Non-academic staff on atypical contracts make up a significant percentage of the total higher education workforce. However, collecting data for these staff members, who may not spend more than a few hours in the higher education institution (HEI) in any one period, can be difficult. This is particularly the case for collecting diversity monitoring data, which may not always be as complete or reliable as data on other staff groups.
Numbers of atypical non-academic staff are on the increase. HEIs who don’t collect diversity data for atypical staff may find that they don’t have a clear view of the demographics of a growing proportion of their staff. A significant proportion of the atypical workforce may be made up of students, and analysing the data for equality trends could improve an institution’s support and provision of a good student experience.
This report covers some of the issues around collecting and monitoring data on atypical staff, looks at current practice drawn from HEIs across the sector and makes recommendations on how to approach improving monitoring of atypical staff.
Areas covered include:
- Collecting the data: which data to collect, when to collect it, logging data and encouraging disclosure of diversity data from atypical staff
- Analysing the data: whole workforce analysis, resource allocation, students and employment opportunities
