Workplace adjustments: onboarding process - equality impact assessment

Footnotes

1. Vision: We successfully attract and retain new talent and fully support business and social enterprise. Our achievements are underpinned by a strong culture of research, innovation and development. We take seriously the wellbeing and skills of our workforce and provide good quality, fair work, training and employment support for all. Employers actively fulfil their corporate responsibilities.(Indicator of reducing inequalities)

2. The Scottish Government is deliberately taking an approach that goes beyond public sector equality duties and using 'workplace adjustments' instead of 'reasonable adjustments'.The reasonable adjustments duty was first introduced under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The reasonable adjustments duty under the Equality Act (2010) operates slightly differently but the object is the same: to avoid as far as possible by reasonable means the disadvantage a person experiences because of their disability. Employers have a duty to take steps to remove, reduce or prevent the obstacles people face as workers or job applicants with a disability, where it's reasonable to do so.

3. An employee passport will allow an individual to be able to access through their account and transfer their workplace adjustment data, requirements and where possible equipment with them when they move post internally and facilitate conversations with new managers as part of that process

4. Refer to Definitions of Protected Characteristics document for information on the characteristics

5. 8% of staff have self-declared disabled (that includes unknowns) and when unknowns are taken out that rises to 13%: CAST figures: December 2019

6. In respect of this protected characteristic, a body subject to the Public Sector Equality Duty (which includes Scottish Government) only needs to comply with the first need of the duty (to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act 2010) and only in relation to work. This is because the parts of the Act covering services and public functions, premises, education etc. do not apply to that protected characteristic. Equality impact assessment within the Scottish Government does not require assessment against the protected characteristic of Marriage and Civil Partnership unless the policy or practice relates to work, for example HR policies and practices.

7. See EQIA – Setting the Scene for further information on the legislation.