Policy Statement
C.A.R.E.S (“the Company”) is committed to achieving a working environment which provides equality of opportunity and freedom from unlawful discrimination on the grounds of race, sex, pregnancy and maternity, marital or civil partnership status, gender reassignment, disability, religion or beliefs, age or sexual orientation. This Policy aims to remove unfair and discriminatory practices within the Company and to encourage full contribution from its diverse community. The Company is committed to actively opposing all forms of discrimination.
The Company also aims to provide a service that does not discriminate against its clients and customers in the means by which they can access the services and goods supplied by the Company. The Company believes that all employees and clients are entitled to be treated with respect and dignity. Therefore, this policy covers all employees, officers, consultants, contractors, [volunteers,] [interns,] casual workers and agency workers.
Policy Objectives
To prevent, reduce and stop all forms of unlawful discrimination in line with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010.
Policies and procedures cover discrimination on the grounds ground of race, sex, pregnancy and maternity, marital or civil partnership status, gender reassignment, disability, religion or beliefs, age or sexual orientation but also for any other reason that does not pertain to membership of one of these groups, for example appearance or dress.
To ensure that recruitment, promotion, training, development, assessment, benefits, pay, terms and conditions of employment, redundancy and dismissals are determined based on capability, qualifications, experience, skills and productivity.
Designated Officer
Name: Gemma Anyon
Position: Co-Founder and Director
Telephone Number: 07706893202
Definition of Discrimination
Discrimination is unequal or differential treatment which leads to one person being treated more or less favourably than others are, or would be, treated in the same or similar circumstances on the grounds of grounds of race, sex, pregnancy and maternity, marital or civil partnership status, gender reassignment, disability, religion or beliefs, age or sexual orientation. Discrimination may be direct or indirect.
Types of Discrimination
Direct Discrimination
This occurs when a person or a policy intentionally treats a person less favourably than another on the grounds of race, sex, pregnancy and maternity, marital or civil partnership status, gender reassignment, disability, religion or beliefs, age or sexual orientation.
Indirect Discrimination
This is the application of a policy, criterion or practice which the employer applies to all employees, but which is such that:
- It is it detrimental to a considerably larger proportion of people from the group that the person the employer is applying it to represents;
- The employer cannot justify the need for the application of the policy on a neutral basis; and
- The person to whom the employer is applying it suffers detriment from the application of the policy.
Example: A requirement that all employees must be 6ft tall if that requirement is not justified by the position would indirectly discriminate against employees with an oriental ethnic origin, as they are less likely to be able to fulfil this requirement.
Harassment
This occurs when a person is subjected to unwanted conduct that has the purpose or effect of violating their dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
Victimisation
This occurs when a person is treated less favourably because they have bought or intend to bring proceedings, or they have given or intend to give evidence.
Unlawful Reasons for Discrimination
Sex
It is not permissible to treat a person less favourably on the grounds of sex, pregnancy and maternity, marital or civil partnership status or gender reassignment… This applies to men, women and those undergoing or intending to undergo gender reassignment. Sexual harassment of men and women can be found to constitute sex discrimination.
Example: Asking a woman during an interview if she is planning to have any (more) children constitutes discrimination on the ground of gender.
Age
It is not permissible to treat a person less favourably because of their age. This applies to people of all ages. This does not currently apply to the calculation of redundancy payments.
Disability
It is not permissible to treat a disabled person less favourably than a non-disabled person. Reasonable adjustments must be made to give the disabled person as much access to any services and ability to be employed, trained, or promoted as a non-disabled person.
Race
It is not permissible to treat a person less favourably because of their race, the colour of their skin, their nationality or their ethnic origin.
Sexual Orientation
It is not permissible to treat a person less favourably because of their sexual orientation. For example, an employer cannot refuse to employ a person because s/he is homosexual, heterosexual or bisexual.
Religion or Belief
It is not permissible to treat a person less favourably because of their religious beliefs or their religion or their lack of any religion or belief.
