Equality Impact
Assessments
Definitive institutional analysis of Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) compliance, proportionality thresholds, and legal workforce governance.
Snippet Goal: What Is an Equality Impact Assessment?
An Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) is a structured governance tool used by police forces to evaluate whether a policy could disproportionately affect individuals with protected characteristics.
It forms the documented evidentiary base for compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty (Section 149) and ensures workforce decisions are lawful, proportionate, and evidence-based.
Decision Lens: An EIA is not a political instrument; it is a structural risk control. It prevents forces from inadvertently creating indirect discrimination patterns through change, such as altering shift patterns or promotion criteria without measuring the impact on protected demographics.
Structural
Risk Controls
In the complex architecture of UK public policy, police forces occupy a uniquely sensitive position. They are not merely employers; they are the physical manifestation of state authority, governed by the principles of community identity and Peel’s foundational consent. Consequently, every strategic decision a force makes must withstand intense legal examination.
An EIA is fundamentally a structural risk control mechanism. It exists to force decision-makers to pause, extract the mathematical realities of their workforce data, and objectively measure the collateral damage a new policy might inflict before deployment.
Policing is uniquely exposed to litigation. Decisions involving human resources in policing frequently touch upon protected characteristics—age, disability, race, and sex. Without analytical rigor, a well-intentioned policy, such as moving specialist training to weekends, could inadvertently constitute indirect discrimination against officers with childcare responsibilities, disproportionately impacting specific demographics.
In the event of an Employment Tribunal claim or a Judicial Review, the EIA transitions from an internal HR document into the primary defensive exhibit for the force. It asserts that the Chief Constable fulfilled their statutory duties under the law.
The Legal
Machinery
Remove discrimination, harassment, and victimisation.
Equality of opportunity between shared characteristics.
Good relations between diverse groups within the force.
The cornerstone of the process is Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. This legally compels all public authorities to have "due regard" to equality when exercising their functions. This is not an optional "tick-box" exercise; it is a substantive legal standard known as the Brown Principles.
Consideration of equality must be exercised at the formative stage of a decision. A Chief Officer cannot choose a policy and backfill an EIA to justify it. Case law dictates the duty must be exercised with rigor and an open mind before the policy solidifies.
What Triggers an EIA?
Operational Triggers
- Promotion Reform: Altering Interview scoring or eligibility criteria.
- Shift Changes: Redesigning neighborhood or 999 response rotations.
- Misconduct Policy: Amending Professional Standards referral triggers.
Strategic Triggers
- Response Courses: Changing priority scoring for driving course waitlists.
- Targeted Recruitment: Any campaign aimed at specific demographics.
- Positive Action: Launching targeted masterclasses or tie-breaker protocols.
The EIA Roadmap
Description
Stating the policy's legitimate aim clearly.
Evidence
HR data, pass rates, and staff associations.
Demographics
Isolating populations directly impacted.
Impact
Systematic check of all 9 characteristics.
Proportion
Performing the balancing exercise scan.
Mitigation
Actionable steps to reduce negative impact.
Review
Mandatory subsequent audit scheduling.
Sign-Off
Legal and Chief Officer authorization.
Flagship Studies
Promotion Pathway Adjustment
Role-play intro biasing neurodivergent officers or those where English is secondary.
Ensuring promotees hold practical command presence, not just theoretical law knowledge.
Policy deployed with reasonable adjustments (extra prep time) and bias-calibration for all assessors.
ARV Specialist Selection
Fitness threshold of 9.4 bleep test introducing standard indirect sex discrimination.
Absolute minimum aerobic capacity required to carry tactical equipment safely in pursuit.
Discrimination justified as a highly necessary, proportionate means of ensuring officer and public safety. Standard remains.
Proportionality
In Practice
Proportionality is the gravitational center of an EIA. A policy is only proportionate if it strikes a fair balance between the severity of the impact and the importance of the aim.
Legitimate Aim
Is the goal crucial? E.g., public safety, operational resilience, or a representative workforce.
Least Intrusive
Are there other ways to achieve the goal with less discriminatory impact? The EIA must search for them.
Note: EIAs do not guarantee equal outcomes. They ensure the decision remains lawful, documented, and rationally justified.
Common Myths
Reality: Unlawful. EIAs measure impact; they don't set hiring numbers.
