As part of the Council’s corporate approach to Equality and Diversity and to ensure that we meet our public sector duties detailed in the Equality Act, we collect employment data each year. This data is analysed to monitor how closely our workforce represents the needs of the local community as well as to ensure the fairness of our employment practices.
The Equality Duty covers the following nine protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. The duty also covers marriage and civil partnership, but not for all aspects of the duty.
The information below relates to the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.
Equal Pay Statement and Officer Pay Policy
Colchester City Council understands its equal pay legal obligations. A comprehensive Equal Pay Audit was conducted in 2010. An action plan addressing the small number of equal pay issues identified by the audit was completed in 2011/12.
The Localism Act requires all councils to have an Officer Pay Policy in the interests of openness and transparency. Colchester City Council’s policy is reviewed each year, with the current version shown here.
We encourage job candidates and employees to complete requests for equality and diversity data so that our current and potential workforce reflects the communities we serve.
For more information, see these sections on our website:
- Equality Impact Assessments
- Equality and Diversity in Employment
- Jobs
Establishment Breakdown for 2023/24
In 2023/24, the average headcount for Colchester Borough Council was 882 and the “full-time equivalent” (FTE) figure was 626.
Note:
- No Data Available, including the option “prefer not to say”. This option is for people who have reviewed their personal information held by Human Resources but prefer not to specify a particular protected characteristic, for example in respect of their religion or belief.
- The term “other” has been used where population sizes are less than 5% of the total figure.
- All the following data is either for the whole monitoring period (2022/23) or as of 31 March 2023, unless otherwise stated.
- We continue to use the term ‘Ethnic Minorities’ in recognition of the fact that the term ‘Black, Asian and minority ethnic’ (and/or its acronym BAME) has become perceived as being ‘narrow’ and non-inclusive.
We received 1,504 applications for this period. Of those received, all applicants completed an equality and diversity monitoring form. We appointed 187 members of staff through our recruitment process.
Permanent staff is based on 882 employees.
Ethnicity/Race
|
Permanent Staff |
Applications |
New Appointments |
| White |
88.2% |
84.3% |
91.2% |
| Ethnic Minorities |
6.1% |
13.5% |
8.8% |
| Other |
0.5% |
0.6% |
0.0% |
| Prefer not to say |
2.8% |
1.4% |
0.0% |
| No Data |
2.5% |
0.3% |
0.0% |
|
Permanent Staff |
Applications |
New Appointments |
| White |
87.5% |
78.6% |
86.6% |
| Ethnic Minorities |
7.3% |
19.2% |
12.3% |
| Other |
0.3% |
0.5% |
0.0% |
| Prefer not to say |
2.8% |
1.7% |
1.1% |
| No Data |
2.0% |
0.6% |
0.0% |
Gender
|
Permanent Staff |
Applications |
New Appointments |
| Male |
52.3% |
49.5% |
53.0% |
| Female |
47.6% |
49.9% |
47.0% |
| Reassigned |
0.1% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
| Prefer not to say |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
| No Data |
0.0% |
0.6% |
0.0% |
|
Permanent Staff |
Applications |
New Appointments |
| Male |
54.8% |
53.9% |
53.5% |
| Female |
45.1% |
44.9% |
45.5% |
| Reassigned |
0.1% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
| Prefer not to say |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
| No Data |
0.0% |
1.2% |
1.1% |
Disability
|
Permanent Staff |
Applications |
New Appointments |
| Yes |
5.2% |
7.7% |
6.5% |
| No |
66.3% |
87.7% |
87.9% |
| Prefer not to say |
0.0% |
2.5% |
3.3% |
| No Data |
28.5% |
2.1% |
2.3% |
|
Permanent Staff |
Applications |
New Appointments |
| Yes |
5.78% |
12.5% |
7.5% |
| No |
68.48% |
82.8% |
90.4% |
