Skills for Work: Fairness and Inclusion in the Workplace
Fairness and Inclusion in the Workplace is an Open Awards Skills for Work unit offered at five levels, each worth 1 credit and 10 guided learning hours, on diversity, inclusive and respectful language, open communication and, at Level 2, researching and presenting a topic of inequality. It is assessed through centre-designed tasks with portfolio evidence. Digital demand is low: no criterion requires digital work, and the only digital links are that the Level 2 research and presentation can be done digitally and that recognising disrespectful language applies online as well as face to face.
- Awarding body
- Open Awards
- Level
- Entry Level 1 to Level 2
- Guided learning hours
- 10
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of digital work
- Low
- Specification
- Open the specification
How this unit is assessed
- Entry Level 1 (CBM161): Six assessment criteria: identify images or symbols that show different people, show interest in a peer's preference or hobby, state a kind word or greeting (English or Welsh), carry out a simple group task, recognise what to do when someone else is speaking and demonstrate own communication strategies such as a Help Please card. Provider-designed tasks, portfolio evidence, 1 credit, 10 guided learning hours.
- Entry Level 2 (CBM162): Six assessment criteria: identify features of a friendly and inclusive environment and different groups of people in a workplace, identify words that make people feel included, indicate a way to speak respectfully, give examples of listening well and identify a person to talk to if they feel excluded. Provider-designed tasks, portfolio evidence, 1 credit, 10 guided learning hours.
- Entry Level 3 (CBM163): Six assessment criteria: give examples of diversity in a workplace, describe ways a workplace shows it values difference, recognise disrespectful language, use inclusive words or phrases in conversation, take part in a structured discussion about a workplace task and explain why it is important to listen to different ideas. Provider-designed tasks, portfolio evidence, 1 credit, 10 guided learning hours.
- Level 1 (CBM164): Seven assessment criteria: describe types of diversity, outline how a workplace values difference, give an example of inequality, describe how disrespectful language affects a team, list inclusive phrases for a professional setting, take part in a group activity using open communication and reflect on own communication skills. Provider-designed tasks, portfolio evidence, 1 credit, 10 guided learning hours.
- Level 2 (CBM165): Seven assessment criteria: evaluate the benefits of a diverse workforce, compare inclusive and exclusive practices, summarise the impact of non-inclusive language, give examples of adapting communication to colleagues' needs, give examples of inequality, research a topic of inequality and present the findings. Provider-designed tasks, portfolio evidence, 1 credit, 10 guided learning hours.
Skills that use Health and well-being
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Recognising disrespectful and inclusive language, including online
Entry Level 3 learners recognise language that is disrespectful, such as slang names for a disability or mocking an accent, and use inclusive words. Level 1 learners describe how banter targeting a protected characteristic, jargon and stereotypes affect a team, and Level 2 learners summarise the impact of non-inclusive language such as microaggressions. The unit is about workplace talk, not online behaviour, so applying it to messages and posts is a teaching link rather than an assessed digital skill.
DCF: Online behaviour and online bullying, Health and well-being
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils sort example chat messages into respectful and disrespectful and rewrite two of the disrespectful ones.
- Year 8
- Pupils discuss how a joke about someone's accent in a team group chat could make that person feel, and agree a group chat code.
- Year 9
- Pupils look at adverts and online posts that use stereotypes about jobs and explain how they could lead to unfair treatment at work.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Entry Level 3 AC 2.1 to 2.2 (page 16); Level 1 AC 2.1 (page 19); Level 2 AC 2.1 (page 22)
“how the use of stereotypes can lead to unfair treatment or missed opportunities for team members”
Progression step 3
I can recognise language that could be deemed to be offensive (including racist, sexist, homophobic and transphobic language) in online activities.
Progression step 4
I can act appropriately online, keeping myself safe and behaving in a responsible manner.
I can identify stereotypes and their impact in a range of media.
Good to know
- Each level is a separate unit with its own code (CBM161, CBM162, CBM163, CBM164, CBM165). Every level carries the same size: "Credit Value: One (1)" and "Guided Learning Hours: 10" (Unit Content tables, pages 10 to 21), so the Level 2 unit is no bigger than the Entry Level 1 unit.
- Only one level counts in a qualification: "with the exception of British Sign Language (BSL), units with the same title at different levels are barred for completion within the same qualification" (Level 1 Qualification Guide, Qualification Units, page 17). It sits in the Skills for Work group, and qualifications need 60 (Award), 120 (Certificate) or 240 (Diploma) guided learning hours (Rules of Combination, page 15).
- Units from Pearson, WJEC or Agored Cymru with the same title cannot be swapped in: "Units certificated by other Awarding Organisations, or units taken from other Open Awards qualifications, cannot contribute to the achievement of this qualification." (Units from Other Awarding Organisations, page 3).
- The centre writes the tasks: the unit is "designed to be assessed through assessment tasks and activities designed by the provider", with pre-course verification of the tasks (Assessment Approach, page 7), and "providers must have an approved Delivery and Assessment Plan" before delivery (Delivery Requirements, page 5).
- There is no partial credit: "All assessment criteria must be met in full for the learner to be awarded a 'pass'." Results are internally quality assured by the centre and externally quality assured by Open Awards (Assessment Approach, page 7).
- Evidence goes in a portfolio, paper or digital: "Learners are required to collate evidence in a portfolio of evidence." and "Wherever possible, e-portfolios are encouraged." (Assessment Approach, page 7).
- The unit specification says nothing about AI tools, plagiarism or referencing. It "must be read and applied alongside the relevant Qualification Guide (level-specific) and the Open Awards Provider Handbook" (Qualification Documentation, page 3), so those documents set the rules.
- No prior learning is needed, but "the provider must complete robust initial assessments" to place each learner at the right level (Entry Requirements, page 6).
- Digital content is minimal: the equipment list asks only for presentation equipment, a whiteboard and "access to a computer or laptop for digital resources" (Physical Resources, page 6), and the only digital reference in the content is that "different age ranges can share both digital skills and life experience to solve problems faster" (Level 2 AC 1.1, page 22). "Literacy / Digital" is listed as the cross-curricular skill at every level.
- The Level 2 research has no named method or sources: "Learners must research a chosen topic of inequality (e.g., gender pay gap, opportunities in sports) and present their findings to the group." (AC 3.2 and 3.3, page 22).
- Welsh language is built in: greetings such as "Bore da" and "Diolch" at Entry Level 1 (page 11) and "bilingual phrases suitable for a Welsh workplace" at Level 1 (page 19).
- Staff must be able to "facilitate discussion of sensitive topics (e.g., inequality, discrimination, inclusion) in a safe, respectful and inclusive manner" (Staffing Resources, page 5), as the content covers protected characteristics, banter, microaggressions and pronouns.
- There are drafting slips: Level 1 AC 1.3 reads "Gave an example of inequality in the workplace" and its guidance says "outline show a workplace can show it values" (pages 18 and 19); Level 1 AC 1.3 has no indicative content; and Level 2 has "microaggessions" and "complexibity" (page 22).
Links with other qualifications
The Pearson Skills for Work unit Fairness and Inclusion in the Workplace is also 10 guided learning hours and is built around a communication development plan; the Open Awards unit has separate criteria for diversity, inclusive language and open communication at every level and adds research and a presentation on a topic of inequality at Level 2. Equality, diversity and discrimination link most closely with GCSE Social Studies and GCSE Religious Studies, and inclusive workplace practice and communication with GCSE Business and GCSE Health and Social Care, and Childcare. The Level 2 research on inequality suits the Skills Challenge Certificate global citizenship challenge. Within the Open Awards suite the unit pairs with Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Democracy in Action and Interview and Confidence Techniques; any online research or presentation would draw on Using IT in the Workplace.
Source: Open Awards Skills for Work Unit Specification, Fairness and Inclusion in the Workplace, Entry Level 1 to Level 2.