Public Sector Equality Duty: specific duties in Wales

As well as the general duty, the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) regulations set out additional specific duties that are different in England, Scotland and Wales.

This page is about the specific duties that apply in Wales, as listed in the Equality Act 2010 (Statutory Duties) (Wales) Regulations 2011. We refer to public authorities who must comply with the PSED as ‘listed authorities’ in this guidance.

1. Assess and monitor policies and practices

You must assess how any new or proposed policies and practices may affect protected groups. When assessing the impact on protected groups, you must consider how this will affect your performance of the general duty of the PSED.

You must publish reports where the impact, or likely impact, of the policy on your ability to comply with the duty is substantial.

Read our guidance on assessing impact.

2. Identify and collect relevant information about equality

We refer to this as ‘equality information’. You must make appropriate arrangements to ensure that you periodically identify relevant information that you hold, and identify and collect information that you need. Where appropriate, you should publish relevant information.

Read our guidance on equality information.

3. Revise and publish, outcome focused equality objectives

A statement setting out the steps you have taken, or intend to take, to meet your objectives, including timescales, should accompany your objectives. You must review your equality objectives at least every four years. Most public bodies published equality objectives in April 2024 and will be expected to publish new equality objectives in April 2028.

If you revise your equality objectives, you should publish these changes as soon as possible.

Read our guidance on setting equality objectives and publishing strategic equality plans.

4. Identify and collect information about differences in pay

When developing equality objectives, you must have due regard to the requirement for objectives that address the causes of any difference in pay between employees who are from any protected group and those who are not. This information must be published as appropriate.

You must also publish an equality objective that addresses any gender pay difference identified or publish reasons why you have not done so. You must also publish an action plan to address any gender pay gap. This requirement is distinct from the UK government’s 2017 Gender Pay Regulations. Only publishing your gender pay gap data on the UK government portal would not meet the Wales specific duties, with which you must also comply. 

Read our guidance on employment information, pay differences and staff training.

5. Training and collecting employment information

You must promote knowledge and understanding of the general duty and specific duties among your employees.

Any performance assessment procedures must include a process to identify and address the training needs of your staff in the area of equality, including their understanding of the general duty and the specific duties.

You must also collect and publish employment information about your employees and workforce that is broken down by aggregate and protected characteristic. For the full list of required employment information, refer to chapter 6, section 6 of the Wales Technical Guidance on the PSED.

Employment information must be published for each year from 1 April to 31 March in the annual equality report, unless it has been published accessibly elsewhere.

6. Revise and publish a strategic equality plan (SEP)

Your SEP should have information including but not limited to:

• equality objectives and the steps to meet the objectives
• arrangements to identify and collect relevant equality information
• details on how your authority will promote knowledge and understanding of the general and specific duties among your workforce
• arrangements for the assessment of the likely and actual impact on protected groups of policies and practices

You must publish your SEP as soon as possible after you have written or revised it.

Read our guidance on setting equality objectives and publishing strategic equality plans.

7. Involve people with protected characteristics or their representatives who have an interest in the way you carry out your functions

This regulation is called the ‘engagement provisions’. You must comply with the engagement provisions when:

• setting equality objectives
• drafting your strategic equality plan
• assessing and monitoring policies and procedures

8. Consider the general duty in procurement processes

When procuring works, goods or services, you must have due regard to whether you should include equality considerations in the award criteria to help you meet the general duty.

If you specify performance conditions in your agreement, you must have due regard to whether these conditions should include equality considerations to help you meet the general duty.

Read our guidance on procurement and the PSED.

9. Produce an annual report each year

You must publish an annual report no later than a year after the period you are reporting on. For example, for the period of 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, you must publish your annual report no later than 31 March 2026.

This report must set out your progress in identifying and collecting relevant equality information.

Read our guidance on annual reporting.

10. Publish accessible documentation

You must publish documentation including, but not limited to:

• equality objectives
• strategic equality plans
• annual reports

You must take all reasonable steps to ensure that any document or information you are required to publish is accessible to anyone who has one or more of the protected characteristics.