Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Priorities Progress Report

2025/2026

Orkney Islands Council

Orkney Islands Council Education Authority

Orkney Islands Area Licensing Board

Contents

• Orkney Islands Council Equality Statement
• Mainstreaming Equality
  • Leadership
  • Policies and practices
  • Raising and maintaining awareness
  • Education
  • Sport and Leisure
  • Community Learning, Development and Employability
  • Licensing
• British Sign Language Local Plan 2024 – 2030
• Equality Outcomes 2023 – 2027 progress update
• Equal Pay
  • Gender Pay Gap
  • Ethnicity Pay Gap
  • Disability Pay Gap
• Occupational Segregation
• Annex 1 - Equalities monitoring data
  • Employee diversity and monitoring
  • About our workforce

Orkney Islands Council Equality Statement

We are committed to fulfilling the three key elements of the general equality duty as outlined in the Equality Act 2010:

• Eliminating discrimination, harassment and victimisation.
• Advancing equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. This means removing barriers, meeting different needs and encouraging participation.
• Fostering good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not, improving integration, building understanding, and reducing bullying and harassment.

The protected characteristics as defined by the Equality Act 2010 are:

• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Pregnancy and maternity
• Race, this includes ethnicity, colour, and national origin
• Religion or belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation
• Marriage or civil partnership

Everyone has protected characteristics, but it is the treatment individuals and groups experience, the level of autonomy they have, and the positive or negative outcome for them, that are its focus. As a Council we will seek to:

• Remove or minimise disadvantages experienced by people due to their protected characteristics
• Meet the needs of people from protected groups where these are different from the needs of other people
• Encourage people with protected characteristics to participate in public life or other activities where their participation is disproportionately low
• Be transparent, accessible and accountable

Mainstreaming Equality

Mainstreaming is an approach to delivering equality within an organisation and it contributes to continuous improvements and performance. It is aimed at ensuring that equality principles and practices are integrated into every aspect of an organisation from the outset. The focus should not only be internal mainstreaming equality principles into procedures and systems, but also external mainstreaming equality principles into policies and customer service delivery. Mainstreaming provides a framework that facilitates and complements equalities legislation and other equality measures.

This simply means integrating equality into our day-to-day work. We take equality and fairness into account in the way we go about our business when acting as an employer, when planning and providing services and when making decisions.

Mainstreaming ensures that equality becomes part of our culture. This benefits both employees and service users who know that they will be treated fairly and contributes to continuous improvement and better performance.

We are committed to promoting equality, which means recognising that everyone has different needs and taking action to ensure that we are all able to participate in society. Our aim is that Orkney is a community where we all have the opportunity to fulfil our potential.

Orkney Islands Council (OIC) is the public body responsible for all local government services in Orkney. We have an impact on many aspects of everyday life, and our activities touch the lives of everyone living in our island community, from schools to the care of older people. Our councillors meet regularly to make decisions about local services and about various aspects of life. These decisions are then implemented by our workforce. With equality at the heart of everything we do, we never forget that we are here to serve the public and have a big role to play in improving the quality of life enjoyed by people throughout the islands.

Leadership

Our Elected Members have responsibility for promoting equality and diversity within the Council and externally. They engage and listen to the views of our local communities through a range of methods enabling them to take a more collaborative approach to addressing inequalities within Orkney.

Supporting inclusive access to Elected Office

The Access to Elected Office Fund (Scotland) helps remove barriers that disabled people may face when standing for election by providing funding for practical support and reasonable adjustments, such as communication support, transport and personal assistance.

We promoted awareness of this fund to support greater equality of opportunity in democratic participation and encourages a more diverse and representative range of candidates for elected office. Please visit our webpage for more information Access to Elected Office Fund.

This promotion contributes to EDI objectives by improving accessibility, reducing barriers to participation and supporting the inclusion of disabled people in public and political life.

