POLICY STATEMENT

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Dream Chaser Youth Club recognises that discrimination and victimisation is unacceptable and that it is in the interests of the Dream Chaser Youth Club and its employees to utilise the skills of the total workforce. It is the aim of the Dream Chaser Youth Club to ensure that no employee or job applicant receives less favourable facilities or treatment (either directly or indirectly) in recruitment or employment on grounds of age, disability, gender / gender reassignment, marriage/civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation (the protected characteristics).

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• Our aim is that our workforce will be truly representative of all sections of society and each employee feels respected and able to give of their best.

• We oppose all forms of unlawful and unfair discrimination or victimisation. To that end the purpose of this policy is to provide equality and fairness for all in our employment.

• All employees, whether part-time, full-time or temporary, will be treated fairly and with respect. Selection for employment, promotion, training or any other benefit will be on the basis of aptitude and ability. All employees will be helped and encouraged

• to develop their full potential and the talents and resources of the workforce will be fully utilised to maximise the efficiency of the organisation.

• Our staff will not discriminate directly or indirectly, or harass customers or clients because of age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation in the provision of the Dream Chaser Youth Club’s goods and services.

• This policy and the associated arrangements shall operate in accordance with statutory requirements. In addition, full account will be taken of any guidance or Codes of Practice issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, any Government Departments, and any other statutory bodies.

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We therefore take every care to treat each individual as a person in their own right. We recognise that everyone has a personal responsibility for the positive application of equal opportunities and that equality of opportunity is fundamentally about fairness and respect. It is achieved by ensuring that discriminatory behaviour, in any form, is not tolerated.

 

We are totally committed to the principle of equal opportunities and to creating a working environment in which everyone is treated with dignity and respect, and which is free from unlawful discrimination, victimisation or harassment on the ground of:

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• colour, race, nationality or ethnic origin

• sex, marital status or gender reassignment

• disability of any kind

• sexual orientation

• age.

 

Our commitment to all aspects of our organisation includes:

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• recruitment and advertisement of jobs/volunteering opportunities

• terms and conditions of employment

• training, personal development and progression

• grievance and disciplinary procedures

• Relationships between members of staff and volunteers.

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Such values require a commitment from staff, trustees, members and volunteers to accept a code of conduct which:

 

• encourages respect for every individual

• Encourages collective action to challenge prejudice and the structures that perpetuate it.

• challenges stereotyped images internally and externally and, in their place, promotes positive images

• declares as unacceptable any language, action or belief which is prejudiced or which encourages prejudice in others

• does not tolerate any form of behaviour which is derogatory, demeaning or insulting to other persons or groups on the ground of race, gender, reassignment, disability, religion, culture, political beliefs, sex, sexual orientation or age

• Creates an environment in which individual differences and the contributions of all our trustees, members and volunteers are recognised and valued.

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OUR COMMITMENT

 

• To create an environment in which individual differences and the contributions of all our staff are recognised and valued.

• Every employee is entitled to a working environment that promotes dignity and respect to all. No form of intimidation, bullying or harassment will be tolerated.

• Training, development and progression opportunities are available to all staff.

• To promote equality in the workplace which we believe is good management practice and makes sound business sense.

• We will review all our employment practices and procedures to ensure fairness.

• Breaches of our equality policy will be regarded as misconduct and could lead to disciplinary proceedings.

• This policy is fully supported by senior management.

• The policy will be monitored and reviewed regularly.

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RESPONSIBILITES OF MANAGEMENT

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Responsibility for ensuring the effective implementation and operation of the arrangements will rest with the Chief Executive / Business Owner. Directors / Managers will ensure that they and their staff operate within this policy and arrangements, and that all reasonable and practical steps are taken to avoid discrimination. Each manager will ensure that:

 

• all their staff are aware of the policy and the arrangements, and the reasons for the policy;

• grievances concerning discrimination are dealt with properly, fairly and as quickly as possible;

• proper records are maintained.

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Head Office will be responsible for monitoring the operation of the policy in respect of employees and job applicants, including periodic departmental audits.

