Equality and diversity report

What we have achieved in 2023-24

Workforce diversity and inclusion

Our Vision is to be an employer who embraces, and welcomes diversity, who is truly inclusive and who demonstrates equality for all. We'll go the extra mile so that our approach is representative of the communities we serve and each other. What we will do will set us apart from others and we'll encourage others to follow our lead, because it's not just the right thing to do, or because the law requires us to, it makes for better outcomes for the council, the community we serve and our people.

At Gateshead Council, we recognise the importance and the need to value Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). Creating an environment where differences are embraced allows for alternative ideas and ways of thinking to flourish, both of which are fundamental in ensuring we continue to deliver value for money and exceptional service' in a way that connects with our customers, communities and partners.

Our greatest asset are our people and by investing in EDI we are investing in them; thereby allowing us to be in the best position possible to strive towards our workforce vision of being an employer who embraces, and welcomes diversity, who's truly inclusive and who demonstrates equality for all.

We recognise the need to value difference, and we have much to be proud of in the progress we have made in recent years, and over the last 12 months. Of course, whilst there have been some notable achievements, there remain challenges we must continue to overcome, as well as new ones being presented by our ever-changing society evolving public service.

Key achievements for 2023-24

• maintained Level 2 DWP Disability Confident Employer status
• launched our Workforce EDI strategy and policy
• developed and launched our Workforce EDI strategic objectives and short-term delivery plan
• accredited a 'one to watch' organisation by Best Companies, following employee survey results
• partnered with Midlife MOT programme and Able Futures to support employee wellbeing
• launched our job evaluation project
• preparing for the first ever Pride in Gateshead events
• developing our Menopause policy

Inclusive strategies and policies

Workforce EDI Strategy and Policy

The importance we place on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is reflected in our new Workforce Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy,  Workforce EDI policy and delivery plan. Our strategic commitments and objectives were designed by our people to represent who we are.

One of our key objectives over the last year was to develop and launch our workforce EDI strategy and policy and we did that in March 2024. Our engagement forums helped to inform and shape the content and over the coming 12 months will be key stakeholders in monitoring progress.

We will develop a Workforce EDI Board chaired by the council's Chief Executive.

Apprenticeship Strategy

Work continues on the Apprenticeship Delivery Plan; embracing a health and safety culture; development of career pathways and succession plans; development and delivery of management development and leadership programmes; and embedding the hybrid working model. We are reviewing our apprenticeship offer and aim to develop a proposal during 2024 which will detail how we attract, recruit and retain our apprenticeships ensuring we attract from a diverse talent pool.

Attracting and Selecting Talent

We have commissioned Sullivan Brown Resourcing Partners to undertake a wholesale review of our attraction, recruitment and on boarding process. Recommendations will be implemented over the next 12 months to improve bringing a new era of HR recruitment, evolving our business, consistently focussing on the needs of both individuals and communities we serve to ensure we deliver the best possible service.

Employee Engagement

Best Companies Employee Engagement Survey

We partnered with Best Companies to understand how well our workforce are engaged and to identify opportunities where we can be better.  We achieved a One to Watch accreditation from Best Companies which makes Gateshead Council an employer with good levels of workforce engagement.

Internal Governance and Consultation

Our governance and consultation structure ensures a diverse approach to meeting our Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) thereby allowing us to provide an outstanding service and ensure we are consulting with groups covered by the Equality Act 2010. The key groups we regularly work with include:

Employee Equality Network

Brings together our employee voice. It is providing an opportunity to engage, update, challenge and strengthen our relationships with our employees. It offers constructive and critical appraisal on strategy, policies, and services with a view to improving service delivery. Work is ongoing to scope the setup of Support Networks to compliment and support this forum.

Engagement Events

Pride 2023

In the summer of 2023, we attended Northern Pride it began with a 5km run, followed by the Pride March and a full weekend of celebrations. Key messaging centred around recruitment, apprenticeships and fostering. It is incredibly important that we participate in the Pride March, stand with our LGBTQ+ colleagues and continue to uphold our ally ship within these communities.

HR Service Manager "It was very educational and helped me gain knowledge about, discrimination and racism."

International Women's Day 2024

We joined the global celebration of International Women's Day, celebrating women's achievement and joined the conversation to raise awareness against bias. This year we've had conversations with women who work in roles across the council which break the bias.

Senior HR adviser "it was inspiring to hear other colleagues' stories".

