Employee passport: equality impact assessment

Stage 1: Framing

Results of framing exercise

The creation of an employee passport is in recognition that each member of staff has circumstances which may impact their work at some point in their career, whether on a short-term, long-term or permanent basis.

The purpose of the passport is to help create a supportive environment allowing people to function at work at their best, by recognising individual needs and circumstances. For some that might be living with a health condition or disability that requires a workplace adjustment to remove barriers. For others it may be carer responsibilities, pregnancy or fertility treatment, religious observance, volunteering commitments, part time working arrangements, or undergoing gender reassignment treatment – to name just a few.

The passport is in two parts:

• Part 1 – is a simple word document for staff to set out their particular circumstances to help start a discussion with their line manager. Some of that discussion may be for their manger's awareness or information, or it may lead to identifying and agreeing local arrangements or formal adjustments. Local arrangements are those adjustments which are agreed and implemented locally with agreement from the passport user and the line manager.
• Part 2 – colleagues submit this part of the passport to the Workplace Adjustments Team via HR online on iFix when it is felt that they would benefit from advice and/or support from the workplace adjustments team in putting in place a more formal adjustment. This could be a piece of Assistive Technology software, an assessment of workplace needs for staff with a neuro-diverse condition or some other piece of equipment. It may well be that the line manager and passport user do not know what is available and need to discuss the circumstances and ask for advice from the workplace adjustments team. At the end of the process, the formal workplace adjustments will be noted in the passport and the passport holder's HR record will be updated.

Benefits

There are a number of benefits for the employee, the line manager and the organisation more generally.

Benefits for employees:

• Setting out on paper some of an employee's circumstances might help start a discussion with their line manager, that might be uncomfortable to initiate verbally or in written communication.
• While the employee will decide what information to tell their manager, sharing information can help them better understand something they may be unfamiliar with and help them think about how best to support them.
• Allows an employee to explain the impact of their circumstances on them at work.
• Lets the employee suggest adjustments they think might assist.
• Lets the workplace adjustment team help arrange an adjustment and transfer adjustments when the employee moves to a new post.
• It will be particularly helpful if the employee changes line manager. Their passport will set out their circumstances, what adjustments have been previously agreed and the arrangements for them and will avoid having to "retell their story".

Benefits for line managers:

• Better understanding of staff's circumstances and possible impact on work.
• Able to better balance the needs of the business with that of the individual.
• Helps recognise signs that an employee's circumstances may be having greater impact.
• Input of workplace adjustment team takes pressure off of the line manager to arrange adjustments.
• Sets out in advance, stay in touch arrangements during any absence from work.

Benefits for the organisation:

• The passport will record all workplace adjustments and this will provide a significant amount of management information on the nature and uptake of workplace adjustments which is not available at present.
• Everyone using the passport will become aware of workplace adjustments, and their use will become more mainstreamed. This will have a positive impact on the culture and values of the Scottish Government.
• The passport will provide a direct link to workplace adjustments policy and processes and will increase uptake.
• The passport will be key to establishing the new, recently piloted, approach to workplace adjustments.

Extent/Level of EQIA required

A full EQIA is required. It details a new product which seeks to increase inclusion, mainstream workplace adjustments, facilitate progression and improve the service for workplace adjustments for both new and existing staff.

This EQIA links to EQIAs relating to on-boarding and the recruitment of employees.