Socio-economic Background

  1. Definition
  2. Equality Law
  3. Policy & Guidance
  4. OU Resources
  5. External Resources

Definition

Socio-economic background relates to a combination of an individual’s income, occupation and social background. Socio-economic background is a key determinant of success and future life chances.

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Equality Law

Socio-economic status is not protected in equality law.  While many provisions of the Equality Act 2010 came into force either in October 2010 or April 2011, the coalition government decided not to take forward the public sector duty regarding socio-economic inequalities.

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Policy & Guidance

Equality Scheme

Protected characteristic

Socio-economic background is one of the protected characteristics in our Equality Scheme.

Equality, Diversity and Widening Access and Success Strategy Action Plan

Actions in our Equality, Diversity and Widening Access and Success Action Plan set out our plans to achieve our equality objectives and widening access and success strategy priorities.

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OU Resources

Employee Assistance Programme

OU staff have access to the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) which is a support/ counselling service provided by Wisdom Health Assured for the OU. The EAP covers a range of issues such as sickness, family issues, finances, etc.

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External Resources

  • GOV.UK  
    This website provides information about Equality Act guidance, in particular commencement dates and the public sector equality duty.
  • Office for National Statistics (ONS) 
    This website provides information about socio-economic status classifications.

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image: Stuart Miles | Freedigitalphotos