We have included a summary of the Diversity Data that we submitted to the SRA in July this year so that visitors to our website have a better understanding of the make-up of our people.
We collate and submit this data to the SRA every 2 years, under their requirements.
The below graph shows a breakdown of responses for:
- Age
- Sex
- Limited activities
- Religion
- Sexual orientation
- School
- Parent’s education and occupation of the main household earner
- Caring responsibilities
We recognise that our workforce is currently under-represented by particular groups. We are actively considering ways of improving this.
When it comes to recruitment, we are committed to attracting applications from a diverse range of candidates. This is achieved by considering, and making it clear on our adverts, whether a particular role is suitable for part time/condensed hours, as this may be more attractive to certain groups, such as working parents. In addition, we offer homeworking where possible to attract applications from people with disabilities and/or those with other responsibilities that means they require an alternative working pattern. Our Head of HR is in the process of making an addition to our Careers page, to include a document “what to expect from your interview” which will include typical questions, dress code and formality as well as the approximate duration of the interview. The purpose of this is to allow candidates to better prepare for interviews, enabling them to bring their “best self” on the day. People who are neuro divergent will predominantly benefit from this, as the document will provide an understanding as to interview structure and questions.
One thing that particularly stands out from the data is that our employees have different levels of caring responsibilities, as 40% of respondents are a primary carer for a child (or children) under 18, and 20% care for somebody with physical or mental ill health. In order to support our employees with their caring responsibilities, we introduced paid dependant’s leave at the start of this year. The aim of this was to remove the pressure of having to take unpaid leave should they need time off to care for their dependant (such as taking them to a medical appointment or caring for them if they are ill). By reducing the need to take unpaid leave, we can also better support employee financial wellbeing.
We are constantly reviewing our recruitment and retention incentives to ensure that we attract a range of candidates whilst also continuing to support our employees, to retain talent.
