The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) was created in October 2008 with a challenging agenda. Of the 187 major projects on the Government’s Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP), DECC has 10, the 5th highest number across Government and the 4th highest by whole life cost.
Equality & Diversity is vital in DECC as the work we do impacts on the whole of the UK population and contributes to the global strategy to address climate change and energy security and supply.
We strive to ensure we have considered any potential impact our work will have on individuals or communities because of their age, sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnerships, and pregnancy and maternity, and put appropriate adjustments in place when possible.
We value equality and diversity in our workforce. We want DECC to be a place where every member of staff has the chance to make a difference, develop and fulfil their potential; a place where our people feel valued and supported; and a place that is a community of individuals, working together to meet an imperative and rewarding goal.
Equality Objectives 2012-2013
We are pleased to present our Equality Objectives for 2012-2013. These objectives set out how we intend to demonstrate compliance with the aims of the Public Sector Equality duty following the enactment of the Equality Act 2010.
The current objectives cover the 2012/13 period. Our aim is to review the objectives during the year with a view to keeping them as up to date as possible and relevant to our overall equality, diversity & inclusion aims.
We have two overarching strategic objectives:
- Build a more diverse workforce that is better equipped and supported to deliver DECC’s objectives and
- Achieve a positive impact across different groups in society through the delivery of our policies.
The Specific Duties, which support the public sector equality duty, require public bodies such as DECC to prepare and publish one or more specific and measurable equality objectives which will help them to further their equality goals. We will produce further equality objectives at least every four years in keeping with the timescales described in the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) Regulations 2011.
Equality & Diversity initiatives in DECC
Equality and Diversity Strategy including the DECC Single Equality Scheme
Our Equality and Diversity Strategy sets out our vision and approach to Equality and Diversity and has the full support and commitment of senior management across the Department.
We also included the DECC Single Equality Scheme in this document. Currently the Single Equality Scheme is our action plan to show how we intend to meet the various obligations we have as a public body in relation to Equality and Diversity.
Equality and Diversity Review
One year on from when we launched our Equality and Diversity Strategy we invited an independent expert to conduct a snapshot review of key areas.
Our Management and Change Committee has taken this opportunity to ensure we update our current Equality and Diversity Strategy with particular emphasis on how the diversity and inclusion can make a difference in the effective delivery of our mission and vision. Following consultation with our staff this new strategy will be published later in the year.
DECC People Strategy 2011- 2015
Our new People Strategy launched in January 2012 has made it very clear that Equality and Diversity is one of the key strands of having an engaged workforce. It has embedded Equality and Diversity through its five themes of outstanding leadership; building a diverse and flexible workforce; high performing teams and individuals; a positive working environment and culture; and learning for all.
Equality and Diversity e-learning
To ensure we drive awareness around Equality and Diversity throughout our organisation, the Management and Change Committee confirmed that our Equality and Diversity e-learning course was mandatory. This is reinforced this year through our performance management system where managers and moderating meetings cannot award higher performance ratings to any staff that have not undertaken the Equality and Diversity e-learning.
Stonewall commends DECC as most improved
Stonewall, the campaigning and lobbying organisation on gay, lesbian and bisexual issues, awarded DECC the Most Improved Employer Award in the 2012 Workplace Equality Index following a significant improvement in both its position on the Index and the number of points it received.
DECC is listed in the Stonewall Top One Hundred Employers at 87th out of 363 on this year’s Index, an improvement of 150 places on last year’s position of 237th out of 378. The total number of points DECC has received increased to 136 this year from 98 out of 200 last year.
The DECC Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Transgender Network along with DECC HR and Procurement will be meeting with Stonewall to look at further areas of development in relation to Diversity, HR and procurement policies.
Policies and programmes in place to address equality concerns within the workforce and information from staff surveys
DECC has a range of people initiatives in place to support staff and promote equality and diversity in the workplace. These include the Equality and Diversity strategy, diversity e-learning, establishing and supporting a Diversity Advisory Group who act as an umbrella organisations for the staff networks (Disability, Part-time, Religion and Ethnic Minorities, and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Networks), the Work Environment, Well-being and Diversity sub-committee (a Trade Union and Management policy consultation group), Diversity Champions, Equality and Diversity Review (see earlier) and disability access audits of the buildings.
Equality & Diversity data in DECC
We have provided information about our approach within the organisation, how we build Equality & Diversity into our programmes and projects and how we strive to meet specific measurable equality targets.
Our intention is to add more data where we can and to update the data we do have on a quarterly basis.
Staff (and applicants) in DECC self-declare their personal data. For the majority of the Protected Characteristics this has resulted in historically low declaration rates, resulting in DECC being unable to complete meaningful analysis for these characteristics.
During 2011 all staff were actively encouraged to complete their personal information, and this was supported by the Diversity Advisory Group (the staff networks) and the Trade Unions. Work will continue during 2012 to achieve increased declaration rates.
The make-up of our overall workforce
We carry out diversity analysis on our Senior Civil Service and all staff.
DECC also publishes SCS diversity data as part of its Annual Report and Accounts.
Percentage of people who have declared against each of the Protected Characteristics
| |
SCS |
All DECC |
| |
Dec 2010 |
Dec 2011 |
Dec 2010 |
Dec 2011 |
| Gender / Age |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
| Disability |
77% |
85% |
70% |
71% |
| Ethnicity |
68% |
79% |
63% |
64% |
| Religion |
43% |
61% |
38% |
45% |
| Sexual Orientation |
44% |
59% |
38% |
45% |
Equal Pay Review
We are currently undertaking an equal pay review which will help us to develop an action plan to resolve or reduce any issues that may be identified. We will publish this later in the year.
Performance appraisal analysis
DECC has undertaken a diversity related analysis of the performance marks awarded to staff each year. This has again been hindered by low declaration rates but valid data revealed:
Sex - A higher proportion of females received higher ratings, than the proportion that would be expected.
Age - A higher proportion of younger employees received higher ratings, than the proportion that would be expected.
Historically DECC have large gaps in the diversity information held which makes any analysis statistically invalid. As a result it is not currently possible to publish meaningful data in areas such as recruitment, retention, applications for flexible working and their outcomes (for example to meet the Employment Act 2002), applications for learning and development opportunities and their outcomes, and grievances and disciplinary issues for staff. We are taking action to address this.
Equality Impact Assessments
DECC ensures consideration of the impact of its policy decisions on both staff and the public by completing Equality Impact Assessments as part of our decision-making process. We publish our consultations as part of the Government’s commitment to transparency and accountability across Government.
This table sets out all the Equality Impact Assessments we carried out since June 2010.
Internal policy decisions, for example on people or premises issues, are also subject to an Equality Impact Assessment when appropriate.
In December the Management and Change Committee (a sub-committee of the Departmental Board) completed an annual review of all Equality Impact Assessments in DECC. The review showed that over the last 18 months, DECC has produced 10 full Equality Impact Assessments and 21 initial screenings. 29 regulatory impact assessments stated that they had considered the equality duty and there were no issues.
Contact information
If you want more information about Equality & Diversity at DECC or require our information in a different format, then please contact:
Jerome Williams, HR Policy and Diversity Consultant
Telephone: 0300 068 6927 E-mail: jerome.williams@decc.gsi.gov.uk
Or
Alan Donaghey, HR Policy and Diversity Manager
Telephone: 0300 068 5761 E-mail: alan.donaghey@decc.gsi.gov.uk