Information & resources
Information & resources
Equality and Human Rights Commission
The Equality and Human Rights Commission website gives background information on all of the GB legislation relating to equalities as well as the current Equality Bill. It also provides advice and guidance in a number of specific sections to employers, service providers and public sector agencies and information for those who advise the public about their rights.
It explains what is meant by service providers, outlines their areas of responsibility and indicates some of the actions that service providers can do to promote equality of opportunity and to tackle discrimination.
The Information for Employers section describes the main areas in which discrimination in employment can arise, who it applies to, and what employers can do to prevent it.
Information for advisers contains resources to help legal advisers and other advisers who provide information and advice to the general public advise people about their equality rights and human rights.
The Commission also operates a Scottish telephone helpline on 0845 604 5510.
Scottish Human Rights Commission
The role of the Commission is to promote and protect human rights in Scotland, but they are not allowed to take on any individual cases or assist with individual claims or legal proceedings. Their website provides a useful resource list for further contacts and information sources specifically relating to human rights.
Scottish Human Rights Commission
Universities Scotland
Universities Scotland publish a Universities Scotland Race Equality Toolkit that contains useful sections on equality in curriculum design, teaching and assessment.
The Equality Challenge Unit (ECU)
The Equality Challenge Unit supports the higher education sector to realise the potential of all staff and students, whatever their race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion and belief, or age, to the benefit of those individuals, higher education institutions (HEIs) and society.
The ECU receives some funding from the Scottish Funding Council for work in Scotland. Although much of its research focus is in relation to English institutions, the vast majority of resources published on its website is of relevance to Scotland and can also be freely accessed by Colleges for whom much of the content is equally applicable.
As well as full keyword search facilities, a useful section breakdown allows you to browse by equality strand (race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, transgender, religion / belief and age) as well as according to staff or student focus.
Scottish Government
Guidance used by the Scottish Government on equalities mainstreaming and a Scottish Government toolkit for completing an equality impact assessment are published on the Scottish Government website.
NHS Scotland publishes a comprehensive set of NHS Scotland employers’ resources and information to ensure equality and diversity are core to good governance and staff management. These include a NHS Scotland self-assessment audit tool for good employment practice developed in partnership with Audit Scotland that could easily be adapted to work at an institutional level in Higher and Further education.
The Improvement Service (IS) for local government in Scotland
Whilst set up to help improve the efficiency, quality and accountability of local public services in Scotland with a primary focus on councils and their partners, many equalities resources (use keyword search equality) are applicable to the higher and further education sectors. This is particularly relevant where institutions may be involved in local community plans or partners in Single Outcome Agreements.
Improvement and Development Agency (I&DeA)
The English local government improvement agency offers an extensive range of equality resources many of which are relevant for use in Scotland. The Equality and diversity page provides numerous links including a practical resource (Measuring equality at a local level) to help shape thinking around local equalities measurement
Equality Forward
The Equality Forward website is no longer available. Selected information and resources are being transferred to this website.
Scottish Disability Training
The Scottish Disability Training website is no longer being maintained and will soon be unavailable. Selected information and resources have been transferred to this website: