Executive Leaders Network: Finance, Procurement & HR Transformation Summit - May 2022

1. working
for everyone
Ensuring inclusion for all
in a hybrid working world
Julie Dennis
Head of
Diversity &
Inclusion

2. Who are we?
Prevent or resolve disputes between
employers and their workforce
Provide information advice and training
Settle complaints about employee
rights
Encourage people to work together more
effectively

3. The impact of the pandemic on ways of working
• The ‘forced experiment’ of homeworking has changed:
– employee preferences - with endless surveys showing that many
want to retain hybrid working arrangements
– employer expectations - Acas YouGov commissioned poll shows that
more than half (55%) of employers in Great Britain expect an increase
in staff working remotely or from home part of the week
• Acas’s own experience - from 5%  100% of homeworkers and our
Smarter Working programme

4. Impact of hybrid working on diverse groups
• Employees with disabilities were 11
percent more likely to prefer a hybrid
work model than employees without
disabilities.
• More than 70 percent of men and
women expressed strong preferences
for hybrid work, but nonbinary
employees were 14 percent more
likely to prefer it.
• LGBQ+2 employees were 13 percent
more likely to prefer hybrid work than
their heterosexual peers.
• Black employees were 14 percent
more likely than their White peers.
• Younger employees (18–34 years old)
were 59 percent more likely to leave
than older ones (55–64 years old).
• LGBQ+ employees were 24 percent
more likely to leave than heterosexual
ones.
• Women were approximately 10 percent
more likely than men, and employees
who identify as nonbinary were 18
percent more likely than men and
women.
• Employees with disabilities were 14
percent more likely to leave than
employees without them.
McKinsey’s research (April 2022)

5. How diverse are UK workplaces?
• Compared to other nations, the UK caters reasonably better for staff of different
religious backgrounds – allowing paid time off to celebrate occasions such as Eid-
al-Fitr or Diwali (40%), and providing somewhere for prayer breaks (31%).
• However, the UK was worst for recruiting those from diverse backgrounds (46%),
and offering the same pay and promotion opportunities to all staff regardless of
their race, religion, disability and nationality (65%).
• Needs to improve its provisions for working parents – scoring lowest for maternity
and paternity leave and pay outside of the statutory requirements, having nowhere
for staff to breastfeed or express milk, and not offering paid time off for antenatal
appointments
• Fewer than one in three businesses (29%) are considered to operate a zero
tolerance to bullying.
© 2022 Essity Global Diversity in the Workplace Report.

6. Cost of Workplace Conflict
New major piece of research and analysis published 11 May - developed and commissioned by Acas, carried
out by the Universities of Sheffield and Westminster examines the total cost to organisations in handling
informal, formal and legal processes, cost of sickness absences, presenteeism and resignations.
Key findings:
• Workplace conflict costs UK employers £28.5bn a year
• Average cost of conflict per employee around £1,000
• 9.7 million UK employees experienced conflict in 2018-2019
Key Acas recommendations:
• Investment should be made in effective and early resolution.
• Organisations need to place much greater emphasis on repairing employment relationships.
• Having multiple channels through which employees can seek help and support is critical.
• There is a strong argument to redirect dispute resolution policy away from legal compliance and the
effectiveness of the tribunal system, and towards the resolution of conflict within organisations and at the
earliest stage possible.

7. What does diversity and inclusion mean to
you

8. Steps for making sure your workplace is
inclusive
Equality Diversity Inclusion
Equality in the workplace
means equal job opportunities
and fairness for employees
and job applicants.
You must not treat people
unfairly because of reasons
protected by discrimination
law
Diversity is the range of people
in your workforce. For
example, this might mean
people with different ages,
religions, ethnicities, people
with disabilities, and both men
and women.
It also means valuing those
differences.
An inclusive workplace means
everyone feels valued at
work.
It lets all employees feel safe
to come up with different
ideas, raise issues and
suggestions doing things
differently to how they’ve
been done before

9. Beyond diversity to inclusion and belonging

10. How do we solve the problem

11. Why is inclusive recruitment important

12. • Employers to take action to create inclusive workplaces in
regard to specific areas such as race, gender and disability.
• One key driver to equality is building confidence for all to
talk about difference and impact.
• Focus on eradicating fear to equip employees to have
conversations confidently and comfortably.
Increasing confidence around conversation
about diversity

13. How can you make a difference
• Regular conversation with your people
– What can I do to ensure you can perform to your best
• Lead with compassion & make yourself available
• Offer sponsorship
• Listen and educate yourself
• Be authentic & apologise when you get it wrong
• Be an ally
Time is an important gift along with trust & empowerment

14. You can’t do everything at once

15. • Prioritise and address the most important needs first and
be open and transparent about your reasoning so groups
don’t feel overlooked.
• Don’t try to tackle everything at once.
• What is your workforce data telling you?
• What are your people saying?
How to refocus your diversity and inclusion
agenda

16. Using data to measure diversity and inclusion in your workplace
• Monitor across the whole employee lifecycle
• Key areas include:
• Representation of women/ ethnic minority employees / employees with
disabilities/ LGB employees
• Recruitment - Number of applicants / shortlisted for interview / successful
• Casework - Grievances / Discipline / IC’s / ET’s / Personal Injury
• Access to training
• Leavers
• Staff surveys

17. Contact me directly
Julie Dennis
jdennis@acas.org.uk
0330 109 3827
@Jdennis_Acas