We are dedicated to creating a workplace that is inclusive, fair, and supportive for everyone.
To achieve this, we collect information about the protected characteristics of our employees, along with data on recruitment, development, and retention.
Please review our Equalities Mainstreaming and Outcomes page for more information on our most recent report.
Diversity details disclosure rates
In recent years, we’ve updated our diversity reporting categories to better align with the Scottish Census questions. While this ensures consistency, it has also contributed to lower disclosure rates across some categories,
We recognise the importance of accurate diversity data. We are actively working to encourage more colleagues to review and share their details and we continue to explore ways to build higher disclosure rates.
Why We Collect This Data
This isn’t just about meeting our legal obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty it’s about building a better workplace and improving the services we provide.
By understanding the diversity of our workforce, we can:
- Identify and remove barriers to opportunity
- Ensure fair access to career development
- Track progress towards our equality outcomes
- Make informed decisions that reflect the needs of our colleagues
How We Stay Accountable
- We report on our workforce diversity data on an annual basis and use this to help with our progress against mainstreaming equalities and setting our equality outcomes every four years.
- We publish our workforce diversity data in our annual EDI priorities progress report as well as our website every 2 years. You can view our report here.
This keeps us transparent, accountable, and focused on continuous improvement.
Our workforce data on age
Our workforce is predominantly composed of colleagues aged 45–64, we are increasing representation from younger age groups, with 7% between the ages of 18 and 25. Employees aged 65 and over account for 6.7% of the workforce and despite older individuals forming a larger share of the general population of Orkney.
It is important to attract people from all age groups to work at the council and to plan ahead to ensure there are enough workers of all ages to keep public services running smoothly. Having employees from a broad range of backgrounds including age brings us a wealth of knowledge, experience and different ideas to better meet the needs of our communities.
Our workforce data on carers
Currently we have 17% of our workforce who have told us they have caring responsibilities.
We understand how difficult it can be to juggle work and these responsibilities, and we continue to improve the support we offer to our colleagues to help them better balance these commitments.
Our workforce data on disability
As a Disability Confident Employer, we're working to improve awareness, build trust, and support managers so more employees feel comfortable sharing disability related information and are better supported at work.
As part of our Disability Confident commitment we are working to equip managers to support disabled candidates when applying for jobs with us. You can take a look at our Reasonable Adjustment Guide to Recruitment here.
Our Workforce data on Sexual Orientation
The number of employees sharing their sexual orientation has stayed fairly similar over the past couple of years. As with other diversity information, we find that many new starters don't disclose this when they join us.
