Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) Action Plan guidance

Anti-racism is an active commitment to working against racial injustice and discrimination. An anti-racist is different from a non-racist due to the active nature of the position. To be anti-racist is to be an active part of the solution, whereas a non-racist is a bystander of the problem.

Bullying is 'offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, an abuse or misuse of power through means that undermine, humiliate, denigrate or injure the recipient' (ACAS, 2014).

Diversity refers to demographic differences of a group - often at team or organisational level. Often, diversity references protected characteristics in UK law: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.

Equality refers to equal rights and opportunities that are afforded to all. The 2010 Equality Act in the UK protects those with protected characteristics from direct and indirect discrimination in the workplace.

Equity recognises that treating everyone equally has shortcomings when the playing field is not level. An equity approach emphasises that everyone should not be treated the same, but according to their own needs.

Fitness-to-practice means that someone has the skills, knowledge, character, and health to practice their profession safely and effectively without restriction. Fitness-to-practice is not just about professional performance. It also includes acts by a social worker, which may damage public confidence in the profession.

Inclusion is often defined as the extent to which everyone at work, regardless of their background, identity, or circumstance, feels valued, accepted, and supported to succeed at work. Inclusion involves the integration of different ideas, perspectives, experience, expertise, and backgrounds accompanying a diverse workforce in work practices and decision-making. Inclusive leadership refers to the leadership capabilities required to foster diversity and inclusion.

Intranet means a private and secure network that can only be accessed by a company's employees.

Metrics are quantifiable measures used to track organisational processes to judge the performance level of an organisation.

Positive action is the steps that an employer can take to encourage people from groups with different needs or with a past track record of disadvantage or low participation to apply for jobs. An employer can use positive action where they reasonably think (in other words, on the basis of some evidence) that: people who share a protected characteristic suffer a disadvantage connected to that characteristic; people who share a protected characteristic have needs that are different from the needs of people who do not share it, or participation in an activity by people who share a protected characteristic is disproportionately low.

Racism is when a person is treated worse, excluded, disadvantaged, harassed, bullied, humiliated, or degraded because of their 'race' or ethnicity. Racism can be an action by an individual or a culture of a workplace: 'normal' behaviour that underpins everyday practices. It can be a one-off action, or subtle everyday behaviours that can add up to negatively affect a person (known as micro-aggressions). Racism can also be the deliberate or accidental outcome of an organisation's policy or practice. It can be seen in processes, attitudes, and behaviour, which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, and thoughtlessness.