Workforce Progress report 2024

The Equality Act 2010 sets out public sector equality duties. We must comply with the duties and have due regard for the need to:

1. Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Act.
2. Advance equality of opportunity between people of different groups or protected characteristics. The protected characteristics are:
   • age
   • disability
   • gender reassignment
   • marriage and civil partnership
   • pregnancy and maternity
   • race
   • religion or belief
   • sex
   • sexual orientation.
3. Foster good relations between people from different groups.

The equality duty is about integrating consideration of equality and good relations into day-to-day business. It means organisations need to look at how they can positively contribute to the advancement of equality and good relations. It requires these considerations to be reflected into policies and the delivery of services, including internal policies, and for these to be kept under review. Within this report we reflect on the progress we are making.

Our gender and ethnicity pay gaps

While publication of our Gender Pay Gap report is a legal requirement, there is no current obligation to publish our Ethnicity Pay Gap report. We published this to support our commitment to making a difference and encouraging regulated law firms to do the same.

Our 2023/24 gender median pay gap was 7.2%, which falls below the 13.1% for the UK (Office for National Statistics (ONS), 2024). It was also lower than our 2023 result of 9.3%. We will continue to address this gap by reviewing diversity data to make sure there is fairness throughout the employee lifecycle.

Our median ethnicity pay gap decreased from 15% in 2021 to 7.5% in 2023/24. The average for other peer regulators in 2024 was 12.5%. We also have an action plan addressing our aspiration to significantly improve ethnic diversity at senior levels.

Our values

Our values shape our culture and underpin our commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment. Our values are aligned with our organisational behaviours, which link to our wider equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) work:

Organisation

As a regulator, we expect the law firms we regulate to create and champion an equal and diverse culture, so we need to make sure we do the same. We expect our staff to consider EDI throughout their work, whatever their role.

Labour market

Our offices are based in Birmingham, London and Cardiff. According to the ONS Annual Population Survey of England and Wales (2023), Black, Asian and minority ethnic workers made up:

• 20.2% of the West Midlands workforce
• 4.9% of the workforce in Wales
• 37.9% in London.

The data for the ethnicity of our workforce is similar to the ONS data for the West Midlands, where most of our staff are based, with 18.9% of our workforce (152 staff) being Black, Asian or minority ethnic. We continue to work on areas where data suggests we have more to do to make sure there is diversity at every level in the organisation.

Reporting period

All data is taken as of 31 October 2024. This is a change from previous reports where data was taken on 31 December each year. We have done this to align with the same twelve-month period used for our finance and planning cycle. This data includes some previously reported in our 2023 report (1 November – 31 December 2023).

Where data reflects small numbers, we have not reported them in case individuals are identifiable. In some cases, the data in this report has been presented in line with the organisation structure to express key points.

Building a diverse workplace

We believe it is important that we highlight our commitment to EDI from the beginning of a person’s interaction and engagement with us. We want to encourage applicants to be individuals who are proud of their diversity, promoting equality of opportunity.

The disclosure of diversity data is voluntary. Each year we ask new staff to add their diversity data to our HR system and existing staff to review and update their data. During 2023/24, 14.5% of staff did not respond to our requests, down from 22.1% in 2023. This is mainly due to communicating to new staff during their induction why diversity monitoring matters and the positive impacts it can bring.

Recruitment process

Throughout 2023/24, we continued to push mixed-ethnicity selection panels in interviews for leadership positions. We also continued to promote the practice of ensuring diversity in gender and ethnicity across other recruitment panels within the organisation.

Our recruitment and selection training, inclusive hiring resources and interview questions were all designed with inclusion in mind, helping to keep this value at the forefront of the process.

We continued to provide job application resources. This allows interviewees access to a range of learning materials designed to help candidates to develop skills, insight and confidence before they are assessed at interview. This helps level the playing field for every person invited to interview and we continue to receive good feedback on this.

We collaborated with peer professional regulators to exchange best practices and to collectively promote a culture of diversity and inclusion.

Supporting progression and fulfilling aspirations through learning and development

We remain committed to developing our people, supporting their progression and building a skilled, inclusive workforce that drives our organisation forward.

Our accredited Leadership Pathway programme continues to support the development of current and future leaders. In 2023/24, we saw continued diverse participation in our Aspiring Managers programme, with several participants successfully progressing into management roles.

We also delivered the first Advanced Leadership Development programme for directors, which included an expanded reverse mentoring scheme. Initially launched in 2022 to support Black, Asian, and minority ethnic colleagues, the scheme was broadened in 2023/24 to include other underrepresented groups, strengthening our commitment to increasing diversity in leadership roles. We also supported another group of colleagues through the Mission Include programme, the world’s largest, cross-company mentoring programme, for the third year running.

To support greater awareness and understanding of key inclusion issues, we launched two new on-demand elearning modules focused on antisemitism and islamophobia. These, allowed staff to explore the topics at their own pace. We also introduced new self-led resources as part of Learning at Work Week. These included resources and courses on topics such as wellbeing, stress management, critical thinking and decision-making. We believe these recognise the diverse needs and learning styles of our workforce.

Following a review of our Professional Development Policy in 2023, we expanded access to the scheme to create a more transparent and inclusive process for all staff. This change has made it easier for all colleagues to pursue a range of external accreditations, helping us to stay current and relevant in our thinking.

Our networks, established and run by staff, continued to share ideas and collaborate on events and initiatives throughout 2023/24. They each have an intranet page to share messages and raise awareness.

Each network has an Executive Team sponsor who takes a keen interest in and supports its work. We also have Board members who sponsor specific networks.