Reality: PSED compliance is mandatory federal statute.
Reality: Governance instruments. They prevent lawsuits, not progress.
Track Policy
Changes
Equality Act thresholds and PSED case law evolve rapidly. Follow our dedicated LinkedIn brief for updates on UK police workforce regulation.
Follow BriefingsRegulatory Q&A
Is an Equality Impact Assessment mandatory?
Yes, under the Public Sector Equality Duty (Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010), police forces must objectively demonstrate 'due regard' to equality when designing or amending significant policies, which is formally achieved via an EIA.
Who completes EIAs in policing?
EIAs are typically drafted by the policy owner (e.g., HR leads or operational commanders) and subsequently reviewed by force Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) specialists and legal services teams before final command sign-off.
Does every decision need one?
No. Routine, low-level administrative decisions do not require a full EIA. However, significant strategic, operational, recruitment, or promotion framework changes that impact workforce dynamics require formal assessment to mitigate risk.
Can officers request to see an EIA?
Yes. Major policy EIAs should be transparent internal documents. An officer can request access to an EIA if they believe a specific policy, such as a promotion process or shift redesign, unlawfully impacts them.
Is an EIA legally binding?
An EIA itself is an audit and governance tool rather than a standalone law; however, failing to conduct one when required, or ignoring its documented risks, fundamentally breaches the statutory Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED).
What happens if no EIA is done?
If a force implements a policy without an EIA, or with a flawed one, the policy exposes the force to substantial legal risk, including judicial review challenges and Employment Tribunal claims for indirect or direct discrimination.
Can an EIA be challenged?
Yes. If an EIA's methodology is flawed, ignores contrary data, or arrives at a disproportionate conclusion, it can be legally challenged via internal grievance procedures, the Police Federation, or an Employment Tribunal.
Does it apply to promotion boards?
Absolutely. Promotion board mechanisms—from the shortlisting criteria to interview formats—require rigorous EIAs to ensure they do not create systemic barriers or indirect discrimination against specific demographics.
Does it apply to misconduct?
Yes. Changes to Professional Standards Department (PSD) policies or misconduct hearing structures must undergo EIA scrutiny to ensure fairness and to address any existing statistical disproportionality in the discipline system.
Does it apply to response courses?
Yes. Given the critical career importance of standard response driving courses, the criteria for waitlist prioritization or selection must be assessed via EIA to ensure equitable, merit-and-need based access.
Does it apply to recruitment?
Yes. All recruitment campaigns, particularly targeted outreach efforts or adjusted entry pathways (like detective fast-tracks), require a comprehensive EIA to prove proportionality and legal compliance.
Is positive action the same as EIA?
No. Positive action (Section 158/159) is a lawful intervention taken to address disadvantage. An EIA is the mandatory governance document used to mathematically and legally justify taking that positive action.
What is Section 149?
Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 establishes the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), legally compelling public authorities, including police forces, to proactively consider how their policies affect equality.
What is due regard?
'Due regard' is the legal standard required by the PSED. It means decision-makers must genuinely, consciously, and robustly consider equality impacts before finalizing a policy; it cannot be an afterthought or a tick-box exercise.
Can an EIA prevent legal claims?
While it cannot prevent someone from filing a claim, a robust, evidence-based EIA acts as the primary legal defense for a force at an Employment Tribunal, demonstrating that a proportional and lawful decision-making process occurred.
Is EIA a diversity quota tool?
No. EIAs do not enforce quotas. Quotas are unlawful in UK policing. An EIA is an analytical risk-management tool designed to ensure policies are fair and lawful, not to engineer specific demographic outcomes.
How often are EIAs reviewed?
EIAs are living documents. They must be reviewed periodically—often annually or bi-annually—or immediately if significant new workforce data emerges showing unexpected adverse impacts.
Are they public documents?
Major structural EIAs are often published by forces as part of their transparency commitments under the PSED requirements, though operationally sensitive details may be redacted.
Do all forces publish them?
While all forces must comply with the PSED and conduct EIAs, the extent to which they proactively publish every internal HR EIA on their public websites varies, though they are subject to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.
What is a screening EIA?
A Screening EIA (or initial assessment) is a rapid baseline review of a proposed policy to determine if a full, comprehensive Equality Impact Assessment is legally required due to potential risks.