- Conference
- 2024 National Health Care Service Group Conference
- Date
- 6 December 2023
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that, as mandated at Health Conference 2023, UNISON has continued to strengthen and promote its Race for Equality Campaign throughout 2023 Year of Black Workers. Over 100 activists and staff have now been trained as part of a regional roadshow in the use of the NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) to tackle race discrimination at work. The campaign has been embraced by members, and a recent Race for Equality workshop where branches got together to share best practice on resolving disciplinary disparities for Black staff was so heavily oversubscribed further sessions had to be scheduled in.
Conference believes that despite these successes, there is much more that needs to be done to challenge racism in the NHS. Conference believes that there is great value in bringing branches together to share best practice. Alongside the particular focus on disciplinaries and disparities between the rates for Black and white staff which was explored in our workshops in 2023, facilitating further workshops on other key issues faced by Black staff would be invaluable.
Conference notes that through sharing best practice. one key policy suggestion that received lots of interest from activists was the use of a “Pause and Reflect” process, by which disciplinary cases are reviewed in their context before being taken forward by employers.
Conference believes that this is an example of a policy worth promoting nationally and facilitating locally, and that further policies which would make key differences for Black staff may arise from more spaces for discussion; adding to the need for practical workshops for members and branches.
Conference is also concerned about reports from branches that some employers are increasingly using Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) against Black staff as a way to avoid having to report the use of disciplinary action against these staff members.
Finally, conference recognises that policies require education and confidence to be effectively used by members, and that UNISON must ensure that training opportunities are available as widely as possible.
Therefore, Conference calls on the Health Service Group Executive to:
1. Continue to resource and run the Race for Equality campaign to challenge racism in the NHS.
2. Run practical workshop sessions which address the issues facing Black staff in the health service, and which form the core components of the Race for Equality Campaign such as recruitment and career progression, bullying and harassment, and disproportionate disciplinary rates.
3. Develop and distribute template policies and relevant negotiating guidance shared at the Race for Equality workshops and through engagement conducted with branches and regions – including exploring the use of “Pause and Reflect” processes and equipping branches to tackle the use of PIPs in place of formal disciplinary processes when used to hide disproportionate rates among Black and white staff.
4. Work to develop guidelines around ways of working with other parties in the disciplinary process, such as Freedom to Speak Up Guardians and schemes such as Cultural Ambassadors.
5. Develop and provide additional training opportunities for branches and regions, to ensure our activists have the knowledge and skills necessary to help them to challenge racism in the NHS