National Equality Standard


The National Equality Standard is an initiative created by Ernst & Young. It was developed for business, by business and sets clear Equality, Diversity and Inclusion criteria against which companies are assessed.

Background

The NES has been developed and sponsored by EY, supported by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Home Office and the Confederation of British Industry and developed in partnership with the following UK and global companies:
The NES was launched in May 2013 at the British Museum and since then many businesses have signed up and the Standard has received significant media attention and news coverage.

People

Arun Batra is the CEO and founder of the NES. Prior to his position at EY he ran the Mayor's 'Diversity Works' programme in London and has recently been recognised as one of Britain's most influential Asians for leading the establishment of the NES.
Arun is supported by Harry Gaskell, the managing partner of EYs UK & Ireland advisory Practice and Head of D&I, and the Chair of the Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion.Sir David Bell has been appointed as the Non-executive Chair of the steering committee that drives the development of the NES.

The National Equality Standard Assessment

Through the NES, companies are subjected to a robust EDI assessment which has been devised by the NES Board and EY. The NES Assessment provides companies with a comprehensive quality review of their EDI policies and practices, identifies areas for improvement and provides implementation recommendations. Each company that undertakes the NES undergoes a robust assessment against a defined set of criteria across 7 standards. Trained NES Assessors review documentation, ensure legal compliance, conduct comprehensive interviews and sample staff through in-depth surveys. The outcome is detailed in a comprehensive report.

The Objectives

The objectives of the NES are to provide an assessment tool which:
The feedback from those undertaking assessments has been positive; Tina Southall, Director, Diversity and Inclusion at Vodafone Group Services described the assessment process in an interview: