Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Setting equality objectives is an important way for us to show our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. Therefore, the Council has six equality objectives to help drive equality and inclusion across all areas of the Council’s work, as well as demonstrate compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty:

• Know the diversity of our community and understand its need
• Show leadership and commitment in promoting equality and challenging inequality
• Work in partnership with public, private, voluntary and community organisations to reduce the equality gaps and improve lives
• Actively engage our community to participate in decision making processes to improve the services we provide
• Provide services that meet the needs of the diversity of the community and are accessible to all
• Have a workforce where everyone is treated equally with dignity and respect, with an ongoing commitment by the Council to regularly report and review our gender pay gap

We aim to ensure that all of our customers are treated equally and enjoy equal access to our services. No one will be treated less favourably than anyone else because of their sex, age, disability, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, marital status or socio-economic status.

We try to ensure that information about our services is accessible to all and can produce documents in alternative formats, such as, large print, Braille, audio tape, electronic formats or in a different language.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission champions equality and human rights for all, working to eliminate discrimination, reduce inequality, protect human rights and to build good relations, ensuring that everyone has a fair chance to participate in society. It is a non-departmental public body established under the Equality Act 2006 and it opened on 1 October 2007.

It combines the responsibilities and powers of the three previous equality commissions: the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) and the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), which had responsibility for promoting racial, disability and sex equality in Britain.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission provides details of the duties and responsibilities of public authorities in Britain. It covers the statutory equality duties and the implications of the Human Rights Act 1998 for all public sector organisations.

The equality standard for local government is a framework which local authorities can use to make sure that they are compliant with equality legislation. The Standard was prepared by the Local Government Association together with the various equalities commissions and has five key areas:

• Understanding and Working with your Communities
• Leadership
• Partnership and Organisational Commitment
• Responsive Services and Customer Care
• Diverse and Engaged Workforce

The equality framework for local government measures equality performance against three levels of attainment: ‘Developing’, ‘Achieving’ and ‘Excellent’. North Kesteven District Council is currently at the ‘Achieving’ level of the framework.

As part of the work responding to the Public Sector Equality Duty, North Kesteven District Council has produced a Workforce Equality Profile to help us understand key equality issues in our workforce. Collecting and monitoring data on the diversity of our workforce allows us to examine how our employment practices and processes are working, so areas where these appear to be impacting disproportionately on certain groups of staff can be identified.

The publication of equality information is designed to make decision-making more transparent and help to explain how and why decisions have been made. Equality information can also help to understand patterns and trends and the effects of the Council’s policies and practices.

An Equality Impact Assessment is a thorough analysis of a Policy. Its purpose is to improve the work of the Council by making sure we promote equality and do not discriminate. We assess and analyse the effects our policies, activities and decisions are likely to have on people by carrying out an Equality Impact Assessment. We do this to make sure our decisions are fair, our services are accessible to all people in our communities and that we do not discriminate. This includes looking for opportunities to promote equality and foster good relations, as well as reviewing negative or adverse impacts that can be removed or reduced.

We assess and analyse the effects our policies, activities and decisions are likely to have on different people by carrying out an Equality Impact Assessment. We do this to make sure our decisions are fair, our services are accessible to all people in our communities and that we do not discriminate. It should also, where possible, be used to do all it can to promote equality and good relations between different groups.

North Kesteven District Council also considers rurality and socio-economic matters in its decision-making process. Rurality is how we assess the potential impact of a policy or service on rural communities and ensuring equally effective and successful outcomes for communities and individuals in the design and delivery of public services, regardless of location. Socio-economic matters relates to where a person is living, their interactions with society and financial status.

As part of the Public Sector Equality Duty, North Kesteven District Council is required to engage and consult with residents on various policies and activities of the local authority.

Equality monitoring is the name North Kesteven District Council gives to personal information we collect about the people who use our services. The monitoring of responses ensures that the Council is not discriminating against any section of society when delivering and providing services.

