Equality Impact Assessments: A Practical Guide (2026)
· By Sultan Mahmood
What is an Equality Impact Assessment?
An Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) is a structured way of checking how a policy, service or decision will affect people with different protected characteristics, before you make it. Done well, it changes the decision. Done badly, it's a form filled in afterwards that nobody reads, until it's quoted back to you in a complaint or a judicial review.
This guide is for officers, managers and policy leads in councils, the NHS, schools, police, fire services and other public bodies. It covers whether you legally need an EIA, when to do one, how to complete it step by step, and the mistakes I see most often when reviewing them.
You may also see EIAs called equality analysis, equality impact analysis or an EqIA. They all mean the same thing: evidence that you've paid proper attention to equality when making a decision.
Is an Equality Impact Assessment a legal requirement?
No law says "you must complete an EIA". What the law does require is that you can show you paid "due regard" to equality, and an EIA is the most reliable way to prove it.
The requirement comes from the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. Public bodies, and others carrying out public functions, must have due regard to the need to:
Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation.
Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who don't.
Foster good relations between those groups.
The protected characteristics covered are age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. Marriage and civil partnership applies to the first aim only.
What "due regard" means in practice
The courts have set out what due regard involves, starting with R (Brown) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2008] and confirmed in R (Bracking) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2013]. In short:
Before, not after. Equality must be considered before and at the time the decision is made. An assessment written afterwards to justify it doesn't count.
The decision-maker must know. The person or committee deciding must be aware of the duty and of the equality impacts. A good EIA that never reaches them doesn't help.
Substance, not box-ticking. The duty must be met with rigour and an open mind. A form isn't enough.
It can't be delegated. You can get help, but responsibility stays with the public body.
It's ongoing. It applies when a policy is implemented and reviewed, not just when it's agreed.
Keep records. Without a record, it's much harder to show a court you complied.
That's why most public bodies use EIAs: they're the evidence trail. If a decision is challenged, the EIA is usually the first document the claimant's lawyers ask for.
Scotland and Wales
In Scotland and Wales, specific duties go further and require public bodies to assess the impact of proposed policies. Both nations have also commenced the socio-economic duty (the Fairer Scotland Duty since 2018; Wales since 2021), so decisions must consider socio-economic disadvantage too. In England, the socio-economic duty in section 1 of the Equality Act 2010 is not yet in force. The government said in April 2026 that it is working towards commencing it, but has not given a date. Many English councils already include socio-economic disadvantage in their EIAs voluntarily.
When should you do an Equality Impact Assessment?
Do one whenever a decision could affect people differently because of a protected characteristic, and start it while the options are still open. Typical triggers:
A new policy, strategy or plan, or a significant change to an existing one
Budget savings, service cuts or changes to eligibility criteria
Closing, moving or merging a service or building
Commissioning or re-procuring a service
Restructures, redundancies and changes to HR policies
New IT systems, digital-by-default changes or AI tools that affect how people access services
Changes to opening hours, charges or how people contact you
If you decide an EIA isn't needed, record a short screening note explaining why. "No impact" without reasons is one of the easiest things to challenge.
Scale the work to the risk. A minor procedural change might need a one-page screening. Closing a day centre used mostly by older and disabled residents needs a full assessment, real engagement with the people affected, and a clear report to the decision-maker.
How to complete an Equality Impact Assessment: 7 steps
Most organisations have their own template, but good EIAs follow the same seven steps whatever the form looks like.
Describe the proposal clearly. What is changing, why, who it affects, and what decision is being asked for. If a reader can't tell what's being decided, nothing that follows will hold up.
Gather the evidence. Who uses the service now, and who should but doesn't? Use service data, census and local profile data (such as your Joint Strategic Needs Assessment), complaints, staff data and national research. Name the gaps honestly.
Engage the people affected. Talk to service users, staff, community groups and staff networks. Engagement should shape the options, not just confirm a decision already made. Record who you spoke to and what they said.
Assess the impact on each characteristic. For every protected characteristic, say whether the impact is positive, negative or neutral, and why, citing your evidence. Think about intersections too, such as older disabled women or young Black men.
Mitigate negative impacts. Set out what you will do to remove or reduce each negative impact. If you can't fully mitigate it, explain why the decision is still justified.