Policies and practices

Policies and practices internal to our organisation should not be discriminatory. Equality, diversity and inclusion issues are fully considered when developing new policies and processes and when they are reviewed periodically.

Human Resources and Organisational Development (HR and OD) delivers a programme of workshops and training for colleagues to ensure that our people policies and procedures are understood. This includes training in Recruitment and Selection, Grievance, Managing Sickness Absence and Learning and Development policies.

Equally Safe at Work policy development

IMAGE: The Equally Safe at Work and Close the Gap logos appear beside the section on policy development.

As part of our Gender Pay Gap action plan and our commitment to achieving the Equally Safe at Work accreditation, we have reviewed and strengthened our policy framework to better reflect on our commitment to preventing gender-based violence and creating a safe, supportive workplace for everyone.

This work included updating existing policies and introducing new policies to ensure that employees experiencing the impacts of gender-based violence have access to appropriate support and are able to work in a safe and inclusive environment.

The updated policies were:

• Flexible Working Policy
• Dignity at Work Policy now Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination Policy

New policies:

• Sexual Harassment Prevention, Awareness and Support Policy
• Supporting Colleagues Experiencing Gender-Based Violence, including Domestic Abuse Policy

These new and updated policies align with best practice and reinforce our commitment to fostering a workplace culture that is respectful, inclusive and free from gender-based violence.

Raising and maintaining awareness

It is important in mainstreaming equality that OIC builds and maintains awareness of our duties as an employer and service provider. All employees are required to periodically complete an e-learning course which aims to raise awareness about the importance of equality and diversity. The course covers equality legislation and is designed to encourage employees to think about and challenge their own perceptions. Equality and diversity awareness forms part of the induction programme for Elected Members, as well as ongoing briefings relating to the general equality duty, updates on changes to equality legislation and other equality-related topics.

Increasing awareness of the value of diversity helps embed equality, diversity and inclusion across our organisation. Throughout the year, regular organisation-wide communications are used to highlight EDI related topics and key awareness campaigns including Trans inclusion, Pride Month, International Women's Day and Carers Week.

With the launch of OIC’s new website, we will be taking the opportunity to review and strengthen our EDI communications over the next year, with the aim of increasing visibility of awareness-raising activities, improve engagement across the organisation, and support participation within the wider community.

Education

Mainstreaming equalities is integral to the delivery of education services and are embedded through supporting strategies, plans and activities including Orkney Children’s Services Plan, Equity and Excellence in Education plan, Good Parenting Plan, Community Learning and Development Partners Plan, Local Employability Plan and within work relating to the Scottish Attainment Challenge.

Sport and Leisure

The sport and leisure and community learning and development teams brought a SportScotland Kits for All initiative to Orkney, inviting the community to donate pre-loved sportswear to help remove financial barriers to sport and physical activity. The aim of this project was to tackle the cost of buying sports clothing, which prevents many people from participating in physical activity and the environmental impact of waste. Running from 3 November until 5 December, the campaign aimed to collect sportswear for both children and adults. All donated items were redistributed free of charge to individuals and families who needed them most. The campaign formed part of our commitment to improving access to sport and physical activity to everyone, whilst supporting environmental sustainability through re-use and recycling.

Improving access and inclusion to summer sport

The Summer of Sport 2026 programme demonstrates Orkney's commitment to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion through increased access to sporting opportunities for young people. Funded through a £51,000 award from SportScotland, the initiative provided free activities across Orkney, helping to reduce financial barriers to participation.

A wide range of sports, including football, athletics, hockey, fencing, netball and swimming, were delivered across the mainland and outer isles, ensuring opportunities were accessible to young people regardless of where they lived. The programme also included dedicated inclusive sessions, supporting participation for those who may face additional barriers to sport and physical activity.

By removing cost barriers, reaching rural and island communities, and providing inclusive opportunities for young people of all abilities, the Summer of Sport 2026 programme supported greater participation, wellbeing and community engagement across Orkney.

