Workforce Race Equality Standard
The Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) is an annual assessment of key employee metrics by ethnicity, including the workforce profile, board profile, and key staff survey results. It was introduced by the NHS in 2015 as a proactive tool to highlight and address differences in the experiences of staff because of their ethnicity. The ultimate aim being to address racial inequalities, and create and inclusive workplace for all.
What the WRES measures and reports
There are 9 broad WRES metrics reported each year, they are:
- Our Workforce: Who our staff are, including splits by Non-Clinical, Clinical but not Medical, and Medical staff,
- Recruitment: Who is more likely to be successfully appointed to a role,
- Disciplinary: Are there differences in which staff are disciplined each year,
- Training: Are there differences in who can access continuing professional development opportunities,
- Staff Survey: Who has experienced harassment from patients and the public,
- Staff Survey: Who has experienced harassment from other staff members,
- Staff Survey: Do staff believe that career progression and promotion is fair and equitable,
- Staff Survey: Who has experiences discrimination from other staff members,
- Our Board: Who are our Trust Board members.
What the data is telling us
Overall,
- 16.3% of our workforce identify as being from a black, Asian or other ethnic minority background (March 2025),
- ethnic minority applicants as a population, are less likely than white applicants to be offered a role after an interview (2024-2025)
- white staff are more likely as a population group to undergo a formal disciplinary process (2023-2025)
- ethnic minority staff as a population group are slightly more likely to access continuing professional development (2024-2025),
- 4.3% of our Trust Board identified as being from an ethnic minority background, less than our overall workforce, but reflective of the local authority areas (March 2025),
- ethnic minority staff were more likely than white staff to report that they have experienced harassment from patients and the public; and from another member of staff,
- ethnic minority staff were less likely to agree that there is fairness in career progression,
- ethnic minority staff were more likely than white staff to report that they have experiences discrimination from another member of staff.
These are headline figures which are based on the experiences of different staff groups, grades (bands), and locations across Merseyside and West Lancashire. You may find it useful when thinking about who our workforce is, to read the Annual Workforce EDI Report, which provides a detailed breakdown of our staff by ethnicity and staff groups (e.g. nurses v medics), pay grades (bands), and clinical areas (called Divisions).
Read the Report
Anti-Racism at MWL
For further information on our race equality work, please visit the Anti-Racism at MWL webpage
Useful Links