Equal Opportunities Policy

Last updated: 05-03-2020

Introduction

ORL accepts that in society certain groups or individuals are denied equality on the grounds of race, gender, marital status, caring responsibilities, disability, gender re-assignment, age, social class, sexual orientation and religion/belief or any other factor irrelevant to the purpose in view. 

ORL welcomes the statutory requirements laid down in:

  • the Equal Pay Act 1970. 

  • the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

  • the Sex Discrimination Act 1975.

  • the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Race Relations Amendment Act Feb 2000.

  • the NHS Community Care Act 1990.

  • the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. 

  • the Asylum & Immigration Act 1996.

  • the Human Rights Act Nov 1998.

  • the Employment (Religion or Belief) and (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003.

  • The Equality Act 2010

ORL recognises that it has moral and social responsibilities that go beyond the provisions of the above-mentioned Acts and Regulations, and that it should support and contribute to the wider process of change through all aspects of its work and practices in order to eliminate discrimination and promote equality and diversity in a workplace that is free from harassment and bullying.

ORL is committed to taking positive steps to ensure that:

  • all people are treated with dignity and respect, valuing the diversity of all.

  • equality of opportunity and diversity is promoted.

  • services are accessible, appropriate and delivered fairly to all.

  • the mix of its employees, volunteers and management committees reflects, as far as possible, the broad mix of the population of its local community.

  • traditionally disadvantaged sections of the community are encouraged to participate in policy decisions about, and the management of the services provided.

Policy

This policy applies to all Trustees, staff, volunteers, management committee members, users and the general public.

Commitment

Equality and diversity are central to the work of ORL.

ORL will treat all people with dignity and respect, valuing the diversity of all. It will promote equality of opportunity and diversity. It will eliminate all forms of discrimination on grounds of race, gender, marital status, caring responsibilities, disability, gender re-assignment, age, social class, sexual orientation, religion/ belief, irrelevant offending background or any other factor irrelevant to the purpose in view. 

It will tackle social exclusion, inequality, discrimination and disadvantage.

For this policy to be successful, it is essential that everyone is committed to and involved in its delivery. ORL’s goal is to work towards a just society free from discrimination, harassment and prejudice. ORL aims to embed this in all its policies, procedures, day-to-day practices and external relationships.

Aims

ORL aims to:

  • Provide services that are accessible according to need.

  • Promote equality of opportunity and diversity in volunteering, employment and development.

  • Create effective partnerships with all parts of our community.

Objectives

ORL’s objective is to realise its standards by:

  • Sustaining, regularly evaluating and continually improving its services to ensure equality and diversity principles and best practice are embedded in our performance to meet the needs of individuals and groups.

  • Working together with the community to provide accessible and relevant service provision that responds to service users’ needs.

  • Ensuring staff, volunteers and trustees are representative of the community served and the employment policies are fair and robust.

  • Responding to volunteer’s & employees’ needs and encouraging their development to increase their contribution to effective service delivery.

  • Recognising and valuing the differences and individual contribution that all people make to ORL.

  • Challenging discrimination.

  • Providing fair resource allocation.

  • Being accountable.

Why have this policy?

ORL recognises, respects and values diversity in its Trustees, employees, volunteers and service users.

ORL has this policy because it is a people-led organisation that must always ensure it meets the needs of the community through fair and appropriate employment and development of the people who work and volunteer for ORL.

Procedures

Responsibility for Implementation

This policy covers the behaviour of all people employed or volunteering in ORL or using the services and sets out the way they can expect to be treated in turn by ORL. The overall responsibility for ensuring adherence to and implementation of this policy lies with the Trustees, staff and the management committee.

Method of Implementation

ORL intends to implement this policy by:

  • Ensuring that it is a condition of paid employment in ORL.

  • Ensuring that Trustees, Management committee, volunteers and users are made aware, understand, agree with, and are willing to implement, this policy. All staff and volunteers will be given a copy of this policy as part of their induction.

  • Actively encouraging Trustees, staff, management committee and volunteers to participate in anti-discriminatory training and making time and resources available for such training.

  • Monitoring the services, publicity and events provided by ORL, to ensure that they are accessible to all sections of the population and do not discriminate and taking active steps to ensure that participation is representative.

Monitoring and Reviewing

ORL has declared its commitment to establishing, developing, implementing and reviewing a policy of equality of opportunity. Effective record keeping and monitoring, and acting on information gathered, are essential in order to measure effectiveness and plan progress. The management committee will review the policy annually.

Contact

Questions, comments and requests regarding this Equal Opportunities Policy are welcomed and should be addressed to Salma.