Reach a conclusion and inform the decision. State one of four outcomes: no major change needed; adjust the proposal; continue despite some adverse impact (with justification); or stop and rethink. Summarise it in the decision report, so the decision-maker actually reads it.
Monitor and review. Say how you will check the real impact after implementation, who is responsible, and when the EIA will be reviewed. Update it if things change.
The same steps work for internal decisions too, such as a restructure or a new recruitment process. The evidence is staff data rather than resident data.
8 common EIA mistakes (and how to fix them)
These are the problems that come up again and again when I review EIAs for public bodies.
1. Written after the decision
Why it matters: Courts treat it as justification after the fact, not due regard.
Fix: Start the EIA when options are first developed.
2. "No impact" on every characteristic
Why it matters: It's rarely true, and impossible to defend without evidence.
Fix: Give a reason and evidence for each conclusion.
3. No data, or only national data
Why it matters: It doesn't show who is actually affected locally.
Fix: Use service, local profile and complaints data, and name the gaps.
4. Engagement after the decision
Why it matters: It shows the outcome was fixed in advance.
Fix: Consult while the options can still change.
5. Vague mitigations ("we will monitor")
Why it matters: They don't reduce the impact.
Fix: Give each mitigation a specific action, owner and date.
6. Ignoring intersections
Why it matters: It misses the people most affected.
Fix: Consider combined characteristics, such as age and disability.
7. Left out of the decision report
Why it matters: The decision-maker can't have due regard to what they never saw.
Fix: Summarise impacts and mitigations in the report itself.
8. Never reviewed
Why it matters: The duty is ongoing.
Fix: Set a review date and monitoring measures.
If your EIA is going to a committee, cabinet or board, an independent review before it goes is the cheapest protection against a challenge later.
Equality Impact Assessment checklist
Use this before your EIA goes to a decision-maker. If you can't tick a line, that's where a challenge is most likely to land.
The proposal and the decision being asked for are clearly described
The EIA was started before the decision, while options were still open
Evidence is cited for each protected characteristic, and data gaps are named
People affected (service users, staff, community groups) were engaged, and their views are recorded
Each characteristic has a positive, negative or neutral finding with reasons
Intersections between characteristics have been considered
Each negative impact has a specific mitigation, owner and date
Any remaining adverse impact is explained and justified
The conclusion is one of: no change, adjust, continue with justification, or stop
Impacts and mitigations are summarised in the decision report
Monitoring measures and a review date are set
The EIA is signed off, dated and stored where it can be found
Frequently asked questions
Is an Equality Impact Assessment a legal requirement in England? Not by name. The Public Sector Equality Duty requires public bodies to show due regard to equality before making decisions. An EIA is the standard way to evidence that.
Who should complete an EIA? The officer who knows the proposal best, with input from people affected and an equality lead. The decision-maker stays responsible for having due regard to it.
How long should an EIA be? As long as the risk requires. A low-impact change may need a one-page screening; a major service change needs a full assessment with evidence and engagement.
What's the difference between an EIA and equality analysis? Nothing in practice. "Equality analysis" is the term the Equality and Human Rights Commission tends to use; many organisations still call it an EIA or EqIA.
Do private companies need to do EIAs? Not usually. The duty applies to public bodies and organisations carrying out public functions, such as contractors delivering council services. Many private employers use EIAs voluntarily as good practice.
Can an EIA be done after a decision? No. Assessing impact after the decision doesn't meet the duty. You can and should review an EIA after implementation, but the main assessment has to come first.
What happens if we don't do an EIA properly? The decision can be challenged by judicial review and may be quashed, causing delay, cost and reputational damage.
Get your EIA independently reviewed
DiverseCT's Equality Impact Assessment Review Service gives your draft a specialist second pair of eyes before it reaches a decision-maker. You send us the draft, and we return written recommendations on evidence, impacts, mitigations and how the conclusion is presented. Organisations can start with a one-off pilot review for just £600.
Want your team to write stronger EIAs themselves? Our EIA training covers the law, evidence, engagement and writing, using your own templates.
About the author: Sultan Mahmood is the director of DiverseCT and has over 30 years of public sector EDI experience, including auditing Equality Impact Assessments and advising on the Public Sector Equality Duty.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. For a specific decision at risk of challenge, take advice from your legal team.
Sources
Shelter Legal: Public sector equality duty (case law summary, including Brown and Bracking)
Lords written answer HL16404, 29 April 2026 (socio-economic duty commencement)