Equality Impact Assessment - Code of Conduct

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1 - Scope

1.1 List the main policy aims / outcomes, who benefits and how

Wiltshire Council’s code of conduct

• Sets out minimum standards of behaviour for employees
• Provides guidelines to help maintain and improve standards
• Aims to protect the reputation of both employees and the council
• Is not exhaustive and does not replace the general requirements of the law, common sense and good conduct

The code of conduct is part of the constitution and supports the council’s core values – in particular the values to

• Deliver high quality, low cost, customer focused services
• Ensure local, open, honest decision making
• Work together to support Wiltshire’s communities

1.2 What data / research / evidence is available which is relevant to this equality impact assessment (EIA)?

• Data is available to show that new employees have received and agreed to the Code of Conduct
• There is a case tracker to monitor disciplinary and grievance cases which could be used to see whether breaches of the code of conduct are higher within particular employee groups which means we need to encourage staff to complete the equality monitoring information in full.

1.3 Is there further data or information you think would be useful in carrying out this assessment?

• Not applicable

2 - Consultation

2.1 Which groups were consulted when preparing the policy / EIA?

• Staff Disability Forum
• BME Staff Forum
• JCC (Unions)
• Legal team
• HR
• Governance team

2.2 Is further consultation required?

• No

3 . Assessing impact and strengthening the policy

3.1 Using data collected (1.2) and information gathered from consultation (2.1) what implications might this policy have on equality?

• Data is held in a case tracker.  It has not currently been analysed to look specifically at code of conduct issues (see action plan)

3.2 How will the policy affect different groups of staff?

Group	How affected (positive or negative)	Any actions required (add to action plan)
Employees with English as 2nd language	Need to ensure they understand the policy before they sign it	Need to ensure new starters are given option to have it in another language
All	Need to ensure that any equality and diversity issues are considered when investigating any breach of code

3.3 Is there anything which could be included in the policy to help promote equality of opportunity and good staff relations or eliminate discrimination, harassment or unfair treatment?

• Not applicable

3.4 Do any of your recommended actions to address any negative effects on one group of staff impact on any other groups?  If so what actions could be taken to mitigate this?

• Not applicable

3.5 Is there anything that can be done to improve accessibility and understanding of the policy amongst staff?

• Ensure updated code of conduct is on HR online and that non-PC users are briefed via team brief.  

4 . Summary

4.1 Will the policy meet the council’s responsibilities in relation to equality and human rights?

• Yes – as it stands

4.2 Have you identified anything through this EIA which should be more widely adopted in other policies or built into planning/strategy work?

• Not applicable

5 . Action Plan

Section of EIA	Actions	Target date	Review date	Responsible postholder
3.2 – Mitigating negative impact on different groups of staff	Ensure pack which is sent to new employees includes information about obtaining policies in other languages and formats Use case tracker to review breaches of code of conduct and identify any groups particularly affected	1 October 2010 Quarterly	1 January 2011 Quarterly	HR Policy Officer to discuss with Recruitment Team Leader MI team
3.5 – Improving accessibility / understanding	Ensure managers are aware of new policy and toolkit via communications teams and HR online Ensure new policy is on team brief for non PC users	1 September 2010 1 September 2010	1 December 2010 1 December 2010	HR Policy Office HR Policy Office

6 - Sign Off

• Quality sign off - Equality and diversity partner - 16 September 2010
• Director level sign off - Service Director for Human Resources and Organisational Development – 1 October 2010

Last updated: 18 April 2011