To evidence this, the Council includes equality monitoring questions on surveys. These questions mean North Kesteven District Council can track satisfaction and service usage and can ensure that people from protected groups have been consulted with. In addition, the Council recognises that some people may have different service needs than others. Therefore, asking these questions allows the Council to tailor services to meet these needs. North Kesteven District Council does not publish individual responses and all surveys are input and analysed by the Corporate Information Team who do not have access to any customer records. This way, personal information provided cannot be tracked back to individuals. Furthermore, as stated on the form, the monitoring questions are entirely optional. Therefore, if residents are not comfortable with answering them, as with any other question, they are able to leave them blank

The Equality Act 2010 brings together separate pieces of legislation into one single Act simplifying the law and strengthening it in important ways to help tackle discrimination and inequality. It provides a cross-cutting legislative framework to protect the rights of individuals and advance equality of opportunity for all. In addition, it is intended to deliver a simple, modern and accessible framework of discrimination law which protects individuals from unfair treatment and promotes a fair and more equal society.

The Public Sector Equality Duty came into force on the 5 April 2011. The Equality Duty replaces the three previous duties on race, disability and sex, bringing them together into a single duty, and extending it to cover age, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief and sexual orientation.

The Equality Duty requires public bodies to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations in the course of developing policies and delivering services. 

Gender pay gap report 2023

Gender pay gap as a mean average

The mean gender pay gap at North Kesteven District Council is 8.45%.
The mean hourly rate for male employees is £17.66, alongside the mean hourly rate for female employees at £16.17.

Gender pay gap as a median average

The median gender pay gap at North Kesteven District Council is -8.30%.

The median hourly rate for male employees is £13.86, alongside the mean hourly rate for female employees at £15.01.

Gender pay gap report 2022

Gender pay gap as a mean average

The mean gender pay gap at North Kesteven District Council is 8.8%.

The mean hourly rate for male employees is £16.40, alongside the mean hourly rate for female employees at £14.95.

Gender pay gap as a median average

The median gender pay gap at North Kesteven District Council is -5.0%.

The median hourly rate for male employees is £13.30, alongside the mean hourly rate for female employees at £13.97.

Gender pay gap report 2021

Gender pay gap as a mean average

The mean gender pay gap at North Kesteven District Council is 6.1%.

The mean hourly rate for male employees is £15.86, alongside the mean hourly rate for female employees at £14.90.

Gender pay gap as a median average

The median gender pay gap at North Kesteven District Council is -8.3%.

The median hourly rate for male employees is £12.94, alongside the mean hourly rate for female employees at £14.01.

Gender pay gap report 2020

Gender pay gap as a mean average

The mean gender pay gap at North Kesteven District Council is 10.1%.

The mean hourly rate for male employees is £15.28, alongside the mean hourly rate for female employees at £13.74.

Gender pay gap as a median average

The median gender pay gap at North Kesteven District Council is 0%.

The median hourly rate for male employees is £12.84, alongside the mean hourly rate for female employees at £12.84.

Gender pay gap report 2019

Gender pay gap as a mean average

The mean gender pay gap at North Kesteven District Council is 10.3%.

The mean hourly rate for male employees is £14.54, alongside the mean hourly rate for female employees at £13.05.

Gender pay gap as a median average

The median gender pay gap at North Kesteven District Council is -0.4%.

The median hourly rate for male employees is £11.51, alongside the mean hourly rate for female employees at £11.97.

Gender pay gap report 2018

Gender pay gap as a mean average

The mean gender pay gap at North Kesteven District Council is 10.5%.

The mean hourly rate for male employees is £14.04, alongside the mean hourly rate for female employees at £12.57.

Gender pay gap as a median average

The median gender pay gap at North Kesteven District Council is -0.4%.

The median hourly rate for male employees is £11.70, alongside the mean hourly rate for female employees at £11.74.

Gender Pay Gap as a Mean Average

The mean gender pay gap at North Kesteven District Council is 13.8%.

The mean hourly rate for male employees is £13.89, alongside the mean hourly rate for female employees at £11.97.

Gender Pay Gap as a Median Average

The median gender pay gap at North Kesteven District Council is 4.3%.

The median hourly rate for male employees is £11.62, alongside the mean hourly rate for female employees at £11.12.