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Diversity

Total Reward emphasises the need to tailor reward policies and practices to the needs of individual employees, regardless of the gender, ethnicity, disability, religion, age, sexual orientation, upbringing, economic background or employment status of the individual employee (or applicant). Total Reward is therefore aligned with diversity, at a strategic level and in terms of day-to-day practice.

This is emphasised by the recent launch of a 10-point plan, setting out commitments on 10 key areas that are intended to achieve broad and deep cultural change across the Civil Service. Further information and a copy of the plan can be obtained from the Civil Service website.

Diversity has ceased to be simply a matter of equal pay, equal opportunities and compliance with relevant anti-discrimination laws. It is about harnessing the skills and experiences of a diverse workforce to the benefit of the organisation and community, and treating all employees in a fair and consistent manner. In recognition of this the government is promoting the importance of equality in the workforce.  For further information see the work of the Women and Equality Unit.

Fairness in reward begins with fair and objective reward criteria and processes, and includes monitoring to ensure that reward is fair and objective in practice.

The Equality Standard for Local Government (ESLG) has helped to make equality an integral part of service delivery. To reflect recent demographic changes and emerging thinking on the nature of equality and diversity, the IDeA is developing a revised Equality Framework for Local Government (EFLG).

The basics of a fair reward system are:

• An analytical Job Evaluation system - additional information is available in Further Resources
• Diversity-proofed reward strategy, philosophy, policies and practices;
• Training in Diversity for reward decision-makers (such as line managers or HR employees) - download the brochure (pdf, 1440Kb).
• Regular monitoring of HR and reward systems to maintain their perceived and actual integrity (e.g. Job Evaluation, recruitment, performance management, promotion, training and development);
• Equal pay reviews - additional information is available in Equality Assessments.
• Employee communication - additional information is available in Communication.

It is vital to remember that the effective management of diversity is not simply around pay, or even tangible rewards. All aspects of the Total Reward model should be examined for potential bias. For example:

• Recruitment policies that base starting salary on the salary in the previous role tend to favour men, thereby disadvantaging women and those from low-paying previous employers;
• Part-time employees might find it difficult to access training opportunities, thereby affecting their current career development and their prospects for promotion;
• Women and/or ethnic minorities have been found to receive lower performance ratings than men/non-ethnic minorities, thereby affecting salary movements, pension value and opportunities for promotion;
• Women and/or ethnic minority employees may not have been encouraged to achieve either at home, at school or in the workplace. As a result, they may lack the self-confidence to offer themselves for promotion, request training opportunities or simply to speak confidently in meetings.

It may be necessary for a Total Reward strategy to include the positive promotion of diversity to ensure that not only is reward tailored to individual need, but that individuals are encouraged to take advantage of all aspects of the Total Reward offer.