Equal Opportunities Policy
Our Commitment
VSA is committed to providing equal opportunities in employment and to avoiding unlawful discrimination in employment. It is also committed to providing equal opportunities in the provision of access to services.
This policy is intended to assist VSA to put this commitment into practice. Compliance with this policy should also ensure that employees do not commit unlawful acts of discrimination.
Striving to ensure that the work environment is free of harassment and bullying and that everyone is treated with dignity and respect is an important aspect of ensuring equal opportunities in employment. VSA has a separate Dignity at Work policy which deals with these issues.
The Law
It is unlawful to discriminate directly or indirectly in recruitment or employment on grounds of sex, gender reassignment, pregnancy, colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origins, sexual orientation or religion or belief, or because someone is married or is a civil partner. It is unlawful to treat someone less favourably on grounds of disability than others without that disability are or would be treated, unless the less favourable treatment can be justified, or to fail to make reasonable adjustments to overcome barriers to employment caused by disability. From October 2006, it will be unlawful to discriminate unjustifiably on grounds of age in relation to employment. Discrimination after the employment relationship has come to an end may be unlawful, eg in refusing to give a reference or in the form of reference given.
It is unlawful to discriminate directly or indirectly in the provision of goods, facilities or services to customers on grounds of sex (which may include gender reassignment), pregnancy, colour, race, nationality, or ethnic or national origins. It is unlawful to discriminate, without justification, on grounds of disability or to fail to make reasonable adjustments to overcome barriers to using services caused by disability. The duty to make reasonable adjustments includes the removal, adaptation or alteration of physical features, if the physical features make it impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled people to make use of services.
It is unlawful to victimise someone because he or she has alleged unlawful discrimination or supported someone to make a complaint or given evidence in relation to a complaint.
Types of unlawful discrimination
Direct discrimination is where a person is treated less favourably than another in comparable circumstances on a prohibited ground. An example of direct sex discrimination would be refusing to employ a woman because she was pregnant.
Indirect discrimination is where a provision, criterion or practice is applied which is such that it would be to the detriment of a considerably larger proportion of the relevant group to which the individual belongs than to others, which is not objectively justifiable and which is to the individual's detriment. An example of indirect sex discrimination could be requiring everyone to work full time unless there is a good reason, unrelated to sex, as to why the particular job has to be done on a full-time basis, since requiring everyone to work full time will normally adversely affect a higher proportion of women than men.
Harassment is where there is unwanted conduct related to one of the prohibited grounds which has the purpose of violating a person's dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that person, or is reasonably considered by that person to have the effect of violating his or her dignity or of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for him or her, even if this effect was not intended by the person responsible for the conduct.
Failure to make reasonable adjustments is where arrangements disadvantage an individual because of a disability and reasonable adjustments are not made to overcome the disadvantage.
Victimisation is where someone is treated less favourably than others because he or she has alleged unlawful discrimination or supported someone to make a complaint or given evidence in relation to a complaint.
Equal opportunities in employment
VSA will avoid unlawful discrimination in all aspects of employment including recruitment, promotion, opportunities for training, pay and benefits, discipