Workforce Plan

Our workforce plan sets out a stronger than ever commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). We are already heading in the right direction, with good progress in many EDI initiatives across the institution.

We have achieved the Athena Swan bronze accreditation, and are progressing with our Athena Swan action plan. Find out more about our Athena Swan journey.

We have continued the development of our ‘support, report, respect’ reporting tool and the engagement of our colleague cohort of dignity and respect advisers. We have developed and are delivering a focused EDI training plan.

We will also be carrying out an institution-wide consultation to review the university’s equality objectives. Once agreed, the revised equality objectives will be shared and used to shape EDI priorities and workstreams.

In August 2023, we received the Race Equality Charter Bronze Award from Advance HE. Our commitment to removing racial barriers is underpinned by an ambitious five-year action plan which focusses on improving race equity for our students and colleagues. Read more about our progress on the race equality charter on our webpage.

Leadership at LBU takes many forms and is across many roles. We all have personal leadership responsibilities within our daily work, we may have diverse leadership responsibilities within our teams and some of us have formalised leadership roles too.

The LBU Leader describes the behavioural indicators and qualities, identified through our research with over 150 colleagues, as being associated with effective leadership at our university. By articulating what good leadership looks like at LBU, it offers a shared and renewed understanding of how all of us demonstrate a particular form of leadership in everything we do.

It provides a standard and benchmark that can be used to create a sense of shared values and identity, support development conversations and underpin the creation of further leadership development opportunities.

"Working and studying in a mentally healthy community supports us all to attain good wellbeing, feel happier, to have clarity of purpose and to achieve."

Investing in the wellbeing of colleagues is a core objective in our Workforce Plan. A current area of focus connected to this is our commitment to the University Mental Health Charter - the first evidence-based guidance that considers both student and colleague wellbeing, in the context of the environment that they study and work in. We were awarded the Charter in July 2023, only one of seven universities to do so, and are working to achieve the cross-university improvement plan we’ve committed to. 

In addition to the charter work, we are using the Wellbeing Assessment process to make sure that conversations about wellbeing at work and work-related stress take place, and to develop appropriate actions in response. New for 2023, and developed with colleagues from across our university, the Wellbeing Assessment provides a simple structure for schools and services to proactively monitor and manage wellbeing and risk across the whole organisation.

Our wellbeing initiatives aim to help you to stay well, to thrive, and to support you if you’re not. Please explore the pages below to see what our University has on offer for your physical, mental, and financial health, alongside ways to connect with others across our vibrant university community.