Review of Agenda for Change in NHS Scotland – Equality Impact Assessment
This EQIA has been prepared for the Review of Agenda for Change (AfC). As part of the 2023/24 pay deal, Scottish Government committed to a review of AfC. The review was conducted in collaboration with Scottish Government, Health Trade Unions (Staff Side) and NHSScotland Employers.
Disability
Data and evidence gathering, involvement and consultation
Data
The Scottish Household Survey shows that 30% of the participants declared a long-term physical or mental health condition in 2019, of which 6% stated their condition was not limiting.
| 2019 | |
|---|---|
| Yes, limiting | 24 |
| Yes, but not limiting | 6 |
| None | 70 |
| All | 100 |
| Base | 9740 |
Data Source: SHS Data Explorer (shinyapps.io) Scottish Households Survey Data
Labour Market Statistics for Scotland by Disability published 31 May 2023, estimates a 31.9 percentage points disability employment rate gap.
Data Source: Disabled people in the labour market in Scotland - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
NHSScotland Workforce Data shows that 1.4% of respondents declared a disability as of March 2023. NHSScotland Workforce data pertaining to the protected characteristics is based on self-reporting by staff in NHSScotland. As such we are aware that there may be under reporting.
| 31-Mar-23 | 31-Mar-22 | 31-Mar-21 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not Known | 30.0 | 31.5 | 32.9 |
| Yes | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.1 |
| No | 60.6 | 58.9 | 57.4 |
| Declined | 8.0 | 8.3 | 8.6 |
Data Source: Publications | Turas Data Intelligence (nhs.scot) We have used workforce data collected from the Scottish Workforce Information Standard System (SWISS) for information on the numbers and breakdown of the workforce by protected characteristic.
Assessing the impacts and identifying opportunities to promote equality
Policy or Process Development Considerations
Policy Officials have assessed the data and as per the Heads of Agreement, have ensured that any policy or process changes would not incur any financial detriment to staff. If any proposed changes were to impact an individual, they would remain protected through the Equal Pay Act 1970 (legislation.gov.uk).
Accessibility Considerations
Policy Officials have confirmed that the Microsoft ‘Accessibility’ checker in the Power Apps studio was used when the Review of Band 5 online portal was created to ensure the app was accessible.
Users who have vision, hearing, or other impairments can utilise this portal more easily and successfully when you consider when accessibility is considered in the design of how it looks and behaves. The Accessibility checker not only finds potential accessibility issues, but also explains why each might be a potential problem for users who have a specific disability and offers suggestions on how to resolve each issue. The Accessibility checker detects screen-reader and keyboard issues, providing information about how to fix colour contrast issues by using accessible colours.
Review of Band 5 Job Profiles, Protected Learning Time, Pay and Reward & Reduced Working Week Impacts
In assessing whether the policy for all working groups impacts on people because of disability, it was determined that:
The process has a positive impact in eliminating unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation.
Reasons for this decision include:
- The policy has been written to meet legislative requirements, meeting statutory responsibility.
The process has a positive impact in advancing equality of opportunity.
Reasons for this decision include:
- A person-centred approach is promoted in the application of all NHSScotland Workforce policies, this is demonstrated across the policy and supporting documents.
The process has a neutral impact in promoting good relations among and between disabled and non-disabled people.
Reasons for this decision include:
- The policy applies to all Agenda for Change staff and Employers are encouraged to take a person-centred approach.