HMRC’s diversity and inclusion strategy for the workplace - high level summary

What is our strategy?

This strategy, and the Diversity Delivery Plan which supports it, sets out HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) diversity and equality aims for the next three years. It shows how we are responding to the Civil Service diversity strategy, 'Promoting Equality, Valuing Diversity', which was published in July 2008, and the requirements of the new Single Equality Bill – Framework for a Fairer Future, which for the first time includes age, sexual orientation and religion and belief.

It reflects our drive to mainstream equality and inclusion into every aspect of our work. It also recognises that our people have different skills; different ways of thinking and working; different knowledge and experience and the need for us to harness these differences for the benefit of our business and our customers.

Who is it for?

This strategy is for all HMRC staff.

For it to succeed, we need to make diversity and inclusion an entirely natural part of everything we do. This will require commitment and action from everyone in HMRC. We have therefore set out what leaders, managers and staff across HMRC need to do to turn our aims into reality.

Why do we need it?

An effective approach to diversity and inclusion is key to helping us achieve our business targets and financial goals. It helps us to capture and retain the very best talent and it allows us the opportunity to maximise the performance of all our people and to respond more effectively to the needs of our diverse customer base.

We need to recruit, retain and motivate a talented workforce

• By 2011, only 18 per cent of the UK workforce will be white, male, not disabled, under 35 and heterosexual. We need to be ready to respond to these changes so that we can draw on talent from all sections of the population.

We need to present the right image and deliver services to a diverse and increasingly discerning general population

• Our customer base is large and diverse. One of the key departmental commitments in HMRC’s Vision ‘Our Purpose, Our Vision, Our Way’, is that we will understand our customer and their needs. Increased diversity brings understanding, empathy and innovation and puts us in closer touch with the individuals and communities we serve.

We must comply with an expanding range of anti-discrimination laws and avoid the escalating costs of litigation

• Between April 2006 and October 2007 there were 62 diversity-related tribunal cases within HMRC.

What are we aiming to achieve?

We want HMRC to be an organisation that:

• encourages talented people from all parts of the community to join us and achieve their potential
• values and supports a diverse workforce through our commitment to fair and inclusive recruitment and employment practices
• has an inclusive culture where everyone within the organisation treats their colleagues and the public with dignity and respect
• has Human Resource (HR) policies, processes and practices which are open and transparent
• has zero tolerance of bullying and harassment and deals with any instances effectively, fairly and swiftly
• understands the needs of its different customers and provides a service of the highest standard

We will know we have succeeded in our aims when:

• staff from all backgrounds feel respected, supported and valued and there is a significant reduction in the number of diversity-related grievances and employment tribunal appeals
• staff surveys show continuous improvement in the levels of engagement and satisfaction amongst staff from under-represented and minority groups
• all managers understand their responsibilities and include a diversity performance indicator in their performance development evaluation
• recruitment of black and minority ethnic staff is at the same percentage as in the working age population, locally and nationally
• staff from all backgrounds, and men and women, are promoted at equal rates
• we achieve a diversity declaration rate for ethnicity and disability of at least 90 per cent and declaration rates for sexual orientation and religion or belief of 80 per cent
• our customers feel that the department understands and is responsive to their needs and are more comfortable in approaching us and using our services as a result
• we receive positive feedback from the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Northern Ireland Equality Commission on the progress we have made

What are the key themes?

The themes of our strategy reflect the four strands of the Civil Service strategy:

• Behaviour and cultural change – changing behaviour to create an inclusive culture, where everyone within HMRC feels valued and treated with dignity and respect.
• Leadership accountability – strong leadership and clear accountability for delivering diversity. Leaders and managers at all levels must understand and act upon their diversity responsibilities.
• Talent management – to enable everyone to realise their potential, and accelerate the rate at which we bring in and bring on people from different backgrounds.
• Representation – a diverse workforce at all levels, with progress measured against the targets we have set for 2011 for the representation of women (35 per cent), minority ethnic staff (5.1 per cent) and disabled people (8.6 per cent) in the Senior Civil Service.

Diversity Delivery Plan

We have developed a Diversity Delivery Plan (PDF 92K) which sets out for each of these themes the action, which is underway or planned, over the next three years to achieve our diversity goals.

Monitoring progress

The Civil Service Diversity Delivery Board (chaired by Bill Jeffrey) will carry out an initial assessment of departmental Diversity Delivery Plans and will monitor departmental performance against these.

The Corporate Responsibility and Diversity Team will oversee implementation of HMRC’s Diversity Delivery Plan and report on progress half-yearly to the HMRC People Committee.