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NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard

Learn about the NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) and how NHS organisations can address race equality issues. Access the latest report.

30 June 2025

An office worker looking out of a window.

Since 2015 all NHS organisations have been required to demonstrate how they are addressing race equality issues in a range of staffing areas through the Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES).

WRES 2024 report findings

The WRES 2024 Data Analysis Report for NHS trusts published in June 2025, highlights the experience of black and minority ethnic (BME) people working in the NHS. It provides an overview of the data on all nine WRES indicators and where possible, comparison against data from previous years.

Key findings indicated that the proportion of BME people in the NHS workforce continues to rise. 28.6 per cent of the workforce across NHS trusts came from a BME background, an increase of 14 per cent on the previous year.
Although the percentage of representation of BME staff at very senior manager (VSM) level has increased from 11.2 per cent to 12.7 per cent since last year, the largest representation of BME staff is at Agenda for Change (AfC) band 5 at 42.3 per cent. This indicates that BME staff are finding it harder to progress than their white counterparts. At 80 per cent of NHS trusts, white applicants were significantly more likely than BME applicants to be appointed from shortlisting, a worsening of the figures by 4 percentage points since 2003.
BME board membership has also reached its highest level of 16.5 per cent since the WRES was established. However, its growth has not kept up with the rise in BME staff across the NHS workforce.
For staff from a black background only 42.2 per cent believe their trust provides equal opportunities for career progression or promotion.
24.9 per cent of BME staff reported experiencing harassment, bullying or abuse from staff in the last 12 months, compared to 20.7 for white staff. This shows there is still a long way to go for NHS employers to facilitate true workplace equality for BME staff.

If you have any queries, or require any clarification please contact the WRES team at england.WRES@nhs.net.

The NHS Confederation's BME Leadership Network is a member-led network dedicated to establishing a truly diverse NHS leadership by strengthening the voice of black and minority ethnic communities.
They aim to bring about sustainable change, so the NHS always delivers high quality universal care to all communities, by supporting members to overcome strategic and operational barriers to delivering equality.
- It supports its members through a series of face to face events, virtual meetings and bulletins.
- It also gathers evidence to influence key decision makers, these findings are published in reports such as Excellence through equality and Shattered Hopes.
- It also provides safe spaces for members to share experiences through member meetings, BME Leadership Network of Network Leaders for chairs of NHS staff BME/BAME networks and leadership development sessions exclusive to network members.
The network is open to both NHS BME leaders and allies. Learn more about the BME Leadership Network and find out how to join.
The NHS Race and Health Observatory are an independent expert body, established by the NHS to examine the health inequalities experienced by black and minority ethnic communities in England. They work as a proactive investigator by actioning and insight, providing evidence-based health policy recommendations, and facilitating long-term transformational change across health and care.
They are supported by NHS England and hosted by NHS Confederation and can be contact on info@nhsrho.org.
- Read the NHS Confederation's anti-racism report Excellence through equality: anti-racism as a quality improvement tool. It includes examples of good practice case studies from BME Leadership Network members, to help advance equality within the workforce and for service users.
- An investment not a drain - healthcare leaders' views on EDI in the NHS A briefing published by the NHS Confederation highlighting views from the service on the value of equality, diversity and inclusion to the NHS.
- Combatting racial discrimination against minority ethnic nurses, midwives and nursing associates. Published by NHS England, the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the NHS Confederation, this resource outlines the expected behaviours from NHS employers and leaders, which include:
  - the provision of training to support zero tolerance policies
  - senior leaders acting as proactive allies by taking the appropriate action
  - the provision of safe spaces for conversations - such as robust staff networks and events
  - organisations working with staff to educate and reform practice.
- Shattered Hopes report: black and minority ethnic leaders’ experiences of breaking the glass ceiling in the NHS Published by the NHS Confederation's BME Leadership Network, the report spotlights the findings from a survey on the experience of senior black and minority ethnic leaders in the NHS.
- Driving an anti-racism strategy through cultural change Learn how Rosin Fallon-Williams is changing culture through a focus on the value to address racism at Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust.
- The NHS needs to confront the serious problem of racism within the service Patricia Miller, chief executive of NHS Dorset Integrated Care Board, draws parallels with her experiences of Britain in the 1980s and questions whether the NHS is honestly confronting the serious problem of racism within the service.
- Act Against Racism guidance and resources Published by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, it helps mental health employers tackle racism in the workplace
- Closing the gap Published by NHS Providers, this is a guide to addressing racial discrimination in disciplinaries.
- South Asian Heritage Month Members of the NHS Confederation's BME Leadership Network share personal insights on what the 2024 campaign theme 'Free to be me' means to them.
- Podcast: Joy Warmington on anti-racism and courage | The King's Fund Joy explores the importance of forging genuine change beyond target setting and delves into her own journey of leading authentically and having the courage to do things differently.
We ran a webinar with the authors of the Too Hot To Handle report, Roger Kline and Joy Warmington, and Capsticks to understand the report and its legal implications. This report aims to understand the NHS response to racism, what trusts and healthcare organisations do about it, and how effective they are at addressing it.
The webinar covered
- An overview of the report and its recommendations from the authors Roger Kline, research fellow at Middlesex University Business School and Joy Warmington, chief executive officer of charity brap.
- Learning from the report and an understanding on how it can be used to address racial disparity and impact in your organisations.
- Looked at the associated legal implications and learning from previous tribunal cases, delivered by our legal partners Capsticks.
- A discussion with NHS England on what steps need to be taken together and across the service in response to the report.
Watch the too hot to handle webinar

NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard

WRES 2024 report findings

The webinar covered

Watch the too hot to handle webinar

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