Orkney’s first fully inclusive play park

IMAGE: A Manse Road Play Park Update graphic shows the redesigned inclusive play park, including accessible play equipment, a trampoline, sensory footpath, swings and wheelchair-accessible features. The graphic is titled “Manse Road Play Park Update”.

The redevelopment of the Manse Road play park which reopened in July, is Orkney’s first fully inclusive play park, highlighting our commitment to creating a more inclusive community.

Shaped in partnership with Inclusive Orkney, the play park offers accessible play opportunities for children of all abilities, helping to remove barriers to participation and ensuring that all families feel welcome. Visitors have praised features such as the trampoline, sensory footpath and swings, which have quickly become personal favourites. The project showcases inclusive design in action and supports our broader ambition to make services and public facilities accessible to everyone.

Community Learning, Development and Employability

IMAGE: The Neurodiversity Training logo accompanies the section describing free neurodiversity training.

The Community Learning, Development and Employability (CLDE) team organised a programme of free neurodiversity training for parents, carers, volunteers and professionals who support children and young people in community settings. Delivered by Neurodiversity Training UK, the sessions provided accessible, evidence-based learning tailored to local needs, following consultation with families and support services.

The training offered clear introduction to neurodivergence, including key conditions, executive functioning and emotional regulation, alongside practical strategies to support communication, sensory needs, wellbeing and inclusive practice. Separate sessions are delivered for parents and for professionals and volunteers, ensuring content is appropriate to different roles and contexts.

By providing free, locally tailored training with both in-person and online delivery options, the programme improved access to specialist knowledge in an island community, helping to build confidence and capacity among those supporting neurodivergent children and young people. This contributes to more inclusive environments across homes, community groups and activities, and supports improved outcomes for participants.

Orkney Youth Conference – Supporting Young People's Mental Health and Wellbeing

Delivered by the Community Learning, Development and Employability (CLDE) Youth Services Team in partnership with Scottish Action for Mental Health (SAMH), the Orkney Youth Conference 2026 - Your Mind. Your Voice. Your Future, provided young people from across Orkney to come together to learn about mental health, wellbeing and self-care in a supportive and inclusive environment.

The conference aimed to bring together young people from across the islands to participate in discussions and included a dedicated session for pupils from Westray to ensure equitable access.

Through interactive workshops and discussions, young people explored mental health, resilience, coping strategies and available support services. The event encouraged participants to share their views, challenge stigma and develop confidence in discussing wellbeing.

This initiative helped to promote positive mental health and reduce barriers to support, ensuring participation for young people from rural and island communities, and to empower young people to have a voice in issues that affect them.

Local Employability Partnership

The Local Employability Partnership (LEP) is a collaborative network of employers, public sector organisations and support agencies working together to improve employability, promote inclusive recruitment practices and support workforce development across Orkney.

IMAGE: An Employment Support Showcase poster for the Orkney Local Employability Partnership invites employers to register interest at www.orkney.gov.uk/ole. It advertises an event on Friday 14th November, from 9am to 3pm at the Old Library, with the message “Discover support to recruit, retain and grow your workforce.” The schedule includes welcome and refreshments, an overview of the Orkney Local Employability Partnership, Employability Recruitment Incentives, work experience programmes and pathways to employment, supported employment and benefits for employers, a break, Access to Work and Disability Confident schemes, work support for parents, lunch and marketplace, mental health in the workplace, feedback and evaluation, and a marketplace to speak to partners about available support.

In November 2025, the LEP hosted an employment support showcase, bringing together local employers and support organisations to promote inclusive employment and workforce development across Orkney. Throughout the day, attendees heard from a range of partners on topics including Employability Recruitment Incentives (ERIs), work experience opportunities, Access to Work, Disability Confident, job carving, workplace wellbeing, and support for employees affected by drug and alcohol issues.

