MPS Duty in Employment report 2009-10

Report: 10
Date: 4 November 2010
By: Martin Tiplady on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

The Duty in Employment Report is completed annually by the MPS. It presents an overview of aspects of employment, including recruitment, attrition, Fairness at Work and training. The MPS has seen an increase in the diversity of its workforce in the 2009-10 financial year, and the effects of this recruitment activity are filtering into the other aspects of employment presented within the Duty in Employment Report.

A. Recommendation

That

1. The committee note the findings of the Duty in Employment Report 2009-10.
2. The MPS report on the use of quality call back mechanisms relating to the Fairness at Work process will be made available to committee members at the HR and Remuneration Sub Committee in February 2011.

B. Supporting information

1. The Duty in Employment report is completed annually by the MPS and presents information relating to all aspects of employment by the organisation, including recruitment, attrition, and training. It is used by the organisation to identify potential areas for improvement and to note the progress that has been made.

The MPS population

2. Between 31 March 2009 and 31 March 2010, an increase of 1.7% in the number of staff employed by the MPS was noted. The Special Constable population increased by almost 20%.

3. During 2009-10, the police officer population became more diverse. The financial year saw a 0.73% increase in the proportion of officers who were female, and a 0.55% increase in the proportion of officers who were BME.

4. The proportion of police staff who are female decreased slightly in 2009-10, but still sits comfortably above the London working population average. The proportion of police staff who were BME increased by 2.7% to almost 26%.

5. Data concerning disability, faith and sexual orientation is entered voluntarily by staff members via MetHR. Increases in the proportion of staff who have provided this information were noted in comparison with the previous financial year.

6. Police officer, police staff and traffic warden populations were distributed across several age groups. The PCSO role type saw almost 50% of its number in the 20-29 age bracket. This is likely a result of the role being perceived as being a ‘stepping stone’ to becoming a police officer. Such, of course, becomes more central to our future recruitment policy. The MSC role type saw around 48% of its number in the 20-29 age category – again, this could be influenced by the role being perceived as being a ‘stepping stone’ to joining the MPS as a Police Constable.

Recruitment

7. Nearly half of all applications to become a police officer in 2009-10 were made by existing members of police staff, PCSOs or MSCs.

8. Female applicants accounted for 36% of all applications made in 2009-10 for police officer, police staff, PCSO and MSC posts. Female joiners accounted for 34% of all police officer, police staff, PCSO and MSC joiners.

9. BME joiners accounted for almost 16% of all police officer joiners, 21% of police staff joiners, 17% of PCSO joiners and 29% of MSC joiners.

Training

10. Analysis revealed no disproportionality between the likelihood of male and female applicants being accepted for courses. The acceptance rates for BME and non-BME staff were also very similar.

11. Acceptance rates for all staff, whether based on age, gender, ethnic background or disability, were high, at 98%.

Performance Development Reviews (PDRs)

12. As was the case in 2008-9, the majority of staff received a box marking of 2 or 3. In 2009-10, almost 95% of staff received these box markings. This varied slightly by role type, with police officers receiving the highest proportion of 1 or 2 box markings.

13. Female and BME staff were slightly less likely to receive the highest box markings of 1 or 2 than their male and non-BME counterparts. This is likely to be linked to the length of service accrued by the individual concerned, as higher proportions of female and BME staff are to be found in the 0-4 and 5-9 years’ service categories than is the case for the longer-service groupings.

Police Officer Promotions

14. The success rates were higher for female applicants than male applicants in four of the promotion or progression processes run in 2009-10.

15. BME applicants enjoyed higher success rates than non-BME applicants in two (of five) processes run in 2009-10. When all five processes are combined, the BME success rate was 61%, against a non-BME success rate of 51%.

Career Breaks

16. The police staff role type was the role type most likely to experience staff taking a career break.

17. For all role types, female staff were more likely to take a career break than males. This may be linked to carer responsibilities. The age profiles of staff taking a career break reveal that, for police officers, the 30-44 age group was the most likely to take a career break. For police staff, the 25-44 age group was the most likely to take a career break. For PCSOs and traffic wardens, there are no trends of note.

