Somerset Council's Equality Workforce Report
The Workforce Equalities Report provides an overview of the Council’s performance in terms of equalities in relation to employment. It includes workforce data collected and some summary notes where applicable.
The Equality Act 2010
The act covers nine protected characteristics, which cannot be used as a reason to treat people unfairly. Every person has one or more of the protected characteristics, so the act protects everyone against unfair treatment. The protected characteristics are:
- age
- disability
- gender reassignment
- marriage and civil partnership
- pregnancy and maternity
- race
- religion or belief
- sex
- sexual orientation
Carers are protected through association with disability but is not one of the nine protected characteristics.
The Equality Act sets out the different ways in which it is unlawful to treat someone, such as direct and indirect discrimination, harassment, victimisation and failing to make a reasonable adjustment for a disabled person.
The act prohibits unfair treatment in the workplace, when providing goods, facilities and services, when exercising public functions, in the disposal and management of premises, in education and by associations (such as private clubs).
Equality duties
The General Equality Duty
The Equality Act 2010 also places proactive duties on public authorities, these are called the General Equality Duties. These duties apply to all of the protected characteristics:
- eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation
- advance equality of opportunity between people from different groups
- foster good relations between people from different groups
The Specific Equality Duties
The General Equality Duties are supported by two specific duties. These are two duties that ask public authorities to publish information to evidence their compliance with the General Duties and produce objectives to evidence how they will promote and meet the General Equality Duties.
Somerset Equality Objectives 2024 to 2026
- Work across council services and with external partners to deliver a minimum of 2 initiatives that will improve people access to information and services who are otherwise digitally excluded by December 2025.
- By 2025, and by working with partners from across the County, improve access to, and information about, public amenities and services for those residents who are otherwise excluded by disability.
- A reduction of 15% in the number of cases of school-based peer-on-peer discrimination by April 2026.
- Work towards being an Anti-Racist organisation, with a review of progress by December 2025.
Monitoring Approach
The Council will, every 6 months, produce an update report, demonstrating the progress that has been made against the council’s objectives, identifying the actions that have been delivered, or are being delivered. The report should also set out what work will be undertaken over the next 6 months.
Somerset Equality Partnership
The Somerset Equality Partnership will be a collaborative partnership between the public bodies in Somerset and the Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise organisations that support people from the protected characteristics, where we learn, understand and work together to face the challenges that our communities are facing, by using lived experiences, knowledge of current issues and the work that the group is doing in local communities, to see how we can overcome, collectively, the problems faced.
Equality Framework for Local Government
The framework helps local councils to meet their obligations under the Equality Act 2010 including the Public Sector Equality Duties. The Equality Framework for Local Government has four improvement modules:
- Understanding and Working with your Communities
- Leadership and Organisational Commitment
- Responsive Services and Customer Care
- Diverse and Engaged Workforce Somerset Council undertook a Equality Framework for Local Government Peer Challenge on October 2023
Visit Equality Framework for Local Government (local.gov.uk) for more information.
Contact the team
Corporate Equalities Team
Somerset Council,
County Hall,
Taunton,
Somerset
TA1 4DY
Phone: 03001232224
Fax: 01823 355529
Email: Equalities@somerset.gov.uk