Equality Impact Assessment Policy

1. Introduction

   • 1.1. The College is committed to promoting equality in all its activities. We aim to provide a work, learning and teaching environment free from discrimination and unfair treatment.

   • 1.2. An impact assessment is a process of identifying and removing any barriers (arising from policy or practice) that may cause discrimination against a protected group. This Policy provides information on EIAs and guidance on how to conduct them.

   • 1.3. The Equality Act 2010 requires public bodies to be pro-active in achieving positive equality. Leicester College takes its commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) very seriously. It will evidence that it is meeting the Public Sector Equality Duty by completing EIAs of new or significantly revised or updated policies, strategies, services or other significant documents. This will enable EDI issues to be considered together with any mitigations if a potential adverse impact is found. EIAs can also highlight positive benefits in relation to changes and new ways of working

2. Conducting Equality Impact Assessments

   • 2.1. An EIA should be conducted for any new or significantly changed policy, strategy, service or other significant document at an early stage. The EIA should not be completed retrospectively. This is to identify and mitigate against any negative impacts and to maximise any potential positive impacts The EIA should involve an initial screening using the form included at Appendix 1 which should be attached to any policy or other document seeking approval and should be signed off by ELT. Any member of staff may complete the screening although advice should be sought from the relevant Director. The HR team and Head of Inclusion can also provide further support and advice depending on the subject matter. The EIA panel is also available to support and advise on the potential impact any new policy/strategy or service could have on a protected and/or vulnerable group within our College community and are available to act as a “critical friend” in advance of EIA’s being presented to ELT. Where relevant student representatives will also be included to provide a student perspective. Where the screening identifies a significant negative impact for a group groups, the initial decision to make the change should be reviewed or amended to mitigate against the impact and a more detailed EIA in the form of a report should be undertaken. This could include an action plan to ensure the impact is minimised over time. Further details are given below.

3. Equality Impact Assessment Screening Form

   Section 1 – Key Details

   • 3.1. Please complete this section in as much detail as possible. Include the name of the policy being assessed, type of change, department and area, names and job titles of those completing the assessment and the date.

   Section 2 – Aims and Objectives

   • 3.2. Please identify the policy aims, including its scope, for example does it cover students, staff or a particular cohort. The purpose needs to be defined in some detail as it is this ‘intention’ that the impact assessment will seek to measure.

   Section 3 – Outline intended outcomes and benefits

   • 3.3. The EIA process is an evidence based one and is therefore not possible without adequate data. How the evidence is obtained will vary and it will be important to choose a method that is appropriate and proportionate.

   Screening

   • 3.4. Please identify which groups may be impacted by the change and whether those impacts are positive, negative or neutral.

     • Positive impact: The evidence suggests that the policy is robust; there is no potential for discrimination or any negative impact. All opportunities to promote equality have been taken. The change will most likely have a positive impact.

     • Negative impact: There is a disproportionate impact on one or more protected or vulnerable group. This might mean the policy could be potentially discriminatory. Where necessary, changes to the policy should be designed to minimise negative effects and maximise positive impact. Examples of a negative impact for a protected characteristic group could be: o Ethnic minority staff disproportionately impacted on by a particular change o Interview panels lack diversity and are dominated by one group o New facilities developed without consultation with groups of students/staff directly affected. o Offering a benefit to one group of staff and excluding others

     • Neutral impact: There is no disproportionate negative or positive impact on people with protected characteristics.

   Section 4 – Consultation and Engagement

   • 3.5. Consultation should take place with appropriate stakeholders as part of the EIA process to help assess whether there is a potential positive, neutral or negative impact. The scale of the consultation will vary; the higher the potential for negative impact the more comprehensive the consultation will need to be.

   • 3.6. Where there is a potential negative impact, the consultation should include any proposals to reduce this impact. Consideration should also be made to what action can be taken to move a neutral impact to a positive one, or a negative impact into a neutral one over time.

   Section 5 – Likely Impact

   • 3.7. Based on the answers to the questions you have completed in section 3, please identify what the overall likely impact is.

   Section 6 – Sign off

   • 3.8. ELT will consider the EIAs for any document or proposal and may ask for further consideration of issues before they sign them off.

4. Detailed Equality Impact Assessment

   • 4.1. Where a negative impact is identified, a detailed EIA in the form of a report should be produced and considered. This will involve the consideration of:

     • All monitoring data available

     • Considering research/other data that may be relevant

     • Consulting with stakeholders (internal and external)

     • Seeking further advice (internal and external)

     • Devising an action plan to address any adverse impacts. In some cases, it may not be possible to mitigate all or any negative impacts, but this should be noted in the EIA.

   • 4.2. Appendix 2 provides a form to aid the completion of the EIA.

   • 4.3. The HR team and Head of Inclusion can also provide further advice.

   • 4.4. All EIAs should be presented to ELT for consideration in advance of any final decision and in cases where governor approval is needed for a proposal or document, should be included in the documentation that is presented to governors.

5. Monitoring and Review

   • 5.1. This Policy will be kept under review by the Equality Diversity and Inclusion Committee.