ORR's Equality Information January 2012 
 

## Orr'S Equality Information Introduction And Background

1. The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) is committed to furthering the aims of the Equality Act 2010. 2. The public sector duty of the Equality Act 2010 consists of a general equality duty, which is set 
out in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. In summary, those subject to the equality duty must, in the exercise of their functions, have due regard to the need to: 
a. Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct 
prohibited by the Act; 
b. Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic 
and those who do not; and 
c. Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic. 
3. ORR is also subject to specific duties which are imposed by secondary legislation in the form of 
the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) Regulations 2011. Those specific duties include the need to publish sufficient information to demonstrate its compliance with the general equality duty across its functions. The information provided must include: 
a. Information on the effect that its policies and practices have had on people who share a 
relevant protected characteristic, to demonstrate the extent to which it furthers the 
aims of the general equality duty for its employees and for persons affected by its policies and practices; 
b. A statement of one or more objectives it thinks it should achieve in order to comply with 
the public sector equality duty.  
4. ORR has an equality project group in place with representatives from across the organisation. 
The purpose of this is to coordinate ORR's response to the Equality Act 2010 and the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) Regulations 2011: 
a. In respect of its duties as an employer, to ensure that ORR complies with the Act and, 
where possible, demonstrates best practice; 
b. In respect of its public role, to ensure that ORR has due regard to advancing equality 
when exercising its regulatory functions - working together with other bodies where 
appropriate; and 
c. To ensure that ORR staff are aware of the implications of the Act for them, both as 
employees and as public servants. 

## Orr'S Policies And Practices

5. ORR's equality scheme outlines the policies and practices that are in place and how they further 
the aims of the general equality duty. This was revised recently in light of the new legislation and 
will be developed further to incorporate the requirement to prepare and publish ORR's equality objectives, in April 2012. 
6. ORR has also revised its equality and diversity policy in light of the new Equality Act 2010.  
7. We have engaged with our Staff Representatives' group when developing our work on equality. 
We have raised awareness with staff about the changes arising from the Equality Act 2010, 
through internal communications and seminars. We will also engage with external stakeholders to advance equality when carrying out our role as a regulator.  

## Orr'S Equality Information

8. At this stage we are focusing on the equality information for our employees. We will consider 
whether we need to extend our information gathering more widely to include service users and passengers. 
9. Our equality data has been taken from two sources. Much of the data is from ORR's HR database 
(as at 31 December 2011). The rest of the data has come from the Autumn 2012 people survey 
(85% of staff responded). Some of the key questions in the survey have helped us to assess how 
effective our people policies have been in advancing equality. 
10. ORR has analysed the distribution of its workforce, as far as it is able to, in terms of the 
protected characteristics (age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership). This has been broken down by employees' 
grades where possible. This data shows that the majority of staff are male (65%), most staff are white (64%) and 5% of staff have a reported disability. The data can be found in Annex 1. 
11. ORR has analysed the numbers of part-time and full-time staff at each level of the organisation. 
The majority of part-time staff are women at each grade. This data can be found in Annex 2. 
12. An analysis of pay for male and female staff has been undertaken to assess whether there is a 
gender pay gap. This has been broken down by grade. ORR endeavours to ensure that our pay system is fair and equitable. We will continue to analyse these differences in more detail. The 
data can be found in Annex 3.   
13. Information about the effectiveness of our people policies has come from our people survey. 
This can be found in Annex 4.  
14. ORR has a total of 280 staff. In order to avoid identifying particular individuals, the data is only 
shown for groups of more than 10 staff. This has been indicated in the data.  
15. There are a number of areas that we are unable to report on because the numbers are too few 
(10 people or less). These areas are pregnancy and maternity, dismissals and grievances, and 
recruitment. 
16. ORR does not currently have any reported transsexual staff in employment. As part of our 
Equality and diversity policy, we aim to recruit as diverse a workforce as possible, and would welcome applications from anybody. 

## Next Steps

17. ORR is committed to furthering the aims of the Equality Act 2010 and will work to address any 
inequalities highlighted in the data.  
18. ORR will develop its equality objectives and publish these as part of the Equality Scheme, in April 
2012. Further action planning will be undertaken as necessary. 
19. We will also be developing our HR database to ensure that we hold more comprehensive data 
about our workforce. In particular, we will improve our data collection on religion and belief, and sexual orientation. We will be engaging with staff as we develop this. 
20. We are committed to publishing our equality information on an annual basis. 

