Annual Equality Diversity and Inclusion Report 2023-2024
As a publicly funded organisation, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust (BHT) is required to publish information annually on how it has met the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) and taken steps to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity for people with protected characteristics and foster good relations between those who share protected characteristics and those who do not. The information provided demonstrates how we have considered how our services and activities, both as an employer and a service provider, affect people with different protected characteristics.
This report provides assurance to the Trust Board and to the Public that BHT is meeting its PSED obligations and continuing to promote an inclusive culture across the organisation. The report summarises our workforce equality, diversity and inclusion activity in 2023/24 alongside our PSED requirements and Equality Standards data. A separate report is published annually in relation to the PSED requirements for our service users.
Meeting the PSED Standards
- Part of meeting the PSED requirements is publishing information relating to employees who share protected characteristics. Our workforce data relating to protected characteristics of our colleagues is contained within this report. For the fourth consecutive year, we have reduced the number of colleagues with ‘undisclosed’ status on various protected characteristics. This is reflective of efforts to cleanse our workforce data and ensure we capture accurate demographic profiles of our workforce.
- Equality objectives for the Trust were renewed in 2022/23 to reflect the NHS EDI Improvement Plan 6 high impact actions (HIAs), which all NHS organisations are encourage to meet. We have made significant progress against these 6 HIAs and we are committed to implementing the remaining HIAs as part of our duties and importantly, in line with our values as a Trust. A supporting action plan is included at the end of this document.
- We are required to publish information on work we undertake to eliminate discrimination and foster equal opportunities for those with protected characteristics. Analysis and recommendations relating to our Equality Standards are contained within this report.
What our Equalities Data tell us
Workforce Race Equalities Standard (WRES): In 2023/24, our data shows a slight decline in recruitment parity, with white colleagues now 1.26 times more likely to be appointed from shortlisting compared to BME colleagues (deterioration from 1.15 in 2022/23), despite successful international recruitment leading to more BME colleagues both applying and being shortlisted for roles. BME representation within the Trust continues to grow, now making up 37.8% of our workforce. Following this increase in the diversity of our workforce, we need to do more to increase representation in leadership roles, which is at 20.4% (of Band 8a% positions held by BME colleagues), and is an EDI Objective for f/y 2024-25. The likelihood of BME colleagues entering formal disciplinary processes has increased, deteriorating from 0.96 in 2022/23 to 1.48 in 2023/24 and a review of ER processes to target this disparity is pulled through into our EDI Action Plan. While there has been some improvement in the experiences of bullying and harassment reported by BME colleagues, disparities with white colleagues persist. To target this disparity, reducing bullying and harassment is both a Trust and EDI Objective for 2024-26.
Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES): The representation of disabled colleagues has increased for the fifth consecutive year, highlighting ongoing work to increase psychological safety and empower colleagues to declare. However, underrepresentation in leadership roles remains, with disabled colleagues making up 5.2% of the workforce but only 4.4% of those in Bands 8a+. Recruitment parity for disabled and non-disabled colleagues has been maintained for the third year consecutive. While there has been some improvement in the experiences of bullying and harassment reported by disabled colleagues, disparities with non-disabled colleagues remains prevalent. To target this disparity, reducing bullying and harassment is both a Trust and EDI Objective for 2024-26.
Gender Pay Gap (GPG): Progress has been made in reducing the gender pay gap, with the mean hourly fixed pay gap decreasing from 26.9% in 2022/23 to 22.9% in 2023/24, and the median hourly fixed pay gap improving from 15.5% to 13.9%. The mean bonus gap also saw improvement, decreasing from 25.5% in 2022/23 to 21.0% in 2023/24. Despite these positive trends, a higher proportion of male colleagues continue to occupy roles in the top pay quartile, particularly in Medical & Dental positions, which contributes to the overall gender pay gap. We are confident that male and female colleagues are paid equally doing equivalent jobs across the Trust and our aim is to reduce the gender pay gap throughout the organisation. However, we accept that this may take several years to achieve.
Progress against f/y 2023/24 objectives
For f/y 2023/24 set 2 objectives in line with our WRES and WDES data. We have achieved the first objective fully and partly achieved the second:
- Improve representation of BME colleagues in AfC Band 8+ roles by 2%
- BME representation in AfC Band 8+ was 18.4% in 2022/23, which has increased by 2.1% to 20.5% in 2023/24.
- Reduce occurrence of bullying and harassment from managers and other colleagues by a minimum of 2% per year
- Whilst we have reduced the percentage of BME colleagues experiencing bullying and harassment from colleagues by 3.2%, from 26.0% in 2022/23 to 22.8% in 2023/24, more work is required to improve the experiences of disabled colleagues.
- The percentage of disabled colleagues experiencing bullying and harassment from colleagues has remained statistically similar in 2023/24 (21.5% in 2022/23, 21.8% in 2023/24).
- The percentage of disabled colleagues experiencing bullying and harassment from managers was 15.0% in 2022/23. This has reduced by 1.0% to 14.0% in 2023/24, and reducing bullying & harassment is a Trust Objective for 2024-26.
Objectives for f/y 2024/25
We are committed to meeting the national NHS EDI Improvement Plan by the required deadline of 2026 and implementing the six high impact areas to embed EDI work further into the organisation. Details of our progress against these areas is documented on pages 42-47. In keeping with these six areas, we have set two priority Equalities Objectives for BHT which also take into consideration our equalities data and progress to date. Our two priority objectives for the next financial year will be:
- Embed fair and inclusive recruitment processes and talent management strategies that target under-representation and lack of diversity.
- Create a working environment that eliminates the conditions in which bullying and harassment occur. (This objective is a 2 year objective in line with the Trust Objective for 2024-26)
An associated Action Plan to achieve these objectives is included at the end of this document.