Highlights from 2023/24

REACH (Race, Ethnicity and Cultural Heritage) – promotes racial equality and celebrates a diverse staff community

During 2023/24, the network held monthly meetings and collaborated with other networks on events covering topics such as sickle cell awareness, race equality, code-switching and stress awareness. It also shared information during South Asian Heritage Awareness Month and Black History Month, contributed to podcasts, supported external EDI events and marked a range of other awareness days. The network supported five key faith events through blogs, information sharing and panel discussions.

Guest speakers at its meetings included SRA subject matter experts, a human rights barrister, an anti-racism advocate, broadcaster and ex-footballer, a Sikh Armed Forces chaplain and various authors.

NoW (Network of Women) – promotes gender equality and supports women in our workplace

In 2023/24, NoW continued its work to raise awareness around women’s wellbeing issues with a particular focus on domestic abuse and breast, cervical and ovarian cancers.

Colleagues shared personal perspectives as well as resources to raise awareness, inform, educate and support colleagues. We marked Baby Loss Awareness Week with a live event featuring the personal story and reflections from two colleagues impacted by baby loss, including the often-unheard male perspective.

PridePlus – promotes equal opportunities for LGBTQ+ colleagues and provides confidential support

PridePlus has an active community page and has provided various activities over the year for its members and wider staff.

This year, it focused on raising awareness around the trans and non-binary community this year. PridePlus hosted an external speaker for international trans day of visibility, who spoke on how to be supportive of someone’s gender identity and shared his own experiences. The network also marked LGBTQ+ history month with a UK LGBTQ+ history quiz.

Staff have continued to enjoy podcasts and blogs produced by LGBTQ+ members of staff, deep-diving on topics such as coming out, Pride and media presentations of queer people. The network also celebrated three Pride parades and supported our presence in Birmingham, London and Cardiff, collaborating with law firms and other groups within the legal sector.

Every Body in Mind – promotes positive awareness regarding mental health, wellbeing, and disability access in the SRA

Every Body in Mind continues to hold in-person coffee sessions and informal catch ups during the year where all are welcome to attend. In September, this involved an overview of the mental health first aiders.

There was also a mental health first aid recruitment campaign in 2023/24, which led to recruiting more first aiders to add to the existing group of seven, in areas not previously having this provision.

In addition, there have been several joint events with the Working Parents group.

Working Parents – for working parents to share ideas, information and support

The Working Parents Network continued to encourage parents to share ideas, information and support. During 2023/24, the network:

• organised in-person sessions at the organisation’s Birmingham office for parents to share experiences and support each other
• raised awareness of key parenting topics through a variety of content
• provided one-to-one support to parents via its buddy scheme.

In collaboration with the Well-Man Network, the network organised a virtual event where colleagues shared their individual experiences of parenting. Working with Every Body in Mind, the network also organised an in-person session at the organisation’s London office to share experiences of managing stress over the Christmas period.

Well-man network – a platform and support for discussing and promoting wellbeing issues important to men, their families, friends and colleagues

During 2023/24, the network ran two events. One was on addiction, including colleagues sharing resources on how recognising and supporting problems with gambling addiction and an external speaker talking through their experience of overcoming alcohol addiction. The second was a podcast-style discussion tying in with Men’s Mental Health week, with several group members sharing their stories on mental wellbeing, work/home life balance and fitness.

It also joined with the Working Parents and Carers Network for an event on the challenges of becoming a parent and returning to work. This included a colleague talking about his experience of taking shared parental leave.

The network also supported ‘Movember’ by promoting the various fund-raising efforts organised by colleagues and network members via its intranet page.

Green Living – sharing tips on how to live greener and cleaner

The Green Living Community ran several events throughout 2023/24. It continued its tradition of running a sunflower growing competition which was judged during our annual Green Living Week in September and hosted lunchtime litter picks. The network also noted key environmental awareness dates throughout the year. Therse included Earth Day and Plastic Free July, where we measured our plastic waste and released educational communications on the impacts of plastic use and how to reduce it.

The network also shared awareness posts around key holiday periods on how to celebrate sustainably. Plus small changes that can be made in day-to-day life to reduce environmental impact.

As an organisation, we are making a start on our pathway to net zero and remain committed to acting in an environmentally friendly way. We were re-accredited to ISO 14001 and continue to work on our Environmental Management System.

Charity Working Group

Our Charity Working Group raised more than £6,000 during 2023/24 for Midland Langar Seva Society (MLSS), a multicultural non-profit organisation. This charity strives to help those in need around the UK and internationally, with food, clothing and essential items, regardless of race, religion and background.

As well as raising vital funds, the group also held regular collections of food donations for the charity to use at its street feeds. We supported MLSS until the end of 2024.

Staff faith events

We continued to organise staff faith events during 2023/24. These encourage staff from all religions and backgrounds to come together and celebrate as one.

SRA Allies

Our SRA Allies programme provides staff with the opportunity to show support for all colleagues from all backgrounds. This helps to create an inclusive and respectful culture where everyone feels safe and comfortable to be themselves.

Rewarding and recognising our staff

We continue to provide a range of staff benefits which reflect our inclusive approach. Our digital platform, the Recognition Hub, supports timely recognition and reward for staff for embodying our behaviours and values. In 2023/24, 75.6% of staff were rewarded financially via the Recognition Hub.

In addition, we had 2,305 ‘thank you award’ nominations. A total of 223 ecards (such as welcome, congratulations, behaviours and the SRA values) have been sent. The Recognition Hub also includes a wellbeing centre, where staff can access useful information and resources relating to diet and exercise, financial wellbeing and mental health.