Public and Commercial Services Union

In order for all members to benefit from the monitoring provisions of the employment duties, it is important to ensure that all staff participate in monitoring exercises.

As such it is useful to put out notices, reminders as well as include talks about the importance of participating in monitoring exercises at branch meetings.

Successful monitoring exercises take place when monitoring is undertaken in a sensitive and collaborative way with early trade union involvement.

The importance of collecting equality data

Staff need to understand and appreciate the importance of collecting and analysing data.

Annual participation in monitoring exercises should be seen as the norm for everyone and as a continuing valuable employment practice that reaps positive benefits – not a one off check box exercise.

Some issues that reps/negotiators may need to address include:

• How monitoring will be undertaken?
• Where will the information be stored?
• Who will have access to data?
• In what form will information be published?
• How does management intend to use the information to make improvements for staff and service users?

Equality data can prove invaluable

Data collected by means of monitoring exercises provide invaluable tool in negotiating improvements for the whole workforce.

Trade union reps/negotiators should ascertain from management:

• How management intend to involve union at the early stages of analysing data?
• How often management intend to share information with the trade union?
• How will targets be set? Are they measurable, realistic, achievable?
• How will under represented groups, in particular black staff be consulted?
• How will policies be reviewed and their impact assessed?

Impact Assessments

Public authorities are expected to undertake impact assessments of their existing and proposed policies to ensure that they meet with the general duties under the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000.

For instance many departments are considering relocating posts – what are the racial implications of these proposals?

In terms of service provision and employment practices – who will gain? Who will loose? Are the effects of the proposals indirectly discriminatory?

Impact assessment is a systematic approach to assessing who gains and who loses in any change that has or is about to take place.

Negotiators and reps will need to assess the impact of any claims they submit or claims that are in the process of being submitted.

In order to assist the impact assessment provisions, the following criteria can be used:

• What are the aims of the policy or agreement and how it will work
• In relation to the policy or agreement, is there any existing data/research available that indicates how different racial groups have been affected by a policy or practice
• What is the likely impact on race equality, ie, will all racial groups benefit from the policy or will some racial groups suffer a detriment?
• Who needs to be consulted about the effects of the policy or agreement?
• What arrangements are in place to monitor policy/agreement and its impact?

Negotiators, reps and branches should ensure that they obtain regular reports from the employer regarding the use of monitoring data to pursue issues and related claims that may arise.

Any changes to employment practices, policies, terms and conditions or work organisation should be subjected to the monitoring and impact assessment provisions of the amended Race Relations Act 1976.