An Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) is an evidence-based framework that assesses how fair an organisation’s policies, programmes and decision-making processes are. An EIA is primarily used to demonstrate compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty.
The aim of an EIA is to identify and mitigate disadvantages or barriers that may affect individuals or specific groups from participation. It is designed to promote equality, fairness and inclusion in the workplace.
When should an EIA be performed?
An EIA should be performed whenever a policy, decision, service, or function is being developed, reviewed, or changed, especially if it could affect people with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.
An EIA should be considered as early as other factors, such as risk, budget and health and safety.
Who should perform an EIA?
The person leading the development or review of the policy or procedure is responsible for performing the equality impact assessment. In most cases, this is the senior responsible officer or most relevant senior manager. While the EIA should be led by the decision-maker, it should be supported and informed by the HR team, DEI committee or employee resource groups, where appropriate.
Real-world context
- Recruitment and hiring: An EIA can be undertaken to evaluate whether job descriptions, application and interview processes are fair for all groups. Ensuring fairness in this way can promote a more diverse and inclusive application pool and mitigate unconscious bias.
- Redundancies and promotions: During staff restructures, EIAs can help to evaluate whether proposed changes disproportionately affect certain groups, such as disabled employees or older workers. EIAs can therefore help to mitigate discrimination, promote transparency and ensure fairness when restructuring the staff network.
- Promote fair policy changes: Before establishing new workplace policies, an EIA can help to identify whether the changes might unintentionally exclude certain employees. By ensuring fairness, organisations can boost employee morale, promote a sense of belonging and build trust between staff and leadership.
