Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES)

four young women of different ethnicities looking and smiling at the camera

Recent research has demonstrated that the treatment and experience of BME staff within the NHS is significantly worse, on average, than that of NHS white staff. The publication of the Snowy White Peaks of the NHS (2014) indicated that BME staff were absent from the leadership or senior positions of many organisations even where the workforce had substantial numbers of BME staff and where the organisation provided services to communities with large number of BME patients.

The report also summarised research over recent years showing BME staff were treated less favourably by every measure, including promotion, grading, discipline, bullying, and access to non-mandatory training.

The NHS Equality and Diversity Council which proposed the Workforce Race Equality Standard is NOT suggesting other forms of equality are less important, or that it is ‘easy’ for non BME staff, but it is clear that race discrimination is an important issue within the NHS and there has been little if any improvement in recent years. 

For this reason the NHS Equality and Diversity Council after consultation, and to improve equality across the NHS, introduced the Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES). This is a mandatory requirement and would require organisations to demonstrate progress against a number of indicators of workforce equality.  

Please see the Trust’s WRES Report and Reporting Template below.

Work Force Race Equality Standard (WRES) 2023 Report.pdf