The case for diversity

Breaking Through is all about properly reflecting the nation we serve, putting people from BME backgrounds in positions of leadership and influence and investing in all of our futures. And the business case for this couldn’t be stronger:

Changes in demography

As a nation, we are changing a great deal. The 50 million-strong population of England is set to grow by 6 million over the next 10 years (ONS). The non-BME population is having fewer children – around 1.5 on average, while people from BME backgrounds have around 2.75 children. The population is also aging, with half the population over 50 years old.

With fewer young people and a higher percentage from ethnic backgrounds, the NHS needs to work harder than ever to ensure it is an employer of choice for all.

Workforce planning

Evidence shows that a valued workforce is more motivated and delivers better standards and services. That workforce will be less likely to leave and can better visualise their own career progression if they see people like themselves at senior level. So, we‘re committed to making our BME workforce feel it’s possible to reach the very highest levels.

The cost

The cost of replacing highly trained and skilled staff is high, as is the cost of employment tribunals. By having many more BME people at senior levels, accusations of racism can be stemmed and the issues of practice and performance tackled instead.

The moral case

We all know that ensuring that everyone, regardless of race, colour and religion, has equal access to services and opportunities, is the right thing to do. And we know that, morally, the right thing to do is to be fair. And so we expect everyone to adhere to that same code.

Legal requirements

The Race Relations Act (RRA) makes it unlawful to treat a person less favourably than another on racial grounds. The Race Relations (Amendment) Act outlawed discrimination (direct and indirect) and victimisation in all public authority functions not previously covered by the RRA, with only limited exceptions. It also placed a general duty on specified public authorities to promote race equality and good race relations.

Positive discrimination

Positive discrimination, sometimes called affirmative action, is illegal in the UK. There is a common confusion between (illegal) positive discrimination and (legal) positive action.

Preferential treatment for any group at the point of selection is illegal. The RAA does not allow positive discrimination or affirmative action - in other words, an employer cannot try to change the balance of the workforce by selecting someone mainly because she or he is from a particular racial group. This would be discrimination on racial grounds, and unlawful.

Positive action [Sections 35, 37 and 38 of the RRA]

The term 'positive action' refers to measures that may lawfully be taken to meet special needs or to train or encourage people from a racial group that is under-represented in particular work.

Section 37 allows training or encouragement to be provided for a particular racial group that is under-represented in particular work.

Where there is national under-representation - that is, where, during the previous 12 months, no one from a particular racial group has done the work in question in Great Britain, or where the proportion of people from that group doing that work was small compared to its proportion of the population of Great Britain. In this case, training or encouragement can be provided exclusively for the racial group (or groups) in question.