As an ombuds service we have a deeply held commitment to fairness. Our values include equality and diversity and we are committed at all levels of our organisation to promoting this. We do this both through our work and as an employer. In 2022 our Diversity Steering Group, which includes Board members with relevant expertise and the Senior Leadership Team, continued to oversee our work in this area, and equality, diversity and inclusion was regularly discussed at meetings of the full Board.
Casework and outreach
Through the year we looked for opportunities to highlight the challenges facing many disabled students, and the need for higher education providers to resource support services appropriately. We liaised with the Disabled Students’ Commission on relevant issues and we responded to the consultation on the Disabled Student Commitment. We listened to the experiences of disabled students through our student discussion groups and benefited from the insights of our Disability Experts Panel.
We worked with the Living Black at University Commission to explore the practical implementation of recommendations arising from research about the experiences of Black students in student accommodation, focusing on the recommendations that processes for making complaints are clear and accessible, and that learning from complaints is shared.
We attended a series of events organised by the Union of Jewish Students and the Holocaust Educational Trust. We also participated in a meeting between the taskforce on antisemitism in higher education chaired by Lord Mann and higher education sector organisations.
In July we published a casework note on complaints relating to pregnancy, parenthood and childcare, together with some case summaries. These highlight some of the issues that can arise, and how providers can support students.
We also continued to focus on making the service we provide accessible and inclusive. We supported our awareness and understanding of the needs of different students, for example through an externally led session on neurodiversity. We made a range of accessibility adjustments to our case review process, including taking a flexible approach to deadlines, advising students in advance when we were ready to issue our decision, and talking through our decision with students over the phone.
A student who has a severe visual impairment brought a complaint to us about the provision of support on their higher education course. We talked to the student and agreed adjustments to our usual processes. We accepted the student’s complaint verbally over the phone and gave them additional time to provide any comments or additional evidence. We put information the provider gave us about the complaint into an easily accessible format before we sent it to the student.
We also aim to make our outreach activities inclusive. We offer resources and events in a range of formats so that people can access them in a way that works for them. Sometimes it’s the small things that make a difference:
“Thank you for an informative and interesting webinar. The enforcement of microphones off was particularly well done, which is important to me as I have auditory sensitivities and weird background noise can be distracting to the point where I am unable to follow what is being said. 10/10 for inclusion!”
Our organisation
In 2022 we maintained a strong focus on diversity in our recruitment. We continued to take a more skills-based approach that relies less on candidates’ previous experience and again worked with a specialist diversity recruitment company for some roles, and appointments we made in 2022 added to the diversity of our staff. We continue to monitor the diversity of our staff and our Board.
We also support diversity through offering flexible working arrangements, including part-time positions at all levels. Our staff can work remotely for a high proportion of their working time, if they prefer and as their role allows, and have a lot of flexibility in their working hours. This can be particularly helpful for those who are managing disabilities or health conditions, or who have caring responsibilities.
We have a job evaluation framework and grading structure to set the appropriate pay grade for each role so that people doing the same or similar roles are paid on an equal basis. Around three-quarters of our staff are female, and the proportion in senior roles is similar. At 31 December 2022 we had a median gender pay gap in favour of men of 5.6%, compared with 6.4% in 2021). This figure varies over time due to the small size of the organisation but has reduced over the last two years.
It is important not only that we continue to improve the diversity of our workforce but also that everyone who works for us feels valued, included and supported. In 2022 we continued to promote an inclusive working culture.
We continued to support staff with a range of mental and physical health conditions. We are pleased that many feel able to be open about challenges they face.
We strengthened what we do to promote awareness and increase understanding, and to celebrate diversity. Discussion of equality, diversity and inclusion is included in our induction programme for new staff. We marked several events and celebrations during the year including Pride Month and Black History Month, and regularly shared information about events and issues to raise awareness. To mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, colleagues shared experiences of living with a range of disabilities.
