Our equal opportunities policy

We are committed to providing high-quality services which meet the needs of the varied community we serve, and which everyone is able to use. We want our whole workforce to reflect the community we serve, where possible.

All our employees are responsible for equal opportunities. As a result, we expect all our employees to promote equal opportunities in the workplace and when delivering services.

Our commitment

We believe that every employee has the right to be treated as an individual. As a result, we value and celebrate people's differences.  To make sure that all our employees know about and understand equal opportunities, we will offer appropriate training and individual personal development. 

Our commitment to Investors in People supports this.

We will promote equal opportunities in all our services and in our recruitment and employment procedures. We are committed to developing policies that reflect this commitment, while fully accepting our responsibilities under the following laws.

·        Equal Pay Act 1970

·        Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974

·        Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (extended 1999)

·        Race Relations Act 1976

·        Local Government Acts 1988 and 1999

·        Disability Discrimination Act 1995

·        Human Rights Act 1998

·        Gender Reassignment Act 1999

·        Code of Practice on Age Diversity in Employment 1999

·        Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000

·        Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003

·        Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003

·        Gender Recognition Act 2004

·        Employment Equality (Sex Discrimination) Regulations 2005

·        Disability Discrimination (Amendment) Act 2005

·        Employment Equality (Age) Regulation 2006

·        Equality Act (2006)

Our Chief Executive has overall responsibility for putting into practice and monitoring this policy.  Each corporate director also has a responsibility to put the policy into practice, and they will be helped by a range of internal groups set up to advise on equal opportunities.

Our commitments

·        We will make equal opportunities part of all our decision-making processes.

·        We will work to get rid of illegal and unfair discrimination, including bullying, harassment and victimisation.

·        We recognise the importance of effective consultation and communication. These will influence how we deliver services, recruit people and make policies.

·        We will involve employees, partners, customers and communities in designing, delivering and reviewing services.

Commitment to our customers

We are committed to meeting the needs of the varied communities we serve, by providing high-quality services, either ourselves or through outside organisations. To achieve this we will do the following.

·        Make sure that all our providers follow this policy. As a result, our contracts will include clear statements about equal opportunities.

·        Follow equal opportunities when buying in work, goods and services.

·        Deliver services without discriminating against anyone. We will do this by regularly analysing our policies and procedures.

·        Treat everyone equally and with respect.

·        Make sure services are appropriate to all sections of the community, and that everybody is able to get access to them.

·        Deal with complaints effectively.

·        Regularly monitor who uses our services (and the effect our services have) and make changes where necessary.

·        Use the results of monitoring to improve future practice and policies.

Commitment to our employees and potential employees

As a fair and reasonable employer, we aim to provide equal opportunities for all our employees. To achieve this we will do the following.

·        Continue to promote and follow best practice in how we recruit people, including taking positive action to deal with imbalances.

·        Put in place a fair and open pay structure.

·        Treat employees with dignity and respect, recognising their strengths and helping them to deal with any weaknesses through individual personal development plans and reviews.

·        Promote equal access to training, development and promotion.

·        Create a working environment that challenges and gets rid of prejudice, harassment and illegal and unfair discrimination.

·        Consult employees on wellbeing and achieving a balance between working life and personal life.

·        Make 'reasonable adjustments' for employees and people applying to us for work, such as changing working hours and providing equipment.

·        Monitor our existing employees by ethnic group, disability and sex. This is to make sure we treat them fairly in terms of training, development, complaints, disciplinary action and dismissals.

·        Use the results of monitoring to improve future practice and policies.

·        Make sure our employees receive training on equal opportunities.

If any employee does not follow this policy, we will treat this as misconduct and could take disciplinary action against them.

We have a set of human resources policies and procedures which employees can use to assert their rights under this policy.

If you are not an employee and believe that one of our employees has not followed this policy, you may follow our complaints procedure.

We will support and monitor this policy by using individual service delivery plans and improvement plans, the corporate equality plan and our race equality scheme.

We have consulted a wide range of people, including trade unions, while writing this policy.

We will review this policy every two years. We welcome your comments as part of this process. If you have any comments, please contact us.

Equality & Diversity Officer

Policy & Performance Unit

Chief Executive's Office

c/o Wedgwood Building

Tipping Street

Stafford

ST16 2DH

Phone: 01785 276821

E-mail: ccs.equalities@staffordshire.gov.uk

 

Last Modified: 08/10/2008 15:27:51
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