The programme combined presentations, case studies and networking opportunities, allowing employers to learn about the practical support available to help recruit, retain and develop a diverse workforce. A marketplace session enabled attendees to engage directly with partner organisations and discuss their individual business needs.

The event concluded with a feedback and commitment session, encouraging employers to consider actions they could take to create more inclusive workplaces and strengthen employment opportunities within the local community. Overall, the event successfully raised awareness of available support services and fostered stronger connections between employers and partner organisations.

Licensing

Although the Licensing Board has a separate legal status from Orkney Islands Council it is resourced entirely by the Council. The close connection between the Board and the Council enables the Board to benefit directly from the Council’s awareness building, training and actions relating to equality, diversity and inclusion. This means taking into account the way in which the Board achieve their day-to-day business and integrating equalities into everything they do such as regularly equality impact assessing licensing related policies.

British Sign Language Local Plan 2024 – 2030

As required by the BSL (Scotland) Act 2015, Orkney Islands Council launched our BSL Plan in 2024 and set out actions which will improve the way BSL users find out about our services and have access to them. A BSL version of the plan is available here.

The BSL Progress Group continues to meet to review progress, actions, feedback and opportunities to deliver on our BSL Local Plan 2024 - 2030. In January 2026, a Teacher of the Hearing Impaired was appointed to post, following a one-year empty vacancy after the previous postholder left. A member of the NHS Audiology team now attends the meetings, which has strengthened representation. However, overall representation within the group remains limited. As a result, the group will review its members to identify any gaps and explore opportunities to broaden participation.

Kirkwall Christmas tree lighting

IMAGE: School children in white shirts perform at the Kirkwall Christmas Tree Lighting event, using signing as part of their performance.

An example of the work to integrate more inclusive communication is the Kirkwall Christmas Tree Lighting event in 2025. Bringing the community together to celebrate the festive season in a welcoming environment and showcasing the participation of school children, who incorporated signing as part of their performance.

Events like these help raise awareness of different communication needs and highlight the importance of accessible communication. By incorporating signing into community events, we promote equality and inclusion whilst showcasing the positive contribution young people can make to their communities. You can watch the highlights of the event here.

Other key actions delivered through the Council and NHS Orkney’s BSL Local Plan included:

• BSL pen drive training resource provided to all schools.
• BSL and hearing support resources regularly provided to Nurseries.
• Delivery of short online BSL courses at Stromness Academy and Kirkwall Grammar School.
• Let’s Sign established as the resource to be used in Orkney Schools and resources regularly updated and shared.
• Class signing projects with signed stories and signed songs.
• S3 Wider Achievement BSL class delivered at Kirkwall Grammar School.
• 6 people including one student at KGS have completed the Level One BSL course.

Equality Outcomes 2023 – 2027 progress update

We are committed to pursuing objectives that make real improvements for people by reducing inequalities and increasing inclusion, whilst fostering good relations and building connections between communities.

These equality outcomes set in 2023 were designed to focus on the areas that we consider most important, and that we have the scope to realistically influence in the four-year period as an employer, service provider, and as a partner with communities and other organisations within Orkney, including UHI Orkney.

Delivery plans were developed for each outcome, and progress is reported below on the third year of related actions.

Equal Pay

Orkney Islands Council is required to publish information on the percentage difference among our employees between men’s average hourly pay (excluding overtime) and our women’s average hourly pay (excluding overtime). This is known as the gender pay gap.

The gender pay gap figures are calculated using the average (mean) as well as the median average which gives a greater indicator of any gender inequalities in pay.

• The mean, sometimes referred to as the ‘average’ is where we add up all the numbers and then divide by the number of numbers.
• The median is the ‘middle’ value in the list of numbers. To find the median, we list our data in numerical order from smallest to largest, so we can identify the middle entry from the list and find the median.

The figures have been calculated based on permanent employees and relief workers have not been included. For the purposes of equal pay calculations, the data relating to sex has been taken from the payroll records of employees. This is a separate record to that of the general diversity data held for each employee which relies on self-declaration.

