Equality and diversity

We screen our policies and services to assess those most likely to impact on different groups of people. Equalities Impact Assessments (EIAs) have been carried out for those likely to have the greatest impact to make sure that they do not discriminate. These assess and record the actual, likely or potential impact on different groups of people so that any negative consequences can be eliminated or minimised. It also identifies unmet need which can be used as the basis of service improvement.

We carry out an EIA at the planning stage when it is considering adopting something new or changing (in a way that would be considered to have an impact on the user) something it already does or stopping something it is doing.

An Improvement Plan is developed to outline the actions proposed to mitigate each identified actual or potential negative impact on any equality group (Including the Protected Characteristics defined within the Equality Act 2010). Actions from this Improvement Plan should be included as part of the final report and implementation taken forward as a part of the process.

The Head of Communities & Partnerships is the Equality and Diversity Champion within the Council and is a permanent member of the Extended Management Team.

This information is correct as of 27 September 2023.

Tandridge District Council’s workforce is key to the success of our organisation and service delivery, and therefore consideration of our employee demographics is essential to future workforce planning and organisational strategy.

It is optional for staff to provide information on the topics included in this report therefore the percentage figures reported should be treated with an element of caution. The percentages of staff not providing information are included for completeness.

Employee Ethnicity

The largest ethnicity group within our workforce is ‘British White’ at 55% of the workforce (74% of those who selected an option).

Employees with a disability (as per definition under the Equality Act 2010)

57% of Tandridge’s workforce declare that they are not disabled (89% of those who selected an option), with only 7% declaring a disability (11% of those who selected an option). Where an employee consider they have a condition which affects their ability to perform ‘normal day-to-day activities’ for a period of 12 months or more, this is classed as a disability under the Equality Act 2010. For the purposes of our workforce data, we ask employees to self-declare this.

Employee age

The default retirement age of 65 was removed in April 2011 – allowing employees to keep working beyond 65 if they want or need to. The state pension age is currently 66 for those employees retiring now, and for those born after 5th April 1960 it is 67 and will eventually rise to 68. We may see a rise in employee numbers over the age of 65, particularly for those that are not in the Local Government Pension Scheme.

Employee's religion or belief

32% of Tandridge’s workforce are Christian (58% of those who selected an option) and 21% of employees declare they have no religion (38% of those who selected an option).