18. BME police officers, police staff and PCSOs were slightly more likely to take a career break than their non-BME counterparts. This is likely to be linked to the age profiles involved. As indicated above, staff in their late twenties, thirties and early forties are most likely to take a career break, and these age groups currently experience higher proportions of BME staff than are seen in the later age groups.

Part-time working

19. As was the case for career breaks, female staff were more likely to work part-time than their male counterparts. The police staff and traffic warden role types were most likely to work part-time.

20. Non-BME staff were more likely to work part-time than their BME colleagues. This is likely to be linked to the age and length of service profiles for each ethnic background within each role type.

21. For most role types, staff within the 35-39, 40-44 and 60 and above age groups were most likely to work part-time.

The Fairness at Work process

22. Female staff initiated a slightly higher proportion of Fairness at Work cases. However, the group most likely to initiate a Fairness at Work procedure were police staff, which has a higher proportion of females in its population than police officers or PCSOs.

23. BME employees were slightly more likely to initiate Fairness at Work proceedings than non-BME employees.

Discipline

24. Male police officers, PCSOs, police staff and traffic wardens were more likely to be subject to discipline proceedings than their female counterparts.

25. The likelihood of being subject to discipline proceedings was very similar for non-BME and BME PCSOs. BME police staff were slightly more likely than non-BME staff to be subject to discipline cases. For police officers, the likelihood of being subject to discipline proceedings varied by ethnic background, with Bangladeshi officers being most likely to be subject to a discipline case, and Chinese officers being least likely to be subject to a discipline case.

Employment Tribunals
26. Female and BME members of the workforce were slightly more likely to initiate Employment Tribunals.

Attrition

27. 2,988 MPS employees left the organisation in 2009-10. Once those individuals who resigned from their roles to join other role types within the organisation are excluded, this gives an overall attrition rate of 4.28%, lower than the 2008-9 attrition rate of 4.71%.

28. Retirement was the primary cause of attrition. 56% of police officers left on retirement, and 34% of police staff leavers retired.

29. There are no trends of note for gender and ethnicity.

MPS Learning

30. During 2009-10, the organisation increased the diversity of its workforce, and significantly increased its number of Special Constables. Recruitment trends were encouraging, with many applications to become Police Constables or Special Constables being made by existing staff members. Attrition rates continue to be low.

31. Areas of further research have been identified for the MPS pertaining to Fairness at Work, Discipline cases and Employment Tribunals. Two factors are of key interest in assessing these. Firstly, the low number of instances and small population sizes involved, and secondly, length of service. The population profile varies considerably in terms of length of service across the six protected characteristics as a result of recent recruitment success, so the trends noted are likely to be influenced by the length of service profiles of the individuals concerned.

C. Other organisational and community implications

Equality and Diversity Impact

1. The analysis completed within the Duty in Employment Report presented an overview of the diversity of the organisation. This has enabled the MPS to see how far we have progressed and to identify areas where further research or action is needed. There is no direct impact anticipated upon London’s communities.

Consideration of MET Forward

2. The Duty in Employment Report supports the delivery of the MetPeople strand of MetForward, in particular its aims to ensure a diverse workforce. As with the MPA “Ensuring a Representative Workforce” project, this report covers all three of the key outcomes (fight crime and reduce criminality, increase confidence in policing and give us better value for money).

Financial Implications

3. All costs associated with the activities outlined in this report will be met from within existing HR and Business wide budgets.

Legal Implications

4. There are no legal implications contained within this report.

Environmental Implications

5. There are no environmental issues associated with this report.

Risk Implications

6. There are no risk implications associated with this report.

D. Background papers

• Appendix 1 (Full Duty in Employment Report)

E. Contact details

Report authors: Kimberley Bentley, T/Head of HR Business Planning, MPS

For information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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