We are committed to ensuring that the process of determining pay and conditions of employment for all our employees is free from bias and should not discriminate. There are however, some service areas that are traditionally more male-dominated, such as Marine Services and Towage. These services are competing for applicants within private industry such as the oil and renewable energy sectors and therefore the level of pay reflects this.

Although we acknowledge that employing a complex and diverse workforce across a range of services and professional areas further adds to the impact of societal and educational factors on the gender pay gap, reducing pay gaps at the Council remains a long-term goal.

The following data are the most recent snapshot figures as at 31 March 2026 relating to pay gaps. These figures are used to inform ongoing actions within the plan.

Gender Pay Gap

Women continue to be represented within the highest earning roles across OIC. Of the 96 employees within the top 5% of earners, 34 are women representing 35.4% of this group. This is an increase from 33.3% in 2024/25.

The overall mean hourly rate for female employees is £19.34 compared with £19.79 for male employees, resulting in a mean gender pay gap of 2.3%. This represents a relatively small difference in average hourly earnings between male and female employees.

Analysis of full-time and part-time employees shows a different position. Female full-time employees have an average hourly rate of £23.28 compared with £21.86 for male full-time employees, resulting in a mean pay gap of -7%. Female part-time employees have an average hourly rate of £17.63 compared with £16.35 for male part-time employees, resulting in a mean pay gap of -7.8%. Negative pay gap figures indicate that women have a higher average hourly rate than men within these employee groups.

The median hourly rate for female employees is £15.79 compared with £15.38 for male employees, resulting in a median gender pay gap of -2.6%. This indicates that the middle-paid female employee earns slightly more than the middle-paid male employee. The same pattern is reflected within both full-time and part-time employee groups.

These figures suggest that pay rates across the organisation remain broadly equitable. Whilst a mean pay gap exists, the median pay gap and the pay gap figures for both full-time and part-time employees are in favour of women. We will continue to monitor pay gap information and workforce trends and will take forward actions that support equality of opportunity, career progression and representation across all levels of the organisation.

Whilst OIC’s gender pay gap figures appear favourable to women across full-time and part-time, these results should be considered alongside the wider workforce profile. Women continue to be disproportionately represented in a number of lower-paid occupational groups across the organisation. Consequently, although mean and median pay gap figures indicate that women earn slightly more than men in certain areas, occupational segregation remains evident. This highlights the importance of considering pay gap data alongside workforce composition, career progression opportunities, and representation across different job types and grades. Further analysis of occupational segregation is provided below and identifies areas where women remain concentrated in lower-paid roles.

Gender Representation in the Top 5% of Earners

Mean Gender Pay Gap

Median Gender Pay Gap

Ethnicity Pay Gap

Our pay gap information for black and minority ethnic employee groups are based on a calculation for minority ethnic combined employees in comparison to white combined employees and does not include data for employees not stating their ethnicity.

No pay gap has been identified based on ethnicity however we acknowledge that we report low figures for ethnic diversity within our workforce. Work continues to address the gaps in employee diversity data.

Disability Pay Gap

The disability pay gap as at the reporting date is -3.65%, indicating that employees who have declared a disability have a slightly higher average hourly rate than employees who have declared no disability. The mean hourly rate for disabled employees is £20.35 compared to £19.63 for non-disabled employees.

While no adverse disability pay gap has been identified, we remain committed to supporting an inclusive workplace through our Disability Confident Employer status and by promoting fair recruitment, progression and development opportunities for disabled employees.

Work continues to improve workforce diversity data, with increasing disclosure rates remaining a key priority. Better data will support future analysis and monitoring.

Occupational Segregation

Occupational segregation is the concentration of certain groups of employees in particular grades and occupations.

• Horizontal segregation is when women and men are concentrated into different types of work.
• Vertical segregation is when women and men are concentrated into different levels of work.

