The Management Committee of Action for Race Equality(ARE) accept the responsibility for employees, volunteers, beneficiaries and visitors to its offices. The Management Committee has a direct concern for Equal Opportunity and Diversity for their employees, volunteers, beneficiaries and visitors.
It is a requirement of the Management Committee that all employees and volunteers ensure that the full intent of this policy is observed. The Equal Opportunity and Diversity Policy document will be regularly reviewed in consultation with employees, volunteers and those affected by it.
The Management Committee undertakes to comply with the requirements of all relevant European and UK legislation and guidance to meet these obligations
Action for Race Equality (ARE)
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY AND DIVERSITY POLICY
1 Profile
1.1 The Black Training & Enterprise Group (hereafter called ARE) is a high profile national organisation which works to improve life opportunities for people from African, Caribbean, South Asian and South East Asian backgrounds including refugees.
1.2 The purpose of ARE’s Equal Opportunity and Diversity Policy is to reaffirm its commitment and responsibilities as a professional enterprise and as an employer. For these reasons; this policy seeks to provide a framework of good practice and to create a structure for managing Equal Opportunity and Diversity within ARE.
1.3 ARE recognises that certain groups and individuals; at times have been and are unfairly discriminated against. As such, ARE will ensure that no job applicant, staff member, volunteer, management committee member or visitor to ARE premises will receive less favourable treatment on the grounds of:
‘their race, skin colour, gender orientation, ethnic or nationality origin, religious or cultural belief, age, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, disability, or marital status’.
1.4 All staff members, volunteers, management committee members and visitors have a legal and moral obligation not to discriminate against any individual or groups of individuals and to report any incident of discrimination against any individual or groups of individuals.
1.5 ARE is committed to a programme of implementation to make this policy effective and will ensure all staff members, volunteers and management committee members have access to Equal Opportunity and Diversity training. Any staff member, volunteer or management committee member found to be discriminating against any individual or groups of individuals will face disciplinary action.
2 Scope of the Equal Opportunity and Diversity Policy
2.1 ARE takes Equal Opportunity and Diversity very seriously. A breach of this policy will be considered a gross misconduct and disciplinary action taken, including dismissal for serious offences, against any staff member, volunteer or management committee member who does not comply with it.
2.2 Equal Opportunity and Diversity Policy applies to all areas of ARE’s work including:
- Recruitment and the advertisement of jobs
- Terms and conditions of employment
- Training, career development and progression
- Grievance and disciplinary procedures
- Relationships between staff members, volunteers or management committee members
- Use of external consultants
- Representation on its management committee
2.3 Equal Opportunity and Diversity is fundamental to ARE’s good practice in which equality of opportunity for all is a basic right. This policy is underpinned by the following legislation:
- The Race Relations Act 1976, (as amended by the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000 and the Race Relations (Amendment) Regulations 2003)
- Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1976
- The Sex Discrimination Act 1975, and as amended by The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Amendment) Regulations 2003
- The Employment Equality (Sex Discrimination) Regulations 2005
- The Sex Discrimination (Gender Reassignment) Regulations 1999 and The Gender Recognition Act 2004
- The Disability Discrimination Act 2005
- The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003
- The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003
- The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2005
- The Protection from Harassment Act 1997
- The Human Rights Act 1998
- Data Protection Act 1998
- Freedom of Information Act 2000
- The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006
- The Civil Partnership Act 2004
- Any other relevant legislation not listed above
3 Why have an Equal Opportunity and Diversity Policy?
3.1 ARE is bound by law not to discriminate unjustifiably, directly or indirectly, against any person in any working environment on the grounds of that person’s sexual orientation, marital status, disability, race, skin colour, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or age.
- In some cases, staff members, volunteers and management committee members believe that we do not discriminate but acknowledge on occasions, we may, without conscious intentions, do so. Having an agreed Equal Opportunity and Diversity Policy will assist all staff members, volunteers and management committee members to adhere to the policy which will increase our awareness of Equal Opportunity and Diversity practices and help us not to discriminate unfairly.
4 Who is responsible for Equal Opportunity and Diversity?
4.1 All staff members, volunteers and management committee members in
ARE are responsible for ensuring the Equal Opportunity and Diversity Policy is put into practice.
- The Director has overall responsibility and a pivotal role to play in ensuring Equality of Opportunity for all and to make recommendations to the Management Committee on promoting good practice.
- All staff members and volunteers will be made fully aware of this policy at the induction stage and; without exception must adhere to its requirements.
- Any staff member or volunteer who feels that they have grounds to make a complaint in relation to bullying, discrimination, harassment, victimisation or any other matter has the right to pursue their complaint through the relevant internal policies and procedures.
- Members of the general public or other stakeholders can use ARE’s Complaints Policy.
5 ARE as an Employer
5.1 Every possible step will be taken to ensure that individuals applying for jobs or employed by ARE is treated equally and fairly and that decisions on recruitment, selection, training promotion and career development is based solely on ARE’s objectives and related job criteria.
5.2 No person applying for a job shall be treated less favourably on the grounds of their race, skin colour, gender orientation, ethnic or nationality origin, religious or cultural belief, age, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, disability, or marital status.
5.3 Exception will only be permitted in the interest of promoting equality and diversity and where permissible under the relevant statutory instruments of the Race Relations Act 1976, (as amended by the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000 and the Race Relations (Amendment) Regulations 2003, The Sex Discrimination Act 1975, and as amended by The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Amendment) Regulations 2003 and the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. Any other relevant legislation not listed above.
6 Employment Training and Organisational Development
6.1 ARE is committed to ensuring that its employment policies and procedures, guidelines reflect the organisations commitment to equality. Therefore we will ensure that our policies and training seek to create a supportive working environment and a workforce which reflects the diversity of the communities we serve.
6.2 All staff members and volunteers will have access to Supervision and Performance Appraisal and are encouraged to take advantage of training opportunities within the constraints of ARE’s training budget. Team Managers will monitor to ensure that there is no discrimination in the provision of training and development opportunities for individual team members.
7 ARE as a Service Provider
- It is ARE’s intention that organisations seeking to use its services should be treated fairly and without discrimination. However, we do recognise that groups and individuals can be discriminated against both directly and indirectly in the way that services are planned, organised and delivered. ARE therefore intends to ensure that services are made widely available, and delivered in a fair and non-discriminatory manner.
- ARE will ensure that information regarding its services is provided in a form that is accessible for people with disabilities and, where appropriate, in direct consultation with individual groups or communities concerned.
- In the provision of services, particularly capacity building programmes, training courses and consultancy services, ARE will ensure that no individual is treated less favourably on the grounds of their race, skin colour, gender orientation, ethnic or nationality origin, religious or cultural belief, age, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, disability, or marital status or any other unjustifiable grounds.
- In accordance with the Race Relations Act 1976 Section 37, ARE will provide positive action training for people from ethnic minority communities until such time as it can be substantiated that communities ARE serves are properly and fairly represented at all levels across the labour market and that they do not face discrimination or disadvantage when applying for jobs across all sectors.
8 Monitoring Equal Opportunity and Diversity
- An effective monitoring system will be set up and maintained to collate evidence of direct, indirect discrimination or unjustifiable under representation of certain groups.
- Where discrimination has taken place remedial action and targets will be set up to ensure ARE’s Equal Opportunity and Diversity Policy and all other existing policies are effective.