Governance manual

Our governance manual sets out the roles and responsibilities of the board, committees, senior management and other decision-making bodies. 

It outlines the rules, responsibilities, practices and behaviours that commissioners, committee members and officers must follow.

It includes:

• the board’s duties and powers and delegations
• the board's roles and responsibilities
• the roles and responsibilities of our officers (including the Chief Executive, Executive Group and other decision-making bodies)
• conduct and conflicts of interest
• the development and effectiveness of the board and its committees

As part of our routine governance processes, we commission Board Effectiveness Reviews. These are carried out to inform our Board and Executive as to whether whether it is operating effectively and has the structure, processes, people and performance to deliver. They highlight where improvements can be made and ensure that best practice is being followed.

As part of our ongoing governance and transparency review, we are now publishing the last Board Effectiveness Review. This was carried out in 2022. We are making good progress with implementation. It was commissioned following some changes on the Board, with the appointment of several new Commissioners, a new Chair in December 2020 and a new Chief Executive in September 2021.

All Commissioners on the Board at the time and a small number of senior managers fed into the review, which was led by an external independent agency specialising in board governance.

Our next Board Effectiveness Review will be carried out in due course.

Read our last Board Effectiveness Review (PDF).

Annexes to this governance manual include terms of reference for our committees, working Groups and decision making groups, and memoranda of understanding with other UK National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs).

They are:

1. Scotland Committee terms of reference
2. Wales Committee terms of reference
3. Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC) terms of reference
4. People and Workspace Committee terms of reference
5. Commissioner working group on Human Rights Monitoring and Related Matters terms of reference
6. Commissioner working group for ‘Is Britain Fairer’ 2021/2022 terms of reference
7. Memorandum of Understanding between the Scottish Commission for Human Rights (SHRC) and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)
8. Memorandum of Understanding between the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Scottish Human Rights Commission