I thought I would have a look into Equality Impact Assessments (referred to as EqAs or EqIAs) as they have cropped up in a few news articles over the last few weeks. It was not so long ago that most people thought that an Impact Assessment was something that an insurance assessor carried out after a road traffic accident. Now, of course, it refers to a much wider range of considerations when “organisations assess the social, economic or environmental impact of a current or proposed action”.
The biggest number of equality impact assessments are currently being worked through in public sector organisations as deeper cuts in expenditure, manpower and working terms and conditions are being planned. These are required as it is a statutory duty that any public sector organisation carries out an impact assessment whenever any change of significance is being planned. One change that recently sought to improve service without increasing cost was a modification to working hours for HMRC contact centres. Their EqIA gave “full consideration to people of different: race, disability status, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation, transgender, religion or belief, political opinion (Northern Ireland only), languages and people with dependants”. http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/consultations/final-contactc-opening.pdf
The decision was made to go ahead with the changes as, while some sections would be disadvantaged by the cut in Sunday opening hours, the improved availability during weekdays would, on balance, provide an improved overall service.
This type of assessment is clearly important and one that typically the Unions would call for on this or any other change that would impact on their members. Yet details of the Impact Assessment carried out by the Public Sector Workers Union in advance of their recent strike is not currently searchable on their website. It is clear that an Equality Impact Assessment is highly desirable when many people across the country are significantly affected economically and socially by strike action, just as a careful assessment of the impact of changes to retirement ages and pension terms is critically important before agreement can be reached on the fairest way to implement them.
By Mike Cooney | Righttrack’s Commercial and Financial Director