## Annex 1 The Distribution Of Orr'S Workforce By Protected Characteristic And Grade (2011)

Protected Characteristic 
SCS ** 
A 
B 
C 
D 
E 
F 
G 
Overall 
Gender 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Male 
60% 
73% 
71% 
80% 
63% 
67% 
26% 
46% 
65% 
          
      
Female 
40% 
27% 
    29% 
20% 
38% 
23% 
74% 
54%        35% 
Race/ethnicity 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
White 
87% 
91% 
71% 
66% 
63% 
71% 
41% *** 
64% 
Mixed 
0% *** 
*** 
*** 
*** 
*** 
0% 
0% *** 
Asian or Asian British 
0% 
0% 
0% *** 
*** 
*** 
*** 
*** 
5% 
Black or Black British 
0% 
0% 
0% *** 
*** 
*** 
*** 
*** 
4% 
Other ethnic group 
*** 
0% 
0% *** 
*** 
*** 
*** 
*** 
5% 
Unknown 
*** 
*** 
*** 
28% *** 
0% *** 
*** 
20% 
Disability 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Reported disability 
0% *** 
*** 
*** 
*** 
*** 
*** 
*** 
5% 
No reported disability 
100% 
95% 
94% 
96% 
91% 
96% 
94% 
96% 
95% 
Age 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
19 and below 
0% 
0% 
0% 
0% 
0% 
0% 
0% 
0% 
0% 
20-29 
0% 
0% 
0% *** 
*** 
*** 
*** 
*** 
9% 
30-39 
*** 
*** 
*** 
20% 
38% 
58% 
32% *** 
26% 
40-49 
*** 
*** 
*** 
40% 
34% *** 
*** 
*** 
30% 
50-59 
*** 
*** 
42% 
31% *** 
*** 
*** 
*** 
29% 
60+ 
0% *** 
*** 
*** 
*** 
0% *** 
*** 
6% 
Religion or belief 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
No Religion 
0% *** 
*** 
14% *** 
*** 
*** 
*** 
13% 
Christian 
*** 
*** 
*** 
25% *** 
*** 
*** 
*** 
21% 
Buddhist 
0% 
0% 
0% 
0% 
0% 
0% 
0% *** 
*** 
|                    | Hindu    | 0%     | 0%     | 0%      | 0% ***    | 0%      | 0% ***    | ***    |
|--------------------|----------|--------|--------|---------|-----------|---------|-----------|--------|
| Jewish             | ***      | ***    | 0%     | 0%      | 0%        | 0%      | 0%        | 0% *** |
| Muslim             | 0%       | 0%     | 0%     | 0%      | 0%        | 0% ***  | 0% ***    |        |
| Sikh               | 0%       | 0%     | 0% *** | 0%      | 0% ***    | ***     | ***       |        |
| Other              | 0%       | 0% *** | 0% *** | ***     | 0%        | 0% ***  |           |        |
| Not Known          | 80%      | 50%    | 58%    | 60%     | 72%       | 54%     | 65%       | 54%    |
| Sexual             |          |        |        |         |           |         |           |        |
| Orientation (from  |          |        |        |         |           |         |           |        |
| People Survey)     |          |        |        |         |           |         |           |        |
| Heterosexual       | ***      | ***    | ***    | ***     | ***       | ***     | ***       | ***    |
| Gay or lesbian     | ***      | ***    | ***    | ***     | ***       | ***     | ***       | ***    |
| Bisexual           | ***      | ***    | ***    | ***     | ***       | ***     | ***       | ***    |
| Other              | ***      | ***    | ***    | ***     | ***       | ***     | ***       | ***    |
| Not Known          | ***      | ***    | ***    | ***     | ***       | ***     | ***       | ***    |
| Marriage and civil |          |        |        |         |           |         |           |        |
| partnership        |          |        |        |         |           |         |           |        |
| Married            | ***      | 64%    | 68%    | 64% *** | ***       | 32% *** | 48%       |        |
| Single             | 0% ***   | ***    | 14%    | 41%     | 46%       | 44%     | 54%       | 26%    |
| Divorced           | ***      | 0%     | 0% *** | ***     | 0% ***    | ***     | 5%        |        |
| Widowed            | 0% ***   | 0%     | 0%     | 0%      | 0% ***    | 0% ***  |           |        |
| Civil Partnership  | 0%       | 0%     | 0% *** | ***     | 0%        | 0%      | 0% ***    |        |
| Partner            | 0% ***   | ***    | ***    | 0% ***  | 0%        | 0% ***  |           |        |
| Unknown            | ***      | ***    | ***    | 11% *** | ***       | ***     | ***       | 17%    |
|                    |          |        |        |         |           |         |           |        |

