Trust considers tough line on promoting minority staff

An ambulance trust may require managers to justify to its CEO each time they promote someone else ahead of a colleague with a minority ethnic background to a senior role.

London Ambulance Service Trust’s equality, diversity and inclusion committee is suggesting the policy, which it described as “a step change in recruitment practices”, but the trust is still considering it.

It would apply to all promotions for Agenda for Change band 7 jobs and above. Hiring managers would be expected to detail to the CEO the steps they had taken to support individual applicants.

Roger Davidson, the trust’s chief strategy and transformation officer, said: “We are determined to ensure our recruitment processes are fair so all colleagues can build great careers. We have already made improvements for internal applicants by offering interview skills training as well as having independent members on recruitment panels.

“We will also be taking the concept used successfully in other NHS providers of requiring panels who don’t appoint internal black or minority ethnic colleagues into more senior roles to provide feedback on why the applicant wasn’t appointed and what their development plan will be so they can be successful in the future.”

Chief executive of the NHS Race and Health Observatory, Professor Habib Naqvi, said: “Any steps to address deep-seated ethnic inequalities in the workplace must be welcomed so long as they are evidence-based and meaningful, and not short term, tokenistic gestures.

“This proposal can help the service to address the issues of bias by introducing a critical level of accountability in decision-making. We cannot afford the cost to staff and patients that results from unfairness in the way organisations appoint, treat and develop a significant section of the NHS workforce.”

Like many trusts, LAS has a large number of staff with a Black, Asian or other minority ethnic heritage, but they are concentrated in lower grades, especially Agenda for Change bands 2 and 3.

Nearly one in four overall are from a minority ethnic – and 38 per cent of new joiners – but there is a big gap in some roles, including paramedics.

The EDI committee report to last week’s trust board said: “[Black and minority ethnic] candidates are two times less likely to be successful than white candidates at job interviews with issues with recruitment process.”

LAS is taking various actions to increase the proportion of minority ethnic staff in ambulance operations and 999 services and plans a “specific focus for all leaders to be held accountable for reducing discrimination and creating an inclusive LAS”.

The paper highlights progress in some areas – with an increased proportion of minority ethnic staff saying the trust “provides opportunities for progression” and a doubling of the number of paramedics from a minority ethnic background over the last five years.

It notes, however, “pushback on BME issues from white colleagues” and a “significant cultural challenge”.