For example, women tend to be found in lower paid jobs such as in care, cleaning or admin roles and these jobs are also lower paid. It is one of the major causes of the gender pay gap.

From the figures below there is evidence of vertical segregation based on gender. There are high concentrations of women within the lower grade posts. These grades contain the traditionally female dominated roles such as Social Care Assistants, Care at Home, Cleaning and Administrative colleagues. Unlike some councils, OIC continues to directly employ people in lower-paid roles such as cleaning, which has an impact on gender pay gap figures particularly when making comparisons with benchmark data.

Figures show that more women are in lower graded posts across the OIC and more men are holding higher grade posts. This changing point is around grade K and is influenced by the significant horizontal and vertical segregation within the Neighbourhood Services and Infrastructure directorate (as per the organisational structure for this reporting period). The figures also show there are more women than men in part-time roles, and it is noted that part-time work is often lower paid with fewer opportunities for progression. This means the gender pay gap is more apparent when comparing women’s average hourly part-time wage versus men’s average hourly full-time wage.

Occupational segregation data has been reviewed through the Equally Safe at Work working group to better understand the factors contributing to the trends and identify opportunities to address them. A targeted action plan is being finalised, with initiatives to be implemented over the next 12 months to help reduce occupational segregation and support greater balance across roles and grades within OIC.

The following Occupational Segregation report is reported by directorate based on the structure new management structure implement in 2025:

• ECH – Education, Communities and Housing
• ER – Enterprise and Resources
• IOD – Infrastructure and Organisational Development
• OHAC – Orkney Health and Care
• CX – Chief Executive Services

Figures in the following table give a snapshot as at 31 March 2026 and are rounded to closest whole number.

Occupational Segregation by Service and Sex 2026

Annex 1 - Equalities monitoring data

Employee diversity and monitoring

Orkney Islands Council undertakes its equality duty to monitor and report on specific information about employees to help identify any trends and to address any identified inequalities. We collect, publish and monitor information about the diversity of our employees to help us check that we are supporting a culture of diversity and inclusion and identify areas for improvement. Whilst employees are asked to keep their diversity information up to date, we recognise that this is voluntary and not everyone chooses to disclose all information. Increasing disclosure rates on the diversity of our workforce is ongoing work.

When colleagues across OIC feel safe, supported and confident in being themselves at work, we gain the benefit of diversity across our organisation. Diversity of thought, expression and belief impacts how we deliver our services and increases the resilience of our organisation, increasing our ability to respond to the diverse needs of our community.

IMAGE: A MyView diversity-data prompt says “Welcome to My View” and “Help us improve our Diversity Data collection”. It instructs employees to log in to My View, click on My Personal Details, scroll down to Diversity Details, complete the questionnaire and press Submit. It states that responses are confidential and strictly used for monitoring purposes.

Employees are asked to update their personal information held on the electronic HR system MyView. This includes the ability to update details relating to the protected characteristics which can be updated at any time through the self-service system. This process is part of our Corporate Induction and regular organisation-wide communications are issued encouraging employees to update their details on MyView.

Accurate and up-to-date data helps us better understand the diversity of our workforce, identify any potential inequalities, and ensure that employees can access appropriate support when required. Work is ongoing to improve the disclosure rate of diversity details and includes:

• An additional section on diversity data in the New Employee Induction programme, to specifically improve disclosure rates for new starts.
• A specific prompt within the Annual Good Conversations process for employees to review and update their diversity information, in order to help improve disclosure rates across the organisation and raise awareness and understanding of why this is important.