Reasonable Adjustments
The Company has a duty to make reasonable adjustments to facilitate the employment of a disabled person. These may include:
- Adjusting premises;
- Re-allocating some or all a disabled employee’s duties;
- Transferring a disabled employee to a role better suited to their disability;
- Relocating a disabled employee to a more suitable office;
- Giving a disabled employee time off work for medical treatment or rehabilitation;
- Providing training or mentoring for a disabled employee;
- Supplying or modifying equipment, instruction and training manuals for disabled employees; or
- Any other adjustments that the Company considers reasonable and necessary provided such adjustments are within the financial means of the Company.
If an employee has a disability and feels that any such adjustments could be made by the Company, they should contact the Designated Officer.
Responsibility for the Implementation of this Policy
All employees, subcontractors and agents of the Company are required to act in a way that does not subject any other employees or clients to direct or indirect discrimination, harassment or victimisation on the grounds of their grounds of race, sex, pregnancy and maternity, marital or civil partnership status, gender reassignment, disability, religion or beliefs, age or sexual orientation.
The co-operation of all employees is essential for the success of this Policy. Senior employees are expected to follow this Policy and to try to ensure that all employees, subcontractors and agents do the same.
Employees may be held independently and individually liable for their discriminatory acts by the Company and in some circumstances an Employment Tribunal may order them to pay compensation to the person who has suffered as a result of discriminatory acts.
The Company takes responsibility for achieving the objectives of this Policy, and endeavours to ensure compliance with relevant Legislation and Codes of Practice.
Acting on Discriminatory Behaviour
If an employee is the subject or perpetrator of, or witness to, discriminatory behaviour, please refer to the company handbook on disciplinary and grievance procedures.
Recruitment and Selection
Recruitment, promotion, and other selection exercises such as redundancy selection will be conducted based on merit, against objective criteria that avoid discrimination. Shortlisting should be done by more than one person and with the involvement of the Human Resources Department, where possible. Our recruitment procedures should be reviewed regularly to ensure that individuals are treated based on their relevant merits and abilities.
Vacancies should generally be advertised to a diverse section of the labour market. Advertisements should avoid stereotyping or using wording that may discourage groups from applying.
EQUALITY
The Company is proud to be an equal opportunities employer. This means that decisions concerning recruitment, promotion, dismissal or any other aspect of employment will be based on the needs of the business and not any assumptions based on sex, race, age, disability, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, married or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief. This is an important commitment which all employees are expected to share.
Employees are encouraged to raise with management any discriminatory behaviour, assumptions or attitudes they encounter at work and are entitled to do so free from any reprisal providing they are acting in good faith.
We take steps to ensure that our vacancies are advertised to a diverse labour market [and, where relevant, to groups that have been identified as disadvantaged or underrepresented in our organisation. Where appropriate, the Human Resources Department may approve the use of lawful exemptions to recruit someone with a Protected Characteristic, for example, where the job can only be done by a woman. The advertisement should specify the exemption that applies.
Job applicants should not be asked questions which might suggest an intention to discriminate on grounds of a Protected Characteristic. For example, applicants should not be asked whether they are pregnant or planning to have children.
Job applicants should not be asked about health or disability before a job offer is made. There are limited exceptions which should only be used with the approval of the Human Resources Department. For example:
(a) Questions necessary to establish if an applicant can perform an intrinsic part of the job (subject to any reasonable adjustments).
(b) Questions to establish if an applicant is fit to attend an assessment or any reasonable adjustments that may be needed at interview or assessment.
(c) Positive action to recruit disabled persons.
(d) Equal opportunities monitoring (which will not form part of the selection or decision-making process).
Where necessary, job offers can be made conditional on a satisfactory medical check.
We are required by law to ensure that all employees are entitled to work in the UK. Assumptions about immigration status should not be made based on appearance or apparent nationality. All prospective employees, regardless of nationality, must be able to produce original documents (such as a passport) before employment starts, to satisfy current immigration legislation.