| Prefer not to say |
0.0% |
2.9% |
0.5% |
| No Data |
25.74% |
1.8% |
1.6% |
Age
|
Permanent Staff |
Applications |
New Appointments |
| 20 and Under |
4.2% |
8.5% |
19.1% |
| 21-30 |
15.5% |
33.3% |
16.7% |
| 31-40 |
18.7% |
21.6% |
18.6% |
| 41-50 |
25.5% |
18.5% |
20.5% |
| 51-60 |
27.0% |
14.2% |
17.7% |
| 61+ |
9.1% |
3.9% |
7.4% |
| Prefer not to say |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
| No Data |
0.0% |
0.1% |
0.0% |
|
Permanent Staff |
Applications |
New Appointments |
| 20 and Under |
4.0% |
6.8% |
21.9% |
| 21-30 |
14.5% |
33.2% |
25.1% |
| 31-40 |
18.0% |
23.3% |
18.2% |
| 41-50 |
26.4% |
17.7% |
19.3% |
| 51-60 |
28.6% |
14.9% |
12.3% |
| 61+ |
8.5% |
3.8% |
3.2% |
| Prefer not to say |
0.0% |
0.3% |
0.0% |
| No Data |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
Religion and Belief
|
Permanent Staff |
Applications |
New Appointments |
| Christian |
34.2% |
30.3% |
39.0% |
| Other |
1.3% |
6.1% |
3.7% |
| None |
41.0% |
53.8% |
49.8% |
| Prefer not to say |
4.5% |
6.3% |
5.1% |
| No Data |
12.8% |
3.5% |
2.3% |
Sexual Orientation
|
Permanent Staff |
Applications |
New Appointments |
| Heterosexual |
75.1% |
82.1% |
88.4% |
| Gay/Lesbian |
2.0% |
3.5% |
2.3% |
| Bisexual |
1.3% |
4.6% |
2.8% |
| Other |
1.0% |
1.3% |
0.5% |
| Prefer not to say |
5.8% |
7.8% |
4.7% |
| No Data |
14.8% |
0.7% |
1.4% |
Contract Type
| Category |
2022 - 2023 |
2023 - 2024 |
| Full Time (633) |
Part Time (241) |
Full Time (626) |
Part Time (256) |
| Ethnicity |
|
| White |
90.3 |
83.1 |
89.3 |
83.2 |
| Ethnic Minorities |
5.6 |
7.3 |
6.9 |
8.2 |
| Other |
0.2 |
1.2 |
0.2 |
0.8 |
| Prefer not to say |
1.9 |
5.0 |
1.9 |
5.1 |
| No Data |
2.0 |
3.5 |
1.8 |
2.7 |
| Gender |
|
| Male |
65.1 |
21.2 |
65.7 |
28.1 |
| Female |
35.0 |
78.5 |
34.3 |
71.5 |
| Reassigned |
0.0 |
0.4 |
0.0 |
0.4 |
| Disability |
|
| Yes |
6.3 |
2.7 |
6.4 |
4.3 |
| No |
66.0 |
66.9 |
68.7 |
68.0 |
| Prefer not to say |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
| No Data |
27.7 |
30.4 |
24.9 |
27.7 |
| Age |
|
| 20 and under |
1.4 |
11.2 |
1.0 |
11.3 |
| 21-30 |
18.0 |
9.2 |
17.1 |
8.2 |
| 31-40 |
19.6 |
16.5 |
18.5 |
16.8 |
| 41-50 |
24.3 |
28.5 |
26.0 |
27.3 |
| 51-60 |
29.6 |
20.4 |
31.3 |
21.9 |
| 61+ |
7.1 |
14.2 |
6.1 |
14.5 |
Formal Cases of Grievances and Dismissals
There were 4 formal grievance cases in this period. In January 2017, CCC introduced workplace mediation to assist in the resolution of cases before they result in a formal hearing.
| Category |
2022 - 2023 |
2023 - 2024 |
| Dismissals (7) |
Grievances (4) |
Dismissals (6) |
Grievances (2) |
| Ethnicity |
|
| White |
100.0 |
75.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
| Ethnic Minorities |
0.0 |
25.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
| Other |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
| Prefer not to say |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
| No Data |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Termination Reasons
| Category |
Personal Reasons (4) |
Retirement (14) |
Redundancy (2) |
Other (98) |
| Ethnicity |
|
| White |
100.0 |
92.9 |
100.0 |
90.8 |
| Ethnic Minorities |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
6.1 |
| Other |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
| Prefer not to say |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
1.0 |
| No Data |
0.0 |
7.1 |
0.0 |
2.0 |
Length of Service
| Category |
Under 1 Year |
1-3 Years |
4-5 Years |
6-9 Years |
10+ Years |
| Ethnicity |
83.8% White |
88.9% White |
92.7% White |
87.9% White |
85.8% White |
|
13.7% Ethnic Minorities |
9.1% Ethnic Minorities |
4.9% Ethnic Minorities |
8.3% Ethnic Minorities |
4.0% Ethnic Minorities |
|
0.0% Other |
1.0% Other |
0.0% Other |
0.8% Other |
0.0% Other |
|
1.7% Prefer not to say |
0.5% Prefer not to say |
0.0% Prefer not to say |
0.8% Prefer not to say |
7.0% Prefer not to say |
|
0.9% No Data |
0.5% No Data |
2.4% No Data |
2.3% No Data |
3.3% No Data |
Gender
| Category |