About our workforce

Age

IMAGE: Bar charts show age distributions for all employees, leavers and new starts. For all employees: 18 and under 0.8%, 19 to 25 5.9%, 26 to 34 13.9%, 35 to 44 21%, 45 to 54 24.5%, 55 to 64 27%, 65 to 70 4.6%, and 71 and over 2.3%. For leavers: 18 and under 0.7%, 19 to 25 8.2%, 26 to 34 10.6%, 35 to 44 17.4%, 45 to 54 17.1%, 55 to 64 27%, 65 to 70 16%, and 71 and over 3.1%. For new starts: 18 and under 6.4%, 19 to 25 13.4%, 26 to 34 17.3%, 35 to 44 22.6%, 45 to 54 15.9%, 55 to 64 18.7%, 65 to 70 3.2%, and 71 and over 2.5%.

New starters have a slightly younger age profile than the overall workforce. The largest proportion of new employees were aged 35 to 44 (22.6%), with almost 20% of new starts aged 25 and under, including 6.4% aged 18 and under.

Leaver data continues to reflect the ageing workforce, with the highest proportion of leavers aged 55 to 64 (27%), followed by 45 to 54 (17.1%) and 35 to 44 (17.4%). Employees aged 65 to 70 also represented a notable proportion of leavers (16%).

Carers

IMAGE: Pie charts show caring responsibilities. Among all employees, 16.5% answered Yes, 33.7% No, 2.1% Prefer not to say, and 47.7% had No data. Among leavers, 12.3% answered Yes, 34.1% No, 2.4% Prefer not to say, and 51.2% had No data. Among new starts, 6.4% answered Yes, 12.7% No, 0.4% Prefer not to say, and 80.6% had No data.

The data on caring responsibilities has remained similar to previous reporting periods. Compared with the previous reporting year, there has been a 3.66% increase in the number of new employees declaring that they have caring responsibilities. This may indicate improved awareness and confidence in providing diversity information during the recruitment process.

Disability

IMAGE: Charts show disability status. Among all employees, 54.1% answered No, 3.1% Yes, a lot, 1.7% Yes, a little, 2.3% Prefer not to say, and 38.8% had No data. Among leavers, 49.5% answered No, 3.1% Yes, a lot, 2.4% Yes, a little, 2.4% Prefer not to say, and 42.7% had No data. Among new starts, 19.1% answered No, 0.4% Yes, a lot, 3.2% Yes, a little, and 77.4% had No data.

The disability data has stayed similar previous reporting periods across both the overall workforce and leavers. There has been an increase of almost 2% of new employees declaring that they have a disability that affects them a little since last year. This may indicate growing confidence amongst new employees in disclosing disability information.

Health condition

IMAGE: Bar charts show health conditions among all employees, leavers and new starts. Among all employees: Long term condition 3.1%, Mental Heath condition 1.6%, Deafness/partial hearing loss 0.3%, Full/part loss voice/difficulty… 0.04%, Development disorder 0.1%, Learning difficulty 0.4%, Learning disability 0.3%, Physical disability 0.3%, No Condition 11.9%, Prefer not to say 1.6%, and No data 80.3%. Among leavers: Long term condition 2.1%, Mental Heath condition 2.1%, Deafness or partial hearing loss 0.7%, Development disorder 0.7%, Learning disability 0.3%, No condition 10.2%, Prefer not to say 2.4%, and No data 81.6%. Among new starts: Long term condition 1.5%, Mental Heath condition 12.4%, Deafness or partial hearing loss 0.4%, Learning difficulty 1.1%, No condition 1.5%, Prefer not to say 1.5%, and No data 81.6%.

Long-term health conditions and mental health conditions continue to be the most reported health conditions where information has been provided.

There has been a slight increase in new starters disclosing a long-term health condition, while declaration rates for leavers have improved through a reduction in records recorded as ‘no data’.

