Equal Opportunities Policy
Introduction
The Council recognises that many different
people live and work in the Borough and aims to achieve equality of
opportunity in all its activities, including the delivery of services
to the community, as a direct employer of staff and through the various
activities it funds.
An equal opportunities organisation is one which uses everyone's talents
and abilities and where individual contribution is encouraged and differences
valued.
It is responsive to the needs of its employees and the community it serves. It is important that the Council is a good equal opportunities employer and an effective service provider because:
- a diverse workforce reflecting our customer base results in a better informed, more adaptable organisation which is closer to our customers
- improved staff morale helps us to retain staff, reducing recruitment costs
- a stable, motivated workforce achieves high productivity
and is committed to the Council.
The Council has adopted the following Policy Statement:
Policy Statement
"Dartford Borough Council recognises that there are groups in
society who are discriminated against and therefore aims to make
sure that all the people it serves have equal access to all facilities
and services.
The Council is an equal opportunity employer and all existing and
prospective employees of the Council will be treated fairly and have
equal access to all employment opportunities."
Service Delivery
All of the Council's customers, both internal and external, are eligible
for the same quality and level of service, irrespective of gender,
age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, race, colour,
religious beliefs, ethnic or national origin. The Council will promote
equality of opportunity for local people by:
- Consulting local people, groups and representatives to ensure the Council understands their needs;
- Providing services to meet service users' actual, rather than presumed, needs;
- Encouraging everyone to make use of the services they are entitled to;
- Providing accessible information about the services available to them;
- Ensuring all staff are trained to provide an appropriate and informed response to all service users;
- Delivering services in ways which are appropriate to their needs and, wherever possible, removing barriers which may deny access;
- Ensuring any complaints of discrimination are dealt with speedily and fairly;
- Require those who provide services on behalf of the Council have policies in place that result in services that are sensitive to the needs of all sections of the community.
The Council
will endeavour to provide suitable interpreting services where necessary
and appropriate, and will ensure that buildings are accessible to
all wherever possible or that a suitable alternative is provided.
Eligibility criteria for services are only used where they are necessary
and relevant, and are applied consistently.
Employment
As a major employer, the Council recognises that staff are its major asset and will strive to ensure that every job applicant or employee is treated fairly in all employment matters regardless of gender, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, race, colour, religion, ethnic or national origin.
It seeks to employ
a workforce which reflects the diverse community at large, and it values
the individual contribution each person can make.
The Council will select, appoint and promote individuals solely on
the basis of merit. It will treat all its employees with dignity
and respect and it will provide a working environment free from unlawful
discrimination, harassment or victimisation.
This policy applies to all employment matters and its effectiveness
will be monitored by gathering information on existing staff, and
on recruitment, training and promotion through regular analysis of
relevant records and interviews with staff and staff representatives.
Disability
The Council is committed to achieving equality of opportunity
in employment of disabled people and actively working towards the removal
of barriers that may prevent disabled people from achieving their
potential and contributing to the role and functions of the Council.
The Council aims to give applicants with a disability the full range
of career opportunities, the opportunity to demonstrate their suitability
for the job and to make the workplace suitable for them if they are
selected.
Where necessary job content and the working environment
will be adjusted to enable people with disabilities to work with
the maximum convenience and efficiency. The Council will ensure that
where an existing employee becomes disabled the appropriate reasonable
adjustments are made such that they may be retained within the workforce
wherever practical.
Whenever it invests capital in new or refurbished premises, the Council
will make every reasonable effort to provide for the needs of staff
and members of the public with disabilities.
Harassment
The Council will not tolerate any form of harassment whether to members of the public or from whatever source in the workplace. The Council, as employer, has a separate policy 'Dignity in the Workplace' which enables it to deal effectively with complaints of this nature.
If there is evidence of an employee harassing a colleague or member of the public, that employee will be subject to action under our Disciplinary Policy. Where an employee is subject to harassment perpetrated by other than a fellow employee, the Council will take appropriate action.
Racial Discrimination
The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 places the Council under a general duty to work towards the elimination of unlawful discrimination and to promote equality of opportunity and good relations between persons of different racial groups.
The
Council recognises and welcomes that duty which is embraced within
this Policy and the Council's Race Equality Scheme.
The Council has a separate procedure for independent recording and
monitoring of any incident reported as a racial incident, and has
adopted the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry's definition of a racist incident:
'A racist incident is any incident which is perceived to be racist
by the victim or any other person.'
The Council will not tolerate any form of racial discrimination,
either direct or indirect. If there is evidence of discrimination
by a Council employee, that employee will be subject to action under
the Disciplinary Policy.
Complaints
If a member of the public feels that they have been treated unfairly or suffered harassment because of their sex, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, race, colour, religion, ethnic or national origin, they should report this without fail to the Executive Director who is the Corporate Complaints Officer and the Monitoring Officer.
The Council has a separate policy dealing
with the issue of complaints. Complaints by staff will be dealt with
under the Grievance or Dignity at Work policies as appropriate.
The Council also has a 'Whistle Blowing' Policy which enables it
to deal with complaints where for various reasons the complainant
feels unable to use other of the mechanisms described above or chooses
to remain anonymous.
Responsibility
The Managing Director will have
overall responsibility for implementing the Council's Equal Opportunities
Policy. The Directors of Central Services and Community Services will
lead on policy formulation. Each Director will take the lead on actions
for their Directorate's services.
The co-operation of all employees is essential for the success of
this policy. All employees have a responsibility not to discriminate
against any groups or individuals, and to make sure service users
and fellow employees are treated with dignity and respect. Behaviour
or actions which do not comply with this policy will be considered
a serious disciplinary matter.
Members of the Council
The Council will strive
to ensure that all Members are treated fairly and afforded equal access
to the facilities and support services of the Council regardless of
gender, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, race,
colour, religion, ethnic or national origin.
Members of the Council support this policy and will work towards
the promotion of equal opportunities and the elimination of discrimination
in all the Council's activities. One of the Cabinet Members holds
the Portfolio for Equal Opportunities.
Training
Staff will receive regular and suitable training to ensure that they are able to comply with the corporate and directorate policies and procedure on equal opportunities.
Monitoring and Review
The effectiveness of this Policy
will be monitored by gathering and analysing information on and from
employees and on and from service users. Ongoing monitoring, analysis
and subsequent policy review provides the basis of eliminating discrimination
and promoting equality of opportunity for the Councils' employees and
customers.
This Policy will be subject to formal review not less frequently
than biannually.
Much of the statistical information gathered will be reported, not
only to the Council, but to the appropriate Government departments
and, in some instances, to the public. Personal information will
be obtained and kept in accordance with the requirements of the Data
Protection Act.