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RESPONSIBILITIES OF STAFF

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Responsibility for ensuring that there is no unlawful discrimination rests with all staff and the attitudes of staff are crucial to the successful operation of fair employment practices. In particular, all members of staff should:

 

• comply with the policy and arrangements;

• not discriminate in their day to day activities or induce others to do so;

• not victimise, harass or intimidate other staff or groups who have, or are perceived to have one of the protected characteristics.

• ensure no individual is discriminated against or harassed because of their association with another individual who has a protected characteristic.

• inform their manager if they become aware of any discriminatory practice.

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THIRD PARTIES

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Third-party harassment occurs where a Dream Chaser Youth Club employee is harassed, and the harassment is related to a protected characteristic, by third parties such as clients or customers. Dream Chaser Youth Club will not tolerate such actions against its staff, and the employee concerned should inform their manager / supervisor at once that this has occurred. The Dream Chaser Youth Club will fully investigate and take all reasonable steps to ensure such harassment does not happen again.

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RELATED POLICIES AND ARRANGEMENTS

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All employment policies and arrangements have a bearing on equality of opportunity. The Dream Chaser Youth Club policies will be reviewed regularly and any identified discriminatory elements removed.

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RIGHTS OF DISABLED PEOPLE

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The Dream Chaser Youth Club attaches particular importance to the needs of disabled people.

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Under the terms of this policy, managers are required to:

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• Make reasonable adjustment to maintain the services of an employee who becomes disabled, for example, training, provision of special equipment, reduced working hours. (NB: managers are expected to seek advice and guidance from external agencies where appropriate to maintain disabled people in employment);

• include disabled people in training/development programmes;

• Give full and proper consideration to disabled people who apply for jobs, having regard to making reasonable adjustments for their particular aptitudes and abilities to allow them to be able to do the job.

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EQUALITY TRAINING

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A series of regular briefing sessions will be held for staff on equality issues. These will be repeated as necessary. Equality information is also included in induction programmes.

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Training will be provided for managers on this policy and the associated arrangements. All managers who have an involvement in the recruitment and selection process will receive training.

 

Not discriminating in opportunities for recruitment, training, promotion or transfer of employees or volunteers

 

Ensuring that every individual is assessed according to his or her personal capability to carry out a given job/role.

 

MONITORING

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The Dream Chaser Youth Club deems it appropriate to state its intention not to discriminate and assumes that this will be translated into practice consistently across the organisation as a whole. Accordingly, a monitoring system will be introduced to measure the effectiveness of the policy and arrangements.

 

The system will involve the routine collection and analysis of information on employees by gender, marital status, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, religion / beliefs, grade and length of service in current grade. Information regarding the number of staff who declare themselves as disabled will also be maintained.

 

There will also be regular assessments to measure the extent to which recruitment to first appointment, internal promotion and access to training/development opportunities affect equal opportunities for all groups.

 

We will maintain information on staff who have been involved in certain key policies: Disciplinary, Grievance and Bullying & Harassment.

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Where appropriate equality impact assessments will be carried out on the results of monitoring to ascertain the effect of the Dream Chaser Youth Club policies and our services / products may have on those who experience them.

 

The information collected for monitoring purposes will be treated as confidential and it will not be used for any other purpose.

 

If monitoring shows that the Dream Chaser Youth Club, or areas within it, are not representative, or that sections of our workforce are not progressing properly within the Company, then an action plan will be developed to address these issues. This will include a review of recruitment and selection procedures, Dream Chaser Youth Club policies and practices as well as consideration of taking legal Positive Action.

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GRIEVANCES/DISCIPLINE

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Employees have a right to pursue a complaint concerning discrimination or victimisation via the Dream Chaser Youth Club Grievance or Harassment Procedures.

 

Discrimination and victimisation will be treated as disciplinary offences and they will be dealt with under the Dream Chaser Youth Club Disciplinary Procedure.

 

REVIEW

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The effectiveness of this policy and associated arrangements will be reviewed annually under the direct supervision of the Chief Executive / Business Owner.