**Senior Civil Servant - this represents the most senior level of the organisation and grade G is at the least senior level of the organisation. 

***In order to avoid identifying particular individuals, the data can only be shown for more than 10 people. 

## Annex 2

Protected Characteristic 
SCS ** 
A 
B 
C 
D 
E 
F 
G 
Overall 
Male 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Part-time 
*** 
*** 
*** 
*** 
*** 
*** 
0% 
0% 
9% 
Full-time 
*** 
94% 
86% 
88% 
90% 
94% *** 
100% 
91% 
Female 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Part-time 
*** 
*** 
*** 
*** 
*** 
*** 
*** 
*** 
30% 
Full-time 
*** 
*** 
*** 
58% *** 
*** 
68% 
93% 
70% 
 

## Annex 3

Median 
Grade 
Male 
Female 
% difference 
Senior Civil Servant 
£87,461.50 
£105,611.00 
20.75% 
A 
£72,969.00 
£74,115.00 
1.57% 
B 
£64,695.50 
£61,088.00 
-5.58% 
C 
£56,727.00 
£54,912.00 
-3.20% 
D 
£42,711.00 
£42,711.00 
0.00% 
E 
£33,674.50 
£33,799.00 
0.37% 
F 
£29,427.00 
£28,488.00 
-3.19% 
G 
£21,723.00 
£20,741.00 
-4.52% 
 
Mean 
Grade 
Male 
Female 
% difference 
Senior Civil Servant 
£98,571.40 
£104,836.20 
6.36% 
A 
£71,925.44 
£73,487.83 
2.17% 
B 
£64,186.23 
£62,286.89 
-2.96% 
C 
£55,562.75 
£53,574.94 
-3.58% 
D 
£42,348.05 
£40,331.02 
-4.76% 
E 
£33,896.81 
£34,217.13 
0.94% 
F 
£28,705.78 
£29,013.36 
1.07% 
G 
£21,843.25 
£21,307.14 
-2.45% 
 

ORR endeavours to ensure that our pay system is fair and equitable. We will continue to analyse these differences in more detail. 

## Annex 4 An Analysis Of Equality Data From Orr'S People Survey (Autumn 2011)

85% of staff responded to the people survey 

People survey questions 
% Positive score  
% Neutral score 
I am treated fairly at work 
72 
16 
12 
86 
9 
5 
I am treated with respect by 
the people I work with 
56* 
25 
19 
I think that ORR respects individual differences (e.g. cultures, working styles, backgrounds, ideas etc) 

 

| People survey questions    |   Yes (%)  |   No (%)  |
|----------------------------|------------|-----------|
| Prefer not to              |            |           |
| say (%)                    |            |           |
| 13*                        |        80  |        7  |
| During the past 12 months, |            |           |
| have you personally        |            |           |
| experienced discrimination |            |           |
| at work                    |            |           |
| 12*                        |        82  |        5  |
| During the past 12 months, |            |           |
| have you personally        |            |           |
| experienced bullying or    |            |           |
| harassment at work?        |            |           |

 *These figures have been identified by the organisation as areas that need to be investigated further, to establish what the underlying reasons are. We will shortly be introducing 'anti-bullying and harassment advisers'. These volunteers will be fully trained in supporting staff who feel discriminated against, bullied or harassed. We are also reviewing our 'protection from bullying and harassment policy'. We are working with our staff representatives to further the work necessary in these areas. 

% Negative score