees.
Our equality and diversity objective
Our agreed equality objective covers workforce data, realignment of corporate service plans, our plans for community engagement and importantly it assists in informing Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs). Our objective is:
“Promoting equality by knowing our diverse community and understanding its changing needs.”
This objective enables us to be aware of new communities and changes in, for example, the age structure of our communities. We can then plan services and prioritise our efforts around the gaps in our intelligence especially relating to the protected equality groups to ensure that we understand their needs. This approach delivers compliance with the act and duty.
Equality and diversity policy
Our equality and diversity policy - No Matter Who - sets out our organisation’s commitment to observing and implementing the requirements of the Equality Act 2010. Our public statements, services and employment practices will reflect this commitment. We'll promote this policy and expect respect for it from citizens, users of council services, partner agencies, elected members, council employees and our contractors.
Equality and diversity data
We collect equality and diversity data for Rochdale borough. Our approach to this is supported by the collection and analysis of data from a variety of sources.
We report on the protected characteristics which are listed in the Equality Act 2010 section above. Some data is incredibly hard to collect. This could be because data isn't collected nationally or as a single approved source. We have to be flexible and inventive around what we can gather and how we use it.
Here's a brief look at the breakdown of protected characteristics in the borough:
Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs)
We always consider how our decisions will contribute to the advancement of equality and good relations in the borough. This helps us make better informed decisions and policies, as well as deliver more effective and cost-effective services. We believe this makes good business sense and implementing this effectively helps to increase customer satisfaction with public services.
Good EIAs are the key to understanding how different people will be affected by our activities. They allow us to consider the ways in which services are delivered and how these and any changes might impact on various groups and individuals who use a service. EIAs can help us identify any barriers and come up with ways to reduce or overcome those barriers.
Workforce equality information
We want to ensure the composition of our workforce reflects our diverse local community and we want to offer equal opportunities for employment. Following the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty, we publish equality information for our workforce. The following reports illustrate our progress and show how our workforce diversity has changed. All data reported is based on figures excluding schools.
Business planning
We have started to incorporate an assessment of how we comply with the equality and diversity duty into our business planning process. We have used the Local Government Association Equality Framework for Local Government (EFLG) to develop a self-assessment approach linked to the formulation and adoption of our Corporate Plan and our associated Directorate and Service Plans. We will publish our self-assessment template here in due course.
Diversity calendar
You might want to take a look at the Diversity Calendar if you're planning any meetings or events. It lists the dates of major religious days and festivals and health-related awareness-raising days as well as local events.
Hate crime definition
In line with recommendations from the Police and Crime Commissioner's research and consultation report on Hate Crime (December 2015), we adopt the definition of hate crime as: "… a criminal offence which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a personal or protected characteristic or perceived characteristic."
Furthermore, we adopt the definition of a hate incident as: "…a non-crime incident which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a personal or protected characteristic or perceived characteristic".
Anti-semitism definition
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance has devised a working definition of anti-semitism to highlight how anti-semitism manifests itself in the 21st century. We have adopted this definition, which is:
"Anti-semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities."
- Document downloads
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