Equality and diversity report

What we have achieved in 2024-25

In 2024, the Council approved our Workforce EDI Strategy, Workforce EDI Policy and short term delivery plan that sets out our vision and commitments to our employees in regard to being an equal opportunity, diverse and inclusive employer. 

We present progress made against our 3 strategic commitments which are: 

1. Understanding our workforce through data, insight and analysis
2. Developing our workforce to create an inclusive culture and better understand the needs of our communities/service users

3. Creating transparency and implementing scrutiny measures to enable service improvement

Our approach to achieving equity, equality, diversity, and inclusion in our borough will have many similar themes, but the strategies we adopt and programmes of work we undertake for our workforce will differ due to our legal obligations as an employer.  

Our workforce strategy and policy set out the Council's Vision and Commitments to eliminating discrimination, advancing equality of opportunity and promoting good relations between different groups. It has been designed to ensure that there is a consistent approach across the Council to all areas of equalities work, with a commitment to making EDI a shared responsibility and priority, with a policy review every three years.  

We have much to be proud of in the progress made and over the last 12 months, and whilst there have been some notable achievements, there remain challenges we must continue to overcome, as well as new ones being presented. 

Key Achievements for 2024-25  

• Participated in our first ever Gateshead Pride events. 

• Launched our Workforce Wellbeing Choir. 

• Launched our Menopause Policy.  

• Rebranded our Learning at Work week to, Learnfest, focusing on inclusive and accessible learning opportunities. 

• Ranked 16th in the list of top 25 big companies to work for in the UK. 

Strategic Commitment 1: We will understand our workforce through data, insight and analysis

Gender Pay Gap 

All public sector organisations employing 250 people or more are required to report on their Gender Pay Gap (GPG) by 31st March each year. This enables us to assess levels of equality in our workforce and put in place an internal action plan with measures to address the GPG, whilst also ensuring we meet our legal obligations set out by the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations. 

Gateshead Council 2024-25 gender pay gap report (opens new window). In summary, our mean gender pay gap is 4.2% and our median gender pay gap is 10%. This is a reduction on the previous year 2023/24 where the median pay gap was 13% and mean pay gap was 6.2%. 

Council Workforce Data 

We understand that a workplace which embraces diversity and equality of opportunity is more likely to attract, recruit and retain talented people. As part of the Equality Act 2010, we are required under the Public Sector Equality Duty to demonstrate how we are meeting our responsibilities as an employer, including a requirement to publish information regarding our workforce. 

Our workforce data for all council employees (excluding local authority-maintained schools) is included in Appendix 2 to this report. The workforce data is a snapshot of employee headcount (not posts) taken on 31 March 2025.

Strategic Commitment 2:  We will develop our workforce to create an inclusive culture and better understand the needs of our communities/service users

Employee Support Networks 

Our strategic commitments and objectives were designed by our people to represent who we are. The strategy and policy have been vital to support the implementation of key workstream deliverables to begin to understand and support equity in the workplace. For example, the imminent introduction of our workforce Networks, which includes Disability, Health and Wellbeing, Age, Gender and Sexual Orientation.  

Apprenticeship Strategy 

Work continues on the Apprenticeship Delivery Plan; embracing a health and safety culture; development of robust succession plans; development and delivery of management development and leadership programmes; and embedding the hybrid working model.  

We are committed to building a workforce that not only embraces diversity but actively contributes to an inclusive and equitable culture. As part of this commitment, we are developing clear and accessible career pathways using apprenticeships to nurture talent, address future skills gaps, and support the personal and professional growth of our employees. 

These pathways are designed to remove barriers to entry by offering routes into employment that do not rely on prior qualifications or traditional academic backgrounds. This approach opens up opportunities for young people not in education, employment or training (NEET), career changers, returners to the workforce, and individuals from low-income or underrepresented backgrounds. 

Through partnerships with inclusive training providers and by offering tailored support—such as mentoring, reasonable adjustments, and flexible learning—we are working to ensure our apprenticeship programmes and career pathways are inclusive by design and accessible to all.. 