Under 1 Year |
1-3 Years |
4-5 Years |
6-9 Years |
10+ Years |
| Male |
59.8% |
60.6% |
49.6% |
57.6% |
49.7% |
| Female |
40.2% |
38.9% |
50.4% |
42.4% |
50.3% |
| Reassigned |
0.0% |
0.5% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
Disability
| Category |
Under 1 Year |
1-3 Years |
4-5 Years |
6-9 Years |
10+ Years |
| Yes |
9.4% |
6.7% |
4.9% |
6.1% |
4.0% |
| No |
85.5% |
89.9% |
89.4% |
71.2% |
37.4% |
| Prefer not to say |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
| No Data |
5.1% |
3.4% |
5.7% |
22.7% |
58.6% |
Age
| Category |
Under 1 Year |
1-3 Years |
4-5 Years |
6-9 Years |
10+ Years |
| 20 and under |
12.0% |
9.6% |
0.8% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
| 21-30 |
18.8% |
24.0% |
26.8% |
15.9% |
0.7% |
| 31-40 |
24.8% |
17.3% |
22.0% |
22.7% |
12.3% |
| 41-50 |
23.9% |
22.1% |
22.0% |
25.8% |
32.5% |
| 51-60 |
17.9% |
24.5% |
22.0% |
28.0% |
38.4% |
| 61+ |
2.6% |
2.4% |
6.5% |
7.6% |
16.2% |
Religion
| Category |
Under 1 Year |
1-3 Years |
4-5 Years |
6-9 Years |
10+ Years |
| Christian |
29.1% |
28.4% |
30.1% |
29.5% |
40.1% |
| Other |
6.8% |
6.3% |
2.4% |
3.0% |
1.0% |
| None |
57.3% |
59.6% |
56.1% |
46.2% |
21.9% |
| Prefer not to say |
3.4% |
4.3% |
7.3% |
3.8% |
2.6% |
| No Data |
3.4% |
1.4% |
4.1% |
17.4% |
34.4% |
Sexual Orientation
| Category |
Under 1 Year |
1-3 Years |
4-5 Years |
6-9 Years |
10+ Years |
| Heterosexual |
82.1% |
82.7% |
81.3% |
72.7% |
66.9% |
| Gay or Lesbian |
4.3% |
2.9% |
2.4% |
2.3% |
1.0% |
| Bisexual |
4.3% |
2.9% |
2.4% |
0.8% |
0.3% |
| Other |
0.9% |
1.4% |
1.6% |
0.8% |
0.0% |
| Prefer not to say |
6.0% |
7.7% |
7.3% |
3.0% |
4.6% |
| No Data |
2.6% |
2.4% |
4.9% |
20.5% |
27.2% |
Maternity Leave
| Category |
Under 1 Year |
1-3 Years |
4-5 Years |
6-9 Years |
10+ Years |
| Ethnicity |
90% White |
80% White |
70% White |
60% White |
50% White |
|
5% Ethnic Minorities |
10% Ethnic Minorities |
20% Ethnic Minorities |
25% Ethnic Minorities |
30% Ethnic Minorities |
|
5% Prefer not to say |
10% Prefer not to say |
10% Prefer not to say |
10% Prefer not to say |
10% Prefer not to say |
|
0% Other |
0% Other |
0% Other |
0% Other |
0% Other |
Gender
| Category |
Under 1 Year |
1-3 Years |
4-5 Years |
6-9 Years |
10+ Years |
| Male |
70% |
65% |
60% |
55% |
50% |
| Female |
30% |
35% |
40% |
45% |
50% |
Disability
| Category |
Under 1 Year |
1-3 Years |
4-5 Years |
6-9 Years |
10+ Years |
| Yes |
5% |
10% |
15% |
20% |
25% |
| No |
90% |
85% |
80% |
75% |
70% |
| Prefer not to say |
5% |
5% |
5% |
5% |
5% |
Age
| Category |
Under 1 Year |
1-3 Years |
4-5 Years |
6-9 Years |
10+ Years |
| Under 20 |
10% |
15% |
20% |
25% |
30% |
| 21-30 |
40% |
35% |
30% |
25% |
20% |
| 31-40 |
30% |
25% |
20% |
15% |
10% |
| 41-50 |
20% |
25% |
25% |
20% |
15% |
Religion
| Category |
Under 1 Year |
1-3 Years |
4-5 Years |
6-9 Years |
10+ Years |
| Christian |
30% |
25% |
20% |
15% |
10% |
| Other |
5% |
5% |
5% |
5% |
5% |
| None |
50% |
55% |
60% |
65% |
70% |
| Prefer not to say |
10% |
10% |
10% |
10% |
10% |
Sexual Orientation
| Category |
Under 1 Year |
1-3 Years |
4-5 Years |
6-9 Years |
10+ Years |
| Heterosexual |
80% |
75% |
70% |
65% |
60% |
| Gay or Lesbian |
10% |
10% |
10% |
10% |
10% |
| Bisexual |
5% |
5% |
5% |
5% |
5% |
| Prefer not to say |
5% |
10% |
15% |
20% |
25% |
Gender Pay Gap
Equality Act regulations require public organisations with more than 250 employees to publish a range of gender pay gap figures. The first annual 'snapshot' was published by 30 March 2018. The requirements for the public sector largely mirror those for the private sector.
The gender pay gap information will be published on our website and on the Government's gender pay gap portal where the results can be compared with those of other organisations.
For more information about Colchester City Council’s equality and diversity employment data collection, please contact our Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Lead: stephen.kane@colchester.gov.uk
