Dear LJ Potter and Jens Bakewell

RE: Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 – Request for Information

Thank you for your enquiry, which has been logged and passed to the relevant department within the University for processing. Please quote reference number FOI 137 should you need to contact the University regarding this request.

A response will be sent to you promptly and in any case not later than 20 working days after the date we received your email.

The University will make every effort to provide you with the information requested; if any clarification is required, the University will contact you as soon as possible. In some circumstances, it may not be possible to provide you with an answer to your enquiry. Where the University believes this is the case, you will be informed in writing, stating the reason(s). If the information you are seeking is already published by the University, or is otherwise available to members of the public, you will be sent details outlining how to access the information. You will be advised if it is necessary for the University to charge a fee to cover the costs of processing your request. Should this be the case, please note the information cannot be released until such payment is received.

If you have any questions regarding your request for information then please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely

Christine Shaw
Corporate Governance Officer
DDI / Fòn: 01847 889380
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Dear LJ Potter and Jens Bakewell,

Re: Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 – Request for Information

I refer to your request for information received on the 10th December 2018, relating to gender and staff information - request number FOI 137. Please find our response to your questions as follows:

Question 1. How many individual members of staff were employed at your institution (as of 1st November 2018)?
Answer - 335

Question 2. During your recruitment process, how do you ask candidates about their title? Does your online application system have default title choices, e.g Mr/Mrs/Ms? If yes, what is the list available? Do you offer a free-form box to enter title? Is title a required field on your online application form?
Answer - Application form attached

Question 3.1. During your recruitment process, how do you ask candidates about their gender identity outside of your Equal Opportunity Monitoring form? If so, does your online application system have default gender options, e.g Female/Male? If yes, what is the list available? Do you offer a free form box to enter gender? Is gender a required field on your online application form?
Answer - We don't (see application form attached)

Question 3.2 On your equal opportunities monitoring form for recruitment do you ask for candidates to state their gender? If yes, what questions are asked and what options are provided? Are candidates able to select an option which is not provided?
Answer - See Application form attached

Question 3.3 Do you ask candidates about the sex/gender they were assigned at birth? Do you ask if candidates if they are transgender? If so, what are the questions you ask and what are the options provided?
Answer - No, we don't

Question 3.4 Do you ask candidates any other questions about their gender identity? If yes, what are they and what options do you provide?
Answer - No - we don't

Question 4. If such information is available, what is the breakdown (in percentages) of sex or gender/gender identity of employed staff at your institution? What is the percentage of employed staff at your institution who do not identify as the sex assigned at birth? Please provide this information as 1st November 2018
Answer - 36% M and 64% F, only 1 disclosed

Question 5. Do you have a transgender equality policy? If so, please attach and return with your response. If not – is there a transgender section in your wider equality policy? If yes, please attach and return with your response.
Answer - No

Question 6. What is the procedure to support staff who transition whilst in role at the university?
Answer - Would seek guidance from Equality Staff Unit, the rest of the questions not applicable
- How would they change their name, title and gender marker?
- What would you do if a member of staff at the university wanted to use a gender that was not currently listed on your system?
- Do you have a central point of contact for administering changes across all IT systems?
- How is the policy made available to managers and staff? Do you provide specific training?

Question 7. Do any of your policies and procedures specifically include non-binary people (those who do not identify as male or as female), and if so, in what ways? Please attach any policies that specifically mention non-binary people.
Answer - Not explicitly

Question 8. Across university systems (such as HR, name badges, IT accounts etc) what title choices are available for members of staff at your institution? (e.g Ms, Mrs, Mr etc). Are titles compulsory for people to state?
Answer -No

Question 9. What provisions have you put in place for transgender (including non-binary) members of staff at your institution to ensure that these staff members feel comfortable and included at your organisation?
Answer - None at present

Please note that the University of the Highlands and Islands operates as a collegiate federal partnership comprising of thirteen independent further and higher education colleges, specialist colleges and research institutions. A list of contact details for our partner organisations is available at http://www.uhi.ac.uk/en/campuses and further information about the University is available online at http://www.uhi.ac.uk/en

Copyright
Please note that copyright in the information you have been given belongs to the university. Copyright material must not be copied, distributed, modified, reproduced, transmitted, published (including published on the Internet or an intranet), or otherwise made available in whole or in part without the prior written consent of the copyright holder or as expressly permitted under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998. Should the university agree to give consent to the use of the information, then the university must be credited as having done so.

Your right to seek a review of our decision
If you are not satisfied with our response or our reasoning set-out above, you have forty working days in which to request a review of our decision. Any request should be put in writing and should be sent to me at the address detailed at the bottom of this email. Your request should:

(a) describe the nature of your original request; and
(b) explain the reasons why you are not satisfied with our response.

If you remain dissatisfied with how your request for information has been dealt with, you also have the right to apply to the Scottish Information Commissioner for a decision as to whether we have handled your request properly.
Information relating to your right to seek review is available from the Scottish Information Commissioner's web page at: http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/faqs.... or by contacting the Scottish Information Commissioner's Office at the following address:
Scottish Information Commissioner, Kinburn Castle,
Doubledykes Road, St Andrews,
Fife
KY16 9DS
Telephone: 01334 464610
Fax: 01334 464611
E-mail: [email address]
Website: www.itspublicknowledge.info
www.itspublicknowledge.info/Appeal

Finally, should you wish to discuss the contents of this response then please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely

Christine Shaw
Corporate Governance Officer
DDI / Fòn: +44 (0) 1847 889380
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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