Learning, Development and Progression

Health and Safety culture 

An internal process has been created so we make our corporate H&S documents more accessible.  Readability scoring is now being used. The Safety Climate Survey is being piloted within Construction Services in July.  An IIA was completed so careful consideration was given to how we will ensure anonymity of respondents.   A H&S Culture video has been created to be used as part of the 'Welcome to Gateshead' sessions.  Both male and female voices were used for the narration and diversity reflected as part of the animation. 

Performance Management culture

The Council's current approach to appraisal and development (A&D) has been in place for a significant period and does not accommodate the diverse needs of different roles and teams. The current approach is currently being reviewed to ensure it remains relevant, aligns with our strategic ambitions, and works for every employee.

Strategic Commitment 3: We will create transparency and implement scrutiny measures to enable service improvement

Values and Behaviours 

To ensure we are an employer of choice, and the Council is a great place to work, it's essential that we have a set of corporate values and behaviour framework that reflect our current needs and priorities and how we want our employees to interact with each other, our customers, our members, our partners and our stakeholders, recognising that everyone is an individual. The Council's current corporate values have been in place since 2015; however, the needs and priorities of the Council and the community have evolved since these values were implemented. Therefore, work is underway to refresh them along with a behaviour framework for our employees and managers that will bring our values to life across the whole employee lifecycle, embedding and fostering a culture of equity, equality, diversity and inclusion. 

Attracting and Selecting Talent 

Over the past year the Council has taken significant steps to modernise and embed inclusive recruitment practices across the organisation. We have established a dedicated recruitment team, including a Recruitment Manager and three Recruitment Business Partners, to support all service areas and ensure consistency in our approach.  

A new Recruitment and Selection Policy is being developed to place fairness, openness and transparency at the heart of our hiring practices. This policy will underpin our commitment to equity and help us attract talent that reflects the communities we serve.  

Central to our transformation is the implementation of a new Applicant Tracking System (ATS) in partnership with Jobtrain. The system is currently being built and configured, with a pilot due to launch in August 2025 in Construction Services and Children's Social Care. Following refinement, a full council-wide rollout is planned for January 2026. This system will streamline recruitment processes, reduce administrative burden for hiring managers, and improve the candidate experience.  

The recruitment team is also building strong relationships across the council to raise awareness of the support available and ensure the service is responsive to organisational needs. Looking ahead, we will focus on enhancing our recruitment data and metrics, strengthening our employer brand and employee value proposition, and positioning Gateshead Council as an employer of choice in the Tyne and Wear region.  

Lived Experience 

The Community, Health & Wellbeing Service specifically targeted candidates from Gateshead's refugee community for Experts by Experience Support Officer role.  We conducted 4 community-based information sessions on the role and worked with the Refugee Employment Advisors in Working Gateshead team to reach potential candidates.  We successfully recruited from this community which will enable us to be more effective in our engagement with refugees and asylum seekers. The learning from this has been shared with the new Recruitment team, to influence future practice and ways of working 

A local volunteer, resident and participant on one of our Play On sessions was supported through a level 2 then level 3 apprenticeship programme in Community Sport and is now a paid member of staff within the team - this was delivered in partnership with the Hattrick project. We have recently recruited another local resident to start their Level 2 apprenticeship with the Play On project. 

Barriers to employment support 

Community, Health & Wellbeing conducted workshops on barriers to employment and challenges with recruitment processes with members of our refugee and asylum-seeking community.  We used the insights from these workshops to creating an alternative recruitment pathway for Experts by Experience Support Officer role to make the recruitment more accessible and inclusive.  The learning from this has been shared with the new Recruitment team, to influence future practice and ways of working. 

Employee engagement  

We achieved a One to Watch accreditation from Best Companies which makes Gateshead Council an employer with good levels of workforce engagement. Our results will help us understand what we're doing well and where there's opportunities to do things differently, with the aim of making this an even better place to work. 