Collecting, analysing and publishing workforce data

Gender Pay Gap Gateshead

Gateshead Council 2023/24 Gender pay gap report (opens new window)

All public sector organisations employing 250 people or more are required to report on their Gender Pay Gap (GPG) by 31st March each year. This enables us to assess levels of equality in our workforce and put in place an internal action plan with measures to address the GPG, whilst also ensuring we meet our legal obligations set out by The Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017.

The Gender Pay Gap is the difference between the average pay of men and women in an organisation. All data submitted represents a snapshot as of 31 March 2023.

In summary, our mean gender pay gap is 6.18% and our median gender pay gap is 12.96%. Since reporting against the gender pay gap began in 2017, the council have generally demonstrated a trend reduction in the gender pay gap. The council is a diverse organisation employing people across all grades in a wide variety of job roles and across a range of professions, providing a range of services.

It should be noted that gender pay gap differs from equal pay. Whilst equal pay concerns the differences in pay between men and women who carry out the same jobs, similar jobs, or work of equal value; gender pay gap reporting shows the differences in the average pay between men and women. If women do more of the less well-paid jobs within an organisation than men, the pay gap is usually bigger. We use job evaluation to address equal pay; however, it can still be the case that there is a gender pay gap due to our employee profile.

Council Workforce Data

People are our greatest asset, and we understand that a workplace which embraces diversity is more likely to attract and retain talented people. As part of the Equality Act, we are required under the public sector equality duty to show how we are meeting our responsibilities as an employer, including a requirement to publish information regarding our workforce.

Our workforce data for all council employees (excluding local authority-maintained schools) is included in Appendix 1 to this report. The workforce data is a snapshot of employee headcount (not posts) taken on 31 March 2023.

Job Evaluation Project

We are undertaking a significant piece of work focussed on pay and job evaluation. We aim to maintain and improve pay equity by modernising our approach to role design aligning pay and benefits with context, culture, and market.

Our project was introduced to ensure that our pay model was representative of the current job market and competitive.

The key objectives of the project are to:

• analyse and fully understand roles
• modernise our reward offer and implement a new pay structure based on job size
• provide a platform to inform career pathways, succession planning and design of our organisational structures and frameworks

The model provides fairness and principles of equal pay legislation. Role holders, managers and heads of department were all involved in the project to ensure fairness, transparency and consistency, along with the completion of an Integrated Impact Assessment.

Next year we will be able demonstrate progress and learning outcomes as the project evolves and continues through to completion.

Learning, development and progression

Workforce development training delivered

Health and Wellbeing

Better Health at Work Award

BHAWA focuses on the health and wellbeing of staff and different interventions that workplaces do to increase the health and wellbeing of their employees against specific criteria. Public Health facilitate and assess this award for Gateshead.

Health Advocates Network

Supports and develops a positive wellbeing culture in the workplace and beyond. During 2023-24 the group have shaped emerging wellbeing policies and practices, in particular the development of the workforce wellbeing strategy and overall workplan.

Smart Working

How and where we carry out our roles to maximise flexibility, whilst ensuring a fair and equal approach to the working environment has been introduced.

In terms of supporting reduced hours workers and those with caring responsibilities, we have generous flexible working arrangements and special leave policies, all of which we regularly review to ensure they remain fit for purpose and reflect current good practice. Where service provision allows, these policies apply across the organisation, regardless of grade.

Workforce strategic commitments and objectives 2024-25:

1.    Understand our workforce through data insight

2.    Develop workforce to create an inclusive culture

3.    Create transparency and implement scrutiny to improve service delivery

To support and achieve the successful delivery of these we are committed to developing projects to increase workforce engagement in EDI. Our employee survey results will give us the opportunity to gain more understanding about how we can create a culture of inclusivity and enhance our policies and processes to support our workforce.   

We want to build the capability and confidence of our leaders to be visible and accountable role models. Our workforce strategy and delivery plan set out all the areas we'll be working on to improve the experience of an employee at Gateshead Council to. There are many factors that make up a great employee experience, with pay and reward being key influencers in our ability to recruit and retain the best talent.

Looking into 2024-25 there are several opportunities to progress even further with our ambitious EDI plans with our leaders and wider workforce.

Key highlights include:

• continuing to listen and engage with our workforce and particularly those from under-represented groups, using this feedback to create an inclusive environment that welcomes and supports differences
• improve and understand our workforce disposition, which will continue to assist us to develop and create an inclusive culture
• develop and promote our employer brand to attract and retain more diversity into the exciting careers we have, by enhancing flexibility, support and commit to reviewing our family friendly policies and employee benefits
• enhance and promote EDI governance and scrutiny to ensure transparency and accountability