Monitoring of MPA activities

Report: 18
Date: 25 July 2002
By: Clerk

Summary

The report "Monitoring of Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) staffing and recruitment" was considered by the Human Resources Committee and the Consultation, Diversity and Outreach Committee last year. This report provides a brief update for the period to the end of the financial year 2001/02. This level of monitoring will comply with the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.

A. Recommendations

1. That the Human Resources Committee agree that MPA HR officers work closely with other members of the GLA Group to enable greater co-ordination of HR initiatives, the, sharing and developing of good practice and joint projects and the influencing and developing of HR strategies within the MPA; and
2. That the Human Resources Committee agree that HR officers should work to improve under-representation in the workforce and the success or lack of parity of under-represented groups in its staffing processes. In particular, this should include under-representation of staff with disabilities.

B. Supporting information

Background

1. Monitoring in the context of this report means comparing the employment patterns of men and women, of ethnic minority and white staff and of people with disabilities, to identify if there are any marked differences. Where there are differences, this may suggest the need for further analysis.

2. Monitoring normally deals with:

• snapshot monitoring, i.e. using data on the organisation distribution of staff;
• monitoring progression, i.e. that is the progression of applicants through the recruitment process;
• parity targets, i.e. how organisational procedures and decisions affect different groups. For example, the rate at which visible ethnic minority staff leave the MPA should be the same as that for other groups.

3. The monitoring of personnel data does not generally need complex statistical analysis, since the differences may be readily identified from a few simple techniques. Both the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) and Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) suggest using the participation ratio for snapshot monitoring and the 'four fifths rule' for recruitment.

4. An organisational profile is useful for showing under-representation and, over a period of time, trends. One simple way to highlight differences in the proportions of any group is to construct a participation ratio. This may be done by dividing the percentage of women or ethnic minorities in the MPA by the percentage in the economically active population in London, using data supplied by the Office of National Statistics.

5. On selection, the four-fifths rule suggests that if any group is less than four fifths of the rate of the group with the highest success rate, then there will be an indication of potential bias. This can be expressed, for example, as follows:

• Male success rate 20/100 (as a percentage) = 20%
• Female success rate 10/100 (as a percentage) = 10%
• 4/5ths of highest success rate = 16%

In the example, there is significant disparity because the female success rate (10%) is less than four-fifths the male success rate (16%). It is not intended to be an absolute measure, but is a simple and easy way to measure whether the differences in recruitment rates are significant.

6. Ethnic origin refers to members of an ethnic group who share the same cultural background and identity. This does not necessarily mean country of birth or nationality.

Staffing

7. An updated list of the ethnic origin and gender of staff within the MPA is attached at Appendix 1. None of the staff who have been recruited has identified him or herself as having a disability.

8. The Greater London Authority (GLA) are keen for members of the GLA Group to adopt some employment 'targets' in relation to their staff.

These are:

• Black and minority ethnic staff 25%
• Women 52%
• Staff with disabilities 9%

Within the black and minority ethnic staff category there is a 12% target for Asian staff.

9. The figures for the MPA are:

• Black and minority ethnic staff 34% of whom 12% are Asian
• Women 38%
• Staff with disabilities 0%

10. There is under-representation of black and ethnic minority staff in Pay Band 1 (over £35,000) and under-representation of women and staff with disabilities in both Pay Bands 1 and 2.

11. The GLA Group have a Human Resources Officers Network which will be trying to co-ordinate initiatives, share and develop good practice, develop joint projects, influence and develop HR strategies within each of the five organisations and share resources when appropriate. Meeting the staffing targets was one of the issues discussed at the last meeting on 27 June 2002. A oral report will be given at the meeting.

Staff leaving the MPA

12. During the financial year 2001/02 the following staff left the MPA:

Of the four staff who resigned, all were interviewed before departure by HR staff. One was taking up a further education opportunity, one was moving to the West Country and two were seeking better paid career opportunities elsewhere. These figures exclude staff on fixed term appointments (FTAs), secondments etc, who left at the end of their 'contract'.

Grievances and employment tribunals

13. During the financial year 2001/02 the grievance procedure was invoked on two occasions. On both occasions the grievance was resolved at Stage 1, albeit outside the time limits laid down in the procedure. In one grievance the aggrieved was male and the 'perpetrator' was female; in the other grievance the roles were reversed. In one grievance the aggrieved was White British and the alleged perpetrator was Black African; in the other grievance the roles were reversed.

14. During the financial year 2001/02, there was one Employment Tribunal from a White British member of staff who reached the end of her FTA. The case was settled, with a confidentiality agreement, before it reached a hearing.

Training

15. There were three training courses provided for all MPA staff. These were Diversity Training, Disability Awareness Training and Performance Management Training. In addition, staff attended a number of training courses and seminars during the year, as follows:

There is broad parity between the gender and ethnic origin of staff in the MPA and the proportion of each group who had access to training courses and seminars during the year.

Recruitment update

16. The last monitoring report covered the majority of selection panels within the MPA. The following data covers those selection panels carried out since that report. An explanation of the groupings used is at Appendix 2. The data can be summarised as follows:

17. For Band 1 there is a disparity between the success rates of men and women at the interview and selection stages, albeit the positions are reversed. It appears 58% of male applicants were invited for interview, compared with 43% of female applicants. The female success rate is 74% of the male success rate at this stage. At interview, 14% of male interviewees were selected, compared with 33% of female interviewees. The male success rate is 42% of the female success rate at this stage.

18. For Band 1 there is some disparity between the success rates of the different groups invited for interview, by ethnic origin, as follows:

• 60% White British applicants invited for interview
• 75% Asian group applicants invited for interview
• 33% Black group invited for interview
• 50% Other black or mixed groups invited for interview

The success rate of the Black group invited for interview is 55% of the White British group and 44% of the Asian group; the success rate of the other black or mixed groups invited for interview is 67% of the Asian group.

19. For Band 1 there is no disparity between the success rates of the White British and Asian groups who were selected following interview. Clearly, as no other groups were successful at interview, there is a disparity with the Black Group and the other black or mixed groups.

20. For Band 2 there is some disparity between the success rates of the different groups invited for interview, by ethnic origin, as follows:

• 78% White British applicants invited for interview
• 0% Other white groups were invited for interview
• 60% Asian group applicants invited for interview
• 60% Black group applicants invited for interview
• 50% Other black or mixed groups invited for interview13

21. The success rate of the Asian group and Black group invited for interview is 77% of the White British group; the success rate of the other black or mixed groups invited for interview is 64% of the White British group.

22. For Band 2 there is a disparity between the White British group and the Asian, Black and other black or mixed groups as all the visible ethnic minority candidates were successful.

C. Financial implications

There are no financial implications.

D. Background papers

Monitoring of MPA staffing and recruitment (HRC, 1 November 2001).

E. Contact details

Report author: Alan Johnson, MPA.

For information contact:

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

Appendix 1

Ethnic origin of MPA staff (including FTAs and secondments)

Band 1 (approx £35k+) (% rounded up)

White British 21 (80%)
White Irish 1 (4%)
Black Caribbean 1 (4%)
Asian, Indian 3 (12%)

7 women (37%)
19 men (63%)

Band 2 (salaries up to £34,999)

White British 22 (47%)
White Irish 1 (2%)
White, Other 3 (6%) 
Black Caribbean 6 (13%)
Black African 8 (17%)
Black British 1 (2%)
Asian, Indian 5(11%)
Asian, Other 1 (2%)

21women (45%)
26 men (55%)

Send an e-mail linking to this page

Feedback