National Equality Standard

National Equality Standard

Founded	22 May 2013
Headquarters	London, United Kingdom
Area served	UK
Key people	Arun Batra (CEO & founder)
Website	http://www.ey.com/UK/en/Home/National-Equality-Standard

The National Equality Standard (NES) is an initiative created by EY. It was developed for business, by business and sets clear Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) criteria against which companies are assessed. ^[1]

Background

The NES has been developed and sponsored by EY, supported by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the Home Office and the Confederation of British Industry and developed in partnership with the following UK and global companies:^[2]

The NES was launched in May 2013 at the British Museum and since then many businesses have signed up^[4] and the Standard has received significant media attention and news coverage.^[5]

People

Arun Batra is the CEO and founder of the NES. Prior to his position at EY he ran the Mayor's 'Diversity Works' programme in London^[6] and has recently been recognised as one of Britain’s most influential Asians for leading the establishment of the NES.^[7]

Arun is supported by Harry Gaskell, the managing partner of EYs UK & Ireland advisory Practice and Head of D&I, and the Chair of the Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion (enei).^[8]Sir David Bell has been appointed as the Non-executive Chair of the steering committee that drives the development of the NES.^[9]

Jo Heath is head of NES Assessment Delivery and the architect of the NES standards, competencies and assessment criteria.

The National Equality Standard Assessment

Through the NES, companies are subjected to a robust EDI assessment which has been devised by the NES Board and EY.^[10] The NES Assessment provides companies with a comprehensive quality review of their EDI policies and practices, identifies areas for improvement and provides implementation recommendations.^[11] Each company that undertakes the NES undergoes a robust assessment against a defined set of criteria across 7 standards. Trained NES Assessors review documentation, ensure legal compliance, conduct comprehensive interviews and sample staff through in-depth surveys. The outcome is detailed in a comprehensive report.^[12]

The Objectives

The objectives of the NES are to provide an assessment tool which:

Aims to significantly impact the way diversity and inclusion is integrated into everyday business activity across the country
Provides a single reference point incorporating all elements of the Equality Act 2010
Enables businesses to undertake a comprehensive assessment specifically focused on EDI
Consists of best practice standards that can be applied to any business sector or size
Provides a pragmatic solution to EDI which rewards ambition
Supports the private sector by providing one recognisable holistic framework for industry good practice
Enables companies to showcase their businesses as leaders in this field
Bridges the gap between legal requirements and best practice^[13]

Feedback

The feedback from those undertaking assessments has been positive; Tina Southall, Director, Diversity and Inclusion at Vodafone Group Services described the assessment process in an interview:

“The assessment process was excellent. It really captured both the macro status but also important details. It consisted of an in-depth review of materials and a very professional and well structured audit. It provided thought provoking insights combined with pragmatic and actionable recommendations. The Standard has potential to drive a real change in Equality Standards.” ^[14]

References

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