Equality Duty
The public sector equality duty consists of a general equality duty and specific duties.
General Duty
The general duty has three aims; it requires public bodies to have due regard to the need to:
- Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010
- Advance equality of opportunity between people from different groups; and
- Foster good relations between people from different groups.
This means that consideration of equality issues must influence the decisions reached by public bodies – in how they act as employers; how they develop, evaluate and review policy; how they design, deliver and evaluate services, and how they commission and procure services from others.
Having due regard to the need to advance equality of opportunity involves considering the need to:
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Remove or minimise disadvantages suffered by people due to their protected characteristics;
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Meet the needs of people with protected characteristics; and
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Encourage people with protected characteristics to participate in public life or in other activities where their participation is low.
Fostering good relations involves tackling prejudice and promoting understanding between people from different groups. Complying with the general duty may involve treating some people different to others, as far as this is allowed by discrimination law.
Specific Duty
The specific duties require public bodies to set specific, measurable equality objectives and to publish information about their performance on equality, so that the public can hold them to account. All information must be published in a way which makes it easy for people to access it.
Information showing that they have complied with the general duty
Public bodies covered by the specific duties must publish sufficient information to show that they have considered the three aims of the general duty across their functions. Information must be published at least annually.
The information published must include information on the effect that the public body’s policies and practices have on equality for service users, and (for those with 150 or more staff) on equality for their employees. Public bodies with 150 or more staff will be expected to publish information on significant and long‑standing inequalities such as the gender pay gap and the proportion and distribution of disabled employees and staff from ethnic minority communities.
Workforce profile
See the workforce profile report for 2022/23.
This document shows how the council's workforce reflects the community we serve and also provides information about the gender pay gap.
Evidence of equality analysis undertaken
To comply with the general duty, public bodies need to understand how their policies and practices will affect equality for different groups, and do this early enough to influence how things are done. Under the specific duties, they must publish evidence of equality analysis they have undertaken to establish whether their policies and practices would further, or have furthered, the three aims of the general duty. They must also publish details of the information they considered in conducting that analysis.
Information must be published at least annually.
Equality objectives
Public bodies covered by the specific duties must publish equality objectives that will help them to further the aims of the general duty. These must be based on published equality evidence and analysis, and they must be specific and measurable. Public bodies must also publish how they will measure progress towards their equality objectives.
Objectives and accompanying information must be prepared and published at least every four years. Erewash Borough Council reviewed the Equality Policy previously approved in April 2016 and agreed a revised Corporate Equality Policy for 2020 – 2024 which incorporates the following objectives:
- Provide a welcoming and safe place for our communities, visitors and businesses which embraces equality and is free from discrimination.
- Provide relevant services that are free from discrimination and delivered in a way that is responsive and accessible.
- Foster an accessible and inclusive working environment for all our staff and strive to achieve a workforce that is representative and diverse.
You can download our Equality Policy below:
