Corporate report

Coal Authority Antiracism Plan: 2022 to 2025

Published 7 July 2022

1. Foreword

I am pleased to introduce our Antiracism Plan. This plan sits in the context of our wider Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy for 2021 to 2024: ‘A Great Place for Everyone’ and builds on the simple initial actions we put in place following the tragic death of George Floyd in 2020.

These were:

• encouraging increased awareness and self-education of the lived experiences of racially diverse colleagues and how to be better anti-racist allies

• reviewing our people policies and processes to better enable racial equality, diversity and inclusion

• raising up racially diverse voices within and outside our organisation

We’ve made tangible progress against these objectives, helped by our Race Equality Network which was set up in August 2020. There is still much more to do. This plan sets out in more detail the action we will take over the next 3 years to become a more actively anti-racist organisation.

We are committed to being an inclusive employer where staff whatever their backgrounds can bring their whole self to work.

We know we have a long way to go in our ambition of being an organisation that represents the rich diversity of the UK, especially in regards to race and ethnicity. We also acknowledge the systemic racism that exists in society and understand our wider responsibility as a public body to play our part in breaking down the barriers that hold back many talented people from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

We will monitor the progress against the plan over the next 3 years and report clearly against it. We know that we wont always get it right or be able to go as fast as we would like but we are committed to making sustainable progress. In doing so we will keep learning and evolving as an organisation, ensure that we continue to listen to our ethnically diverse colleagues and work with others. I encourage you to hold us to account as we continue our journey.

Lisa Pinney MBE, Chief Executive

2. Why we are doing this?

We recognise that racism is embedded in our society and that people from ethnically diverse backgrounds face multiple barriers in the employment market. An independent review by Baroness McGregor-Smith found ‘There is discrimination and bias at every stage of an individual’s career, and even before it begins. From networks to recruitment and then in the workforce, it is there’.

The Coal Authority recognises that we need to do more to ensure our organisation attracts, retains and promotes people from ethnically diverse backgrounds , we have a long way to go and are committed to ensuring our values of ‘inclusive, trusted and progressive’ drive our commitment to being an antiracist organisation.

We also recognise we have a leadership role to play with our communities, partners and contractors. We will use our position to ensure we are demonstrating our commitment with actions. We will reach out to our communities, we will learn from our past, we will advice and support our partners and expect our contractors to be activity promoting an antiracism culture.

We recognise we can not do this by ourselves and we don’t have all the answers. We will ensure our ethnically diverse colleagues feel psychologically safe to raise issues, that we are learning from one another and that we truly embed an inclusive culture were people feel they are able to bring their whole self to work.

This plan sets out our actions over the next 3 years to coincide with our business plan. However, this is the start of the journey, laying important foundations for us to continue to built upon over the next 10 years. This is a long term commitment and we will continue to ensure antiracism is a key pillar in our diversity and inclusion plan. We will continue to evolve and learn as an organisation, seeking out best practice from others and holding ourselves to account on our progress.

Our Race Equality Network will play an important role in holding us to account and overseeing the implementation of the plan.

3. What we are going to do?

We will be an antiracist organisation, where people from ethnically diverse backgrounds feel psychologically safe, are represented across our organisation and we are seen as a leader by our communities, partners and contractors.

4. Objectives

4.1 Policies and Procedures

Review all policies, procedures, systems and processes to remove discrimination, prejudice and unwanted barriers.

We will:

• undertake end to end review of recruitment policies, procedures and systems to remove bias and ensure fair and inclusive practices are embedded

• assess our systems and procedures against best practice

• zero tolerance to racism is reflected in the disciplinary policy

• introduce anonymised application to reduce bias in the recruitment process

• all recruiting managers to undertake mandatory antiracism training to manage bias

• publish all vacancies in media that target ethnically diverse communities

• all adverts to provide flexible working unless operationally required

• all job adverts to include statement to encourage people from ethnically diverse backgrounds to apply

4.2 Raise the voices of ethnic minorities

Provide opportunities for ethnically diverse staff to raise their voices in different forums.

We will:

• provide resources and funding to the Race Equality Network to undertake their role in raising the voice of ethnically diverse colleagues

• provide psychological safe spaces for ethnically diverse colleagues to raise concerns and issues

• race equality network to attend Executive Leadership Team once a year to present on their work

• provide opportunity for ethnically diverse colleagues to share experience at staff call/conferences at least once a year

• race equality network to publish blog quarterly

• corporate publications to include visible ethnically diverse colleagues/people

• all ethnically diverse colleagues that wish to have access to specific training/mentoring and support to progress to senior management

4.3 Leadership

All leaders across the organisation will embed antiracism in everything they do.

We will:

• appoint a Executive Race Champion

• hold 2 learning events for our Executive Leadership Team and board on antiracism

• heads of department to champion antiracism in their department

• department meetings to include reflection on race equality

• implement comprehensive events programme for Race Equality Week and Black History Month

• implement favouring applicants from ethnically diverse backgrounds where 2 candidates are equal

• implement a Guarantee Interview Scheme for ethnically diverse candidates who meet the minimum essential criteria for a post

• hold open days for potential ethnically diverse candidates

• develop reverse mentoring for senior leaders

4.4 Educate and Inform

Provide learning opportunities on race and acknowledge our past.

We will:

• organise 3 events per year with outside ethnically diverse speakers to educate and inform staff on antiracism

• organise exhibition on black miners in partnership with the Black Miners Museum to highlight the past contribution

• antiracism training is mandatory for all colleagues

• induction includes antiracism awareness

• develop suite of resources on the intranet to educate and inform

• publish internal posts from colleagues on major cultural events to educate and inform staff, for example: Eid, Guru Nanak birthday and Diwali

4.5 Community

Provide opportunities for people from ethnically diverse backgrounds to engage with the Coal Authority.

We will:

• partner with schools with high ethnically diverse pupils to promote careers in the Coal Authority

• develop mentoring initiative for young people from ethnically diverse backgrounds

• ensure at least 2 work experience places are provided to ethnically diverse pupils

• develop links with other organisations/partners to develop joint working and initiatives

• promote positive role models from colleagues from ethnically diverse backgrounds

4.6 Benchmarking

Undertake benchmarking on our journey and develop specific targets.

We have:

• 98% of staff completed ethnic monitoring data

• 100% of recruits completed ethnic monitoring data

• published statistics on people from ethnically diverse background’s journey through the recruitment process

• increased ethnically diverse candidates by 20%

• increased ethnically diverse employees by 10%

• appointed at least 3 principle roles from ethnically diverse background

• appoint at least 1 head of department from an ethnically diverse background

• introduced specific questions on race equality in our staff survey

5. Our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Commitments

Our Antiracism Plan for 2022 - 2025 is supported by an action plan to help us measure our success and deliver our commitments. Our progress will be monitored through our wider ‘Great Place to Work’ programme.

This plan is also supported by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy for 2021 to 2024, which sets out our commitments to equality, diversity and inclusion and creating a consciously inclusive working environment, where colleagues from all backgrounds and identities can bring their full selves to work, feel valued and fulfil their potential.

By working together with our colleagues and with the support of our Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group and Race Equality Network, we are committed to becoming an actively antiracist and addressing racial inequalities.

For further information please contact PeopleTeam@coal.gov.uk