We have heard the voice of our people through the employee survey which will help us understand what we can do differently to make the Council a great place to work and where our employees stay, grow, develop and prosper. We're pleased to announce that we've been named as one of the best organisations to work for in 2024. Based on employee feedback, the council has been recognised by employee engagement specialists Best Companies as: 

• 16th in the list of top 25 big companies to work for in the UK 

• 20th in the list of top 25 companies to work for in the not-for-profit sector 

• 25th in the list of top 100 companies to work for in the North East 

• "One to Watch" - an organisation whose employee engagement levels show promising signs for the future

• Positions on these lists were awarded based on responses to our employee survey which gave colleagues the opportunity to anonymously share how they feel about working for the Council.  

However, we recognise that whilst the survey results showed that we have a lot to be proud of, they also highlighted some areas for improvement. Human Resources and Workforce Development colleagues have been meeting with teams across the council to share the results in more detail and to discuss ideas for doing things differently. Action plans are being developed to address the issues raised in the survey at both a corporate level and individual group and service level. 

Governance and Consultation 

Last year we made a commitment to review our EDI governance and consultation structure ensuring a diverse approach to meeting our Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED). We have developed and implemented an EDI Board, chaired by the Council's Chief Executive to provide accountability and strategic direction within both our corporate and workforce delivery. 

Our governance and consultation structure ensures a diverse approach to meeting our Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) thereby allowing us to provide an outstanding service and ensure we are consulting with groups covered by the Equality Act 2010. The key groups we regularly work with include: 

• Employee Equality Network - Brings together our employee voice. It is providing an opportunity to engage, update, challenge and strengthen our relationships with our  employees. It offers constructive and critical appraisal on strategy, policies, and services with a view to improving service delivery. Work is ongoing to scope the setup of Support Networks to compliment and support this forum. During 2024-25 the network has shaped emerging workforce EDI policies and practice for example our draft domestic abuse policy, Better Health at Work initiatives policy and discussed accessibility to the recent co-pilot trial. 

• Trade Unions - Brings together Trade Union representatives to provide a forum for discussion, feedback and formal consultation. 

Job Evaluation Framework  

We provided an update last year on our plans to start a significant piece of work focussed on evaluating all council posts that are subject to NJC Green Book Terms and Conditions of Service. The project was introduced to ensure that our pay model is fit for purpose and reflects as far as possible the current job market and is attractive to prospective applicants. In terms of progress and learning outcomes we have continued aligning colleagues to the correct posts through data collation, delivered briefing sessions to employees and progressed through evaluations for grades A to H. We are now conducting quality checks on completed evaluations to ensure consistency and accuracy and will continue with the remaining posts to evaluate. 

Key area of focus for 2025-26 will include: 

• Developing a Leadership Development Framework that creates an accessible, clear, consistent and inclusive approach to identifying, developing and supporting current and future leaders across the organisation. By actively investing in leadership development, we can demonstrate a commitment to equity and career progression. 

• Transforming our recruitment process over the next 12 months. Led by our Recruitment Manager, we will build a specialist team, implement a modern applicant tracking system, and new processes and toolkits to support recruitment and selection and ensure a positive candidate experience. Our goal is to create a fair, open, and transparent process that attracts a diverse range of candidates, enhancing our employer brand and making us the employer of choice in the region. 

• Maximising take-up of apprenticeships for current employees across the Council is also a priority which will support career development in the longer term. An apprenticeship strategy and delivery plan are in place and will be reviewed to ensure it is meeting the needs of the organisation and that apprenticeships are available at all levels of the organisation. 

• Reviewing and developing our people metrics, examining and analysing data related to employee demographics and diversity representation. 

• Continuing to review our HR policies such as a Domestic Abuse Policy which supports employees to feel safe and able to access further assistance. 

• We have heard the voice of our people through the employee survey which will help us understand what we can do differently to make the Council a great place to work, stay, grow and develop.

• Undertaking a gap analysis of our approach to EDI and developing a delivery plan to address the gaps.