Socio-economic background (SEB)
Updated 2 January 2019
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/socio-economic-background/socio-economic-background-seb
The Government has published recommendations on how employers can measure socio-economic background in their workforce. The recommendations have been developed in consultation with private sector employers and experts.
Publishing these measures, is part of our commitment as outlined in the Civil Service Diversity & Inclusion Strategy, to establish a baseline socio-economic data for the whole of the Civil Service by March 2020.
Use of these measures by employers is entirely voluntary, and we expect that the measures we are recommending will be used in a similar fashion to the data employers gather on other characteristics of their employees, with the data used anonymously and never to form the basis of individual recruitment decisions.
We believe the metrics will provide a voluntary standard of measurement that enables comparison of socio-economic diversity between employers.
The recommendations can be found here.
Documents
Measuring Socio-economic Background in your Workforce
Recommended measures for use by employers
Annex A
Evaluation of measures of socio-economic background
Details
The Measuring Socio-economic Background in your workforce: recommended measures for use by employers and accompanying Annex A provide guidance for employers on how they can use the measures in their organisations.
The report will be a breakthrough not only for the Civil Service, but also for other employers. It will standardise the way organisations understand socio-economic diversity in our workforces and help indicate where we should prioritise improvement.
To request copies of this document in alternative formats, please contact inclusion@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.