Socio-economic background - SG Core
Data on employees’ socio-economic background is limited, as it only gathered as part of our recruitment system and the People Survey, neither of which link to employee records. We use the National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification (NS-SEC) as our measure for socio-economic background below. The NS-SEC groups the occupation of the respondent’s main income-earning parent when the respondent was 14.
We use the three-class definition of the NS-SEC below. Those whose parents were in “professional or managerial occupations” are classified as “High”. Those whose parents were in “clerical, sales, service and intermediate technical occupations” are classified as “Intermediate”. Those whose parents were in “routine, semi-routine, low supervisory and technical occupations” are classified as ‘Routine’, and a final category is included for those whose parents “Never worked”.
The declaration rate for socio-economic background in our recruitment systems and in the People Survey are 98% and 81.6% respectively. The latter rate excludes all staff who could not be categorised for any reason (denoted “Undetermined” in the charts and tables below).
Workforce composition
Recruitment
The chart below shows the percentage breakdown of the socio-economic background of applications to work for the SG Core at each stage of the recruitment process. Applicants applying to multiple jobs are included for each application they make. The percentage breakdown of Scotland’s population aged 16 to 64 by socio-economic background is added as a comparison where available.
Figure 8a: Recruitment stage reached by socio-economic background in 2023
The stages of the recruitment process are explained later in this report
Some cells in the table below might not contain data. These cells have been suppressed for confidentiality purposes, represented by [c], or are not present in a given data source, represented by [x].
Table 8a: Recruitment stage reached by socio-economic background in 2023
Workforce culture
Results from People Survey 2023 cannot be published until demographic results are published at a Civil Service level. The results below come from the latest data that can be released. The complete data used here can be found in the spreadsheet attached to last year’s publication.
The data below come from the annual Civil Service People Survey and highlight the experiences of staff working in SG Core. The scores below are the percentage of positive responses by respondents indicating they belong to a particular demographic group. Respondents who didn’t answer the question on socio-economic background have been removed from these charts and tables, although they are included in the calculation of the total figure.
Some of the percentages in the charts below are followed by arrows indicating the level of statistical significance. These boxes are also colour-coded in various shades of green and red to indicate whether the difference is desirable or not respectively.
Engagement
67% of staff from a high socio-economic background report feeling engaged, compared to 66.5% of staff whose parents never worked.
The chart below shows the percentage of staff who feel engaged with their work in 2022.
Figure 8b: Employee engagement score by socio-economic background in 2022
Some cells in the table below might not contain data. These cells have been suppressed for confidentiality purposes, represented by [c].
Table 8b: Employee engagement score by socio-economic background in 2022
Inclusion & fair treatment
87.2% of staff from a high socio-economic background report feeling included and treated fairly, compared to 81.5% of staff whose parents never worked.
The chart below shows the percentage of staff feeling included and that they are treated fairly in 2022.
Figure 8c: Inclusion & fair treatment score by socio-economic background in 2022
Some cells in the table below might not contain data. These cells have been suppressed for confidentiality purposes, represented by [c].
Table 8c: Inclusion & fair treatment score by socio-economic background in 2022
Bullying & harassment
7% of staff from a high socio-economic background report experiencing bullying and/or harassment, compared to 11.2% of staff whose parents never worked.
The chart below shows the percentage of staff having experienced bullying and/or harassment at work in 2022. Lower percentages are preferred.
Figure 8d: Bullying & harassment score by socio-economic background in 2022
Some cells in the table below might not contain data. These cells have been suppressed for confidentiality purposes, represented by [c].
Table 8d: Bullying & harassment score by socio-economic background in 2022
Discrimination
5.2% of staff from a high socio-economic background report experiencing discrimination, compared to 13.4% of staff whose parents never worked.
The chart below shows the percentage of staff having experienced discrimination at work in 2022. Lower percentages are preferred.
Figure 8e: Discrimination score by socio-economic background in 2022
Some cells in the table below might not contain data. These cells have been suppressed for confidentiality purposes, represented by [c].