Item 16 - Appendix - EIA 601 Removal of Alternating Shift Allowance
West Dunbartonshire Council · 21 December 2022
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AssessmentNo 601 Owner lgalasso Resource Transformation Service/Establishment People and Technology First Name Surname Job title Head Officer Leeanne Galasso People &Change Partner (include job titles/organisation) Members Leeanne Galasso, People &Change Partner Lisa MacGregor, People &Change Partner (Please note: the word 'policy' is used as shorthand for stategy policy function or financial decision) Policy Title Ethical Review of Terms and Conditions - Removal of Alternating Shift Allowance The aim, objective,purpose and intended out come of policy The primary aim is to reduce opportunities within the terms and conditions that can and have the potential to contribute to pay inequality. Enhancements in general can widen the gender pay gap particularly where employee groups do not have the opportunity to access enhancements to pay. The Council provides enhancements to employees for working a non-standard shift patterns and as per the criteria outlined in the terms. The shift allowances payable include 10% of base pay for alternating shifts/irregular hours or 33% for night shift working. A review of the shift patterns that attract this allowance has been undertaken and the majority of recipients work on an alternating shift pattern. Whilst shift patterns are variable across services, these are all primarily worked within the Council’s core hours (between 7am and 9pm). This allowance is not accessible to other employees, predominately female, working a consistent shift pattern within the core hours. It is essential that the Council continues to act to future-proof its terms and conditions of employment, ensuring an employment package which is gender pay neutral and which is otherwise considered fair in terms of consolidation of provisions across different categories of employees. Service/Partners/Stakeholders/service users involved in the development and/or implementation of policy. Chief Officers, Strategic HR, Does the proposals involve the procurement of any goods or services? No If yes please confirm that you have contacted our procurement services to discuss your requirements. No SCREENING You must indicate if there is any relevance to the four areas Duty to eliminate discrimination (E), advance equal opportunities (A) or foster good relations (F) Yes Relevance to Human Rights (HR) No Relevance to Health Impacts (H) No Relevance to Social Economic Impacts (SE) Yes Who will be affected by this policy? All employees who receive alternating/rotating shift allowance Who will be/has been involved in the consultation process? Consultation will take place with recognised trade unions.
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Please outline any particular need/barriers which equality groups may have in relation to this policy list evidence you are using to support this and whether there is any negative impact on particular groups. Needs Evidence Impact Age The council has duty of care toward all its workers, and in terms of the Public Sector Equality Duty The Council's age profile confirms that the highest percentage of employees remain clustered in the age groups 50-59. There is no specific impact identified in relation to age. Cross Cutting Disability The council has duty of care toward all its workers, and in terms of the Public Sector Equality Duty The Council's disability profile confirms 1.38% of employees have declared a disability. It is well documented and reported that people with a disability can be impacted by pay inequality. There is no specific impact in relation to disability. Social & Economic Impact Reduction in pay for some employees may result in disposable income being reduced and having a reduced amount to spend in the economy The proposal to remove alternating/rotating shift will impact on a total of 365 people with the average payment being broadly the same for males and females. Possible negative impact however justifiable as addresses fairness with majority of employees not being able to access this allowance. Sex The council has duty of care toward all its workers, and in terms of the Public Sector Equality Duty It is well documented and reported that males typically earn more than females with greater opportunity to access enhancements through overtime and allowances. Equal Pay Audit 2017. Workforce profile concludes 71% female and 29% male. The pay data for 21/22 used identifies that the gender split of those in receipt of alternating/rotating shift allowance is This allowance is currently paid to more females than males. As those in receipt of the allowance is reflective of the workforce, the removal of this will not have a disproportionate impact. This allowance is not accessible to other employees, predominately female, working a consistent shift pattern within the core hours.
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broadly reflective of the workforce demographic with 76% female and 24% male. Gender Reassign The council has duty of care toward all its workers, and in terms of the Public Sector Equality Duty The Council's transgender profile confirms that 0.15% have declared transgener and 19.01% not transgender and 80.71% unknown. There is no specific impact in relation to gender reassign Health N/A N/A N/A Human Rights N/A N/A N/A Marriage & Civil Partnership The council has duty of care toward all its workers, and in terms of the Public Sector Equality Duty No information reported on marital status/civil partnership. It is well documented and reported that males typically earn more than females with greater opportunity to access enhancements through overtime and allowances. There is no specific impact in relation to marriage &civil partnerships Pregnancy & Maternity Cross-Cutting with Sex Cross-Cutting with Sex It is well document and reported that pregnancy and maternity have contributed to the gender pay inequality agenda. Cross-Cutting with Sex Race The council has duty of care toward all its workers, and in terms of the Public Sector Equality Duty The Council's race profile confirms 0.58% of the workforce are BAME. There is no specific impact in relation to race Religion and Belief The council has duty of care toward all its workers, and in terms of the Public Sector Equality Duty The Council's religion and belief provide confirms that 1.45% are Christian, 0.89% other and 8.56% none. There is no specific impact in relation to religion and belief. Sexual Orientation The council has duty of care toward all its workers, and in The Council's sexual orientation profile concludes that There is no specific impact in relation to sexual orientation
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terms of the Public Sector Equality Duty , this proposal does not impact on sexual orientation 0.81% of the workforce have declared LGB and 18.26% as heterosexual with 80.41 unknown Actions Policy has a negative impact on an equality group,but is still to be implemented, please provide justification for this. There are negative impacts for male and female, however the removal will not have a disproportionate impact in terms of gender. Furthermore this allowance is not accessible to other employees, predominately female, working a consistent shift pattern within the core hours. Will the impact of the policy be monitored and reported on an ongoing bases? Yes the impact will be monitored via the Equal Pay Audit which happens every 3 years and reported to the appropriate committees. Q7 What is you recommendation for this policy? Please provide a meaningful summary of how you have reached the recommendation EIA 601 details the likely impacts of the proposals; this shows potential negative impacts for female employees as there are currently more in receipt of the allowance than males. However, this proposal won't have a disproportionate impact on gender pay gaps as those in receipt is broadly reflective of the council workforce gender split.