Ethnicity

IMAGE: Charts show ethnicity among all employees, leavers and new starts. Among all employees: White - Scottish 44.5%, White - Other British 13.4%, White - Irish 0.3%, White - Polish 0.3%, White - Gypsy/Traveller 0.04%, Other White Ethnic Group 2.1%, Other Ethnic Group 0.3%, Mixed or Multiple Ethnic Group 0.4%, African - incl Scot or British 0.2%, Caribbean or Black 0.1%, Other Asian Origin 0.1%, Asian - Indian incl Scot or British 0.1%, Asian - Chinese incl Scot or British 0.1%, Asian - Pakistani incl Scot or British 0.04%, Prefer not to say 1.5%, and No data 36.7%. Among leavers: White - Scottish 33.5%, White - Other British 16.7%, White - Irish 1%, White - Polish 0.3%, Other White Ethnic Group 1.7%, Other Ethnic Group 0.3%, African - incl Scot or British 0.3%, Other African, Caribbean or Black 0.3%, Prefer not to say 2.4%, and No data 43.3%. Among new starts: White - Scottish 10.3%, White - Other British 6.4%, White - Irish 0.4%, Other White Ethnic Group 0.7%, African - incl Scot or British 1.1%, Caribbean or Black 0.4%, Prefer not to say 0.4%, and No data 80.6%.

Ethnicity data remains consistent with the previous reporting, with White Scottish and White Other British employees continuing to represent the largest ethnic groups.

No significant changes were identified in the ethnicity profile of the workforce, new starters or leavers. However, ethnicity disclosure rates remain low, particularly amongst new starters.

Religion or Belief

IMAGE: Charts show religion or belief among all employees, leavers and new starts. Among all employees: Church of Scotland 15.7%, Roman Catholic 2.2%, Buddhist 0.3%, Pagan 0.7%, Other Christian 6.1%, Jewish 0.04%, Hindu 0.1%, Muslim 0.04%, Other Religion 1.4%, None 32.1%, Prefer not to say 4.5%, and No data 37%. Among leavers: Church of Scotland 0.3%, Roman Catholic 1%, Pagan %, Other Christian 6.1%, Jewish 0.3%, Other Religion 2.7%, None 26%, Prefer not to say 6%, and No data 43%. Among new starts: Church of Scotland 2.3%, Roman Catholic 1.1%, Buddhist 0.4%, Pagan 0.8%, Other Christian 2.6%, None 11.3%, Prefer not to say 0.4%, and No data 81.2%.

Religion and belief data has remained consistent with the previous reporting period. Employees reporting no religion or belief continue to represent the largest declared group, followed by Church of Scotland, Other Christian and Roman Catholic.

No significant changes have been identified in the religion and belief profile of the workforce.

Sex

IMAGE: Pie charts show sex among all employees, leavers and new starts. Among all employees, Female is 21%, Male is 9.4%, Prefer not to say is 0.6%, and No data is 69%. Among leavers, Female is 19.1%, Male is 8.2%, Prefer not to say is 0.3%, and No data is 72.4%. Among new starts, Female is 11.3%, Male is 7.9%, and No data is 80.8%.

No significant changes have been identified in the sex profile of employees, new starters or leavers. While the proportion of female and male leavers has changed slightly year on year, overall trends remain stable.

Performance management statistics show that of the employees involved in either a grievance, disciplinary or dignity at work process, 50% are women and 50% are men.

Sexual Orientation

IMAGE: Charts show sexual orientation among all employees, leavers and new starts. Among all employees: Straight / heterosexual 57.9%, Gay or lesbian 0.5%, Bisexual 1%, Other Sexual Orientation 0.3%, Prefer not to say 2.5%, and No data 37.7%. Among leavers: Straight / heterosexual 50.9%, Gay or lesbian 0.7%, Bisexual 1.4%, Prefer not to say 3.4%, and No data 43.7%. Among new starts: Straight / heterosexual 17.7%, Bisexual 0.8%, Prefer not to say 0.8%, and No data 80.8%.

Sexual orientation data has remained consistent with previous reporting periods, with the majority of employees who provided information identifying as straight/heterosexual.

Transgender employees

Figures are collected for Transgender employees, new starts and leavers and these remain low (less than 1%) but analysis shows that these are consistent with previous years’ data.