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WHAT IS DISCRIMINATION?

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Dream Chaser Youth Club believes that discrimination can take one or more of the forms set out below.

 

• Direct discrimination is treating one person less favourably than another in the same or similar circumstances or segregating them from others solely because they are, for example, a lesbian, a gay man or because they have a disability or illness. Refusing to employ someone who has the required skills because they are deaf or because they are pregnant would constitute such discrimination.

• Indirect discrimination occurs where there is a requirement or condition which applies equally to everyone but which, in practice, has an adverse impact on a particular group and cannot be justified.

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For example an unnecessary physical or age requirement can discriminate against women or disabled people. The setting of language tests, where language skills or fluency are not really needed for a job, is another example.

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• Abuse and/or harassment – Discrimination also covers actions which amount to abuse and/or harassment of people or groups of people because for example they are a member of a national, racial or ethnic minority group, a woman, a lesbian, a gay man or have a disability or illness.

• Victimisation occurs when a person is treated less favourably or is discriminated against because she/he has pursued or intends to pursue their rights in respect of alleged discrimination.

• Institutional racism (Macpherson Report, 1999) - The collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin. It can be seen in the processes or attitudes and behaviour, which amount to discrimination, to unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness, and racist stereotyping which disadvantages minority ethnic people.

• Racist incident (Macpherson Report, 1999) - Any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person. If the victim doesn’t want to complain, another person may do so.

• Disability - This is where a disabled person is treated unfavourably because of something connected to their disability where it cannot be objectively justified. This only applies where the organisation knew or could reasonably be expected to know that the person was disabled.

• Associative Discrimination -This is where someone is treated worse than someone else because they are associated with someone with a Protected Characteristic.

• Perceptive Discrimination -This is where someone is treated worse than someone else because there has been an incorrect assumption that they have a Protected Characteristic. This applies even if the person does not possess the characteristic.

• Third Party Harassment -This is where an employee is harassed by a third party who is not an employee e.g. volunteers or service users.

 

Discrimination in any of the forms stated above is unacceptable, regardless of whether there was any intention to discriminate or not.

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STAFF DEVELOPMENT

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Decisions about learning and development opportunities will be made in accordance with the Dream Chaser Youth Club Learning policy and all staff will have access to opportunities to enable them to develop in line with Dream Chaser Youth Club aims and objectives.

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SERVICE PROVISION

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All Dream Chaser Youth Club services are covered by this policy. Dream Chaser Youth Club will promote equality and diversity in its work with other agencies or individuals.

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Dream Chaser Youth Club services will be reviewed regularly and changed where needed. All trainers, facilitators and consultants contracted to work for Dream Chaser Youth Club will be required to support our Equality and diversity policy.

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RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION

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Dream Chaser Youth Club believes that no person or group should be treated less favourably in employment because of the reasons given in the Statement of intent.

 

MISCELLANEOUS

 

• Office accommodation - Dream Chaser Youth Club will make every effort to ensure that premises used in relation to its work are accessible and inviting for all members of the community.

• Purchasing - Dream Chaser Youth Club reserves the right not to purchase goods and services from agencies whose activities are contrary to the principles outlined in this policy.

• Promotion of policy - Copies of this policy will be freely available to staff, volunteers, members and any other interested parties. A laminated copy of the Statement of intent, together with a named contact for more information, will be placed in a prominent position in Dream Chaser Youth Club.

• Travel - Dream Chaser Youth Club recognises that not everyone has access to personal transport or is able to use it and will plan its services and activities with this in mind.

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SERVICE DELIVERY POLICY

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The following are statement is the service that Dream Chaser Youth Club provides:

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• We will take steps to ensure that the advice service we provide is available to everyone and recognises the needs of individuals.

• We ask that people who use our service do not discriminate against other groups of people.

• We will create links with other groups in the area to ensure that if the centre is unable to help we are able to refer them on to another agency.

• We will use the information we gain from the service to promote awareness of the problem facing the users of our service.

• We will operate a complaints policy and will invite service users to make a complaint if they have been dealt with unfairly by the centre.

• Our centres office is based on ground floor is able to offer for its clients with wheelchair or any other kind of disability easy access, different language, such as Somali and English, and large print materials are available too.

• You can find our centre service information such as Opening hours, accessibility to the local community newspapers.

• Our staff offers interpreting and language help when you are meeting with the local authority which does not provide interpreters, (remember it is only pre-booking only).

• Our centre is open five days a week, from Monday to Friday, between 08:00AM – 01:00PM and 02:00PM – 04:00pm

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IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING

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Monitoring of the Equality and diversity policy and its implementation is the responsibility of the committee.

 

All staff, trustees and volunteers will be involved in creating an environment that adheres to equality and one that values diversity.

 

Dream Chaser Youth Club will monitor effectiveness of the policy through its evaluation of its services and via employee and volunteer feedback. Moreover, there will be annual monitoring of staff by protected characteristics, with a view to identifying any areas where there is significant under-representation.

 

The committee will review the policy annually.

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Induction for committee members and new staff will include a briefing on the Equality and diversity policy.

 

A copy of the Equality and diversity policy and Equality action plan will be given to all new staff, committee members, and new members of Dream Chaser Youth Club and to any member on request.

 

Training will be provided for employees, board members and volunteers on cultural awareness, disability awareness and other subjects that will develop of equality and diversity.

 

THE COMMITTEE

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All committee members will affirm their commitment to the Equality and diversity policy.

 

The committee’s membership (including co-opted members) should aim to reflect a fair balance and representation of the local community and should endeavour to redress any imbalance of under-represented groups.

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Dream Chaser Youth Club policies and procedures

 

Other Dream Chaser Youth Club policies support our commitment to equality and diversity.

 

These include flexi-time, childcare contributions, parental and dependants leave, annual leave, recruitment, discipline, grievance, harassment, statement of terms and conditions and induction.

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Dream Chaser Youth Club has relevant Legislation on its policy:

 

• Race Relations Act. Outlaws discrimination on the basis of ethnicity.

• Sex Discrimination Act. In general no one can be denied access to goods, service, activities, facilities or premises on the basis of gender.

• Disability Discrimination Act. Makes it unlawful to discriminate unjustifiably against people with disabilities, and also requires providers of service to take reasonable steps to adapt their services and premises. Dream Chaser Youth Club has adopted a wheelchair and friendly office to its clients.

• Human rights Act. Enshrines in Somali law, rights and freedoms guaranteed under the Convention on Human Rights including freedom from discrimination (article 14).

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REPORTING DISCRIMINATION OR POTENTIAL DISCRIMINATION

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Employees and volunteers who feel that they have suffered any form of discrimination should either notify senior staff or follow the grievance procedure.

 

Service participants who feel that they have suffered any form of discrimination should speak to any member of Dream Chaser Youth Club staff who will take responsibility for ensuring that the issue is addressed by Dream Chaser Youth Club. The complaints policy will be made available to the individual.

 

Employees, volunteers and service participants should also use this approach if they feel that they have been the subject of harassment from someone who is not an employee of Dream Chaser Youth Club. Dream Chaser Youth Club will not tolerate any harassment from third parties towards its employees, volunteers or service participants and will take appropriate action to

prevent it happening again.

 

If an employee, volunteer or service participant witnesses behaviour that they find offensive in relation to age, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation, even if it is not directed at them they should also use this procedure.

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In addition:

 

• Everyone is entitled to an environment that provides dignity and respect to all. No form of intimidation, bullying or harassment will be tolerated.

• All will be recruited, selected and trained on the basis of the objective criteria.

 

We take this policy very seriously, and therefore a breach of this policy is considered to be gross misconduct and disciplinary action, including dismissal for serious offences, will be taken against those who do not comply with it.

 

If you have any queries regarding this policy, please contact the equal opportunities officer below.

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Policy agreed on behalf of the management committee

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Equal opportunities officer: ………………………………………………..

 

Signed: …………………………………………………………… Date: …………………………………………