Legal obligations

Legal obligations relates to risks around any failure to fulfil legal obligations to the public on equal access and data privacy.

Lack of knowledge

Staff do not demonstrate a working knowledge or understanding of the Equalities Act 2010 and Equalities Act Provisions 2011 on protected characteristics as per the Public Sector Equality Duty 2011 (PSED). This lack of awareness has an impact on the handling of difficult and potentially upsetting conversations, on capacity to work in that environment effectively, and on interactions with the communities served.

Mitigations for risk

  • Provide training on the contents of the Equality Act and how this is applied to their role, with access to resources to support this. Refer to and reiterate Public Sector Equality Duty 2011 at regular intervals to match with societal change and movements.
  • Give access to updated case studies, written research, published pieces and HR best practice on the Equalities Act 2010. Facilitate links to professional networks offering support.

Outdated knowledge

Working knowledge by staff on equalities is out of date or invalid. By relying on this outdated knowledge, staff are unable to engage sensitively or confidently in potentially upsetting conversations, with potentially negative impacts on stakeholder relationships.

Mitigations for risk

  • Regularly review equalities practice, and provide up-to-date Continued Professional Development (CPD) training and resources. Provide additional time within working hours to study or take part in training, and allocate budget for this time with the expectation that staff will keep their knowledge up to date through performance reviews and CPD targets.
  • Regularly update reading lists and published sources for individual study and support.

Contravening the Equalities Act

Direct or indirect actions by staff, participants and users that are identified as prohibited conduct under the Equalities Act 2010. This can manifest (for example, but not exclusively) as verbally offensive words, the denial or erasure of identities, or the denials of access to services through abusive behaviour.

Mitigations for risk

  • Provide training and support on the contents of the Equalities Act 2010 and how this is applied to all roles. Reiterate the Public Sector Equalities Duty at regular intervals to match societal change or movements.
  • Take disciplinary action against any employee who is found to have committed an act of unlawful discrimination.
  • Put security procedures in place, both for physical and online spaces, to remove and ban abusive people from situations to protect others. Be aware of the procedures to report hate crimes.

Breakdown of stakeholder relationships

Stakeholders are distressed when encountering difficult conversations and/or material, and believe it has been managed in a discriminatory manner. The organisation finds no discrimination has taken place, but trust and the wider relationship between organisation and individuals or groups is damaged. This has repercussions for work-based performance and interactions with the individuals and communities served.

Mitigations for risk

  • Put procedures in place to raise concern via the line manager chain or to nominated officers who have been appointed to advise on questions of inclusion e.g. HR reps, inclusion champions, mental health first aiders, counsellors or mentors. Have robust complaints procedures in place to help resolve disputes, including access to mediators.
  • Carry out consultation before communicating on histories that could be perceived as upsetting, to identify the likeliness of this risk occurring.
  • Prepare for the scenario of a civil lawsuit in case of discrimination by a member of staff or public, in accordance with the Equalities Act. See also Legal Obligations, risk 5.
  • Provide and undertake training on boundary setting for employees within Continued Professional Development.

Discrimination lawsuits

Civil lawsuits arise from discrimination in the use and/or access to archival material.

Mitigations for risk

  • Regularly review equality practices and Continued Professional Development (CPD) to ensure it is up to date. Provide opportunities and resources, including time within working hours to study or take part in training. Allocate budget for this time with the expectation that staff will keep their knowledge up to date through performance reviews and CPD targets.
  • Prepare for the scenario of a civil lawsuit in case of discrimination by member of staff or public in accordance with the Equalities Act.
  • Regularly update reading lists and published sources for individual study and support, or signpost to external organisations that share this literature.
  • Put procedures in place to raise concern via the line manager chain or to nominated officers who have been appointed to advise on questions of inclusion e.g. HR reps, inclusion champions, mental health first aiders, counsellors and mentors. Have robust complaints procedures in place to help resolve disputes, including access to mediators.
  • A dedicated point of contact to support concerns around legal risks as they arise. Prepare in advance for instances of foreseeable or pending litigation.
  • Disagreement about access to data

There is tension created between protecting personal data and providing access to information within the archive. Trust in the archive is challenged either by the sharing of personal data or the denial of access to information.

Mitigations for risk

  • Communicate in advance how information shared with the archive may be used or accessed by the public. If and when appropriate, discuss Freedom of Information (FOI) implications and what General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) means in practice for archives.
  • Regularly run and update data protection training for staff and stakeholders.
  • Put specific protocols, such as the Caldicott Principles, in place on legal records, like medical records. These principles are covered in more detail in our Data Protection Toolkit for Archives.