To ensure that this policy is operating effectively, and to identify groups that may be underrepresented or disadvantaged in our organisation, we monitor applicants’ ethnic group, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion and age as part of the recruitment procedure. Provision of this information is voluntary, and it will not adversely affect an individual’s chances of recruitment or any other decision related to their employment. The information is removed from applications before shortlisting and kept in an anonymised format solely for the purposes stated in this policy. Analysing this data helps us take appropriate steps to avoid discrimination and improve equality and diversity.
Training and Promotion and Conditions of Service
Training needs will be identified through regular appraisals. You will be given appropriate access to training to enable you to progress within the organisation and all promotion decisions will be made based on merit.
Workforce composition and promotions will be regularly monitored to ensure equality of opportunity at all levels of the organization. Where appropriate, steps will be taken to identify and remove unjustified barriers and to meet the special needs of disadvantaged or underrepresented groups.
Our conditions of service, benefits and facilities are reviewed regularly to ensure that they are available to all of you who should have access to them and that there are no unlawful obstacles to accessing them.
Termination of Employment
We will ensure that redundancy criteria and procedures are fair and objective and are not directly or indirectly discriminatory.
We will also ensure that disciplinary procedures and penalties are applied without discrimination, whether they result in disciplinary warnings, dismissal or other disciplinary action.
Disabilities
If you are disabled or become disabled, we encourage you to tell us about your condition so that we can support you as appropriate.
If you experience difficulties at work because of your disability, you may wish to contact [your line manager OR the Human Resources Department] to discuss any reasonable adjustments that would help overcome or minimise the difficulty. [Your line manager OR the Human Resources Department] may wish to consult with you and your medical adviser about possible adjustments. We will consider the matter carefully and try to accommodate your needs within reason. If we consider an adjustment
would not be reasonable, we will explain our reasons and try to find an alternative solution where possible.
We will monitor the physical features of our premises to consider whether they might place anyone with a disability at a substantial disadvantage. Where necessary, we will take reasonable steps to improve access.
Part-Time and Fixed-Term Work
Part-time and fixed-term staff should be treated the same as comparable full-time or permanent staff and enjoy no less favourable terms and conditions (on a pro-rata basis where appropriate), unless different treatment is justified.
Breaches of This Policy
We take a strict approach to breaches of this policy, which will be dealt with in accordance with our Disciplinary Procedure. Serious cases of deliberate discrimination may amount to gross misconduct resulting in dismissal.
If you believe that you have suffered discrimination you can raise the matter through our Grievance Procedure or through our Anti-harassment and Bullying Policy as appropriate. Complaints will be treated in confidence and investigated as appropriate.
There must be no victimisation or retaliation against staff who complain about discrimination. However, making a false allegation deliberately and in bad faith will be treated as misconduct and dealt with under our Disciplinary Procedure.
The Extent of the Policy
The Company seeks to apply this Policy in the recruitment, selection, training, appraisal, development and promotion of all employees. The Company offers goods and services in a fashion that complies with the spirit of this Policy.
This Policy does not form a part of any employment contract with any employee and its contents are not to be regarded by any person as implied, collateral or express terms to any contract made with the Company.
The Company reserves the right to amend and update this Policy at any time.
Related Policies
This policy is supported by the following other policies and procedures:
(a) Anti-Harassment and Bullying Policy.
(b) Grievance Procedure.
(c) Disciplinary Procedure.
(d) Flexible Working Procedure.
(e) Maternity, Paternity, Adoption and Shared Parental Leave Policies.
(f) Parental Leave Policy.
(g)Time Off for Dependants Policy.
(h) Dress Code.
(i) Homeworking Policy.
(j) Career Break Policy.
(k) [OTHER]
This policy has been approved & authorised the Board of Directors for C.A.R.E.S
Review Date: Jan 2025