Social Security Scotland – client and staff insights: research findings

6. People and Recruitment / Equality and Diversity Findings

The tables in Annex C present both e-HR data (for the period up to end March 2019) and staff survey data (collected in October 2018) on Social Security Scotland’s workforce characteristics. Population comparator data is also presented where available. 

At 31 March 2019 there were 363 directly employed staff and 39 contingent workers working for Social Security Scotland. The majority of these (58%) were based in Dundee. 

At the end of March 2019, the largest proportion of Social Security Scotland staff (30%) fell into the 30-39 age bracket, and the majority were female (57%). 

Staff survey results from October 2018 show that the majority of staff (60%) were new to working for the Scottish Government or its predecessors. 

At this early stage in the organisation’s development, e-HR diversity data do not present a fully accurate picture of staff characteristics. For example, as of March 2019, information on disability status is 58% unknown. Work will be undertaken within the organisation to improve e-HR diversity declaration rates. In contrast, 100% of those who completed a staff survey in October 2018 provided information relating to disability. As discussed in a previous publication, early indications from these data suggest that Social Security Scotland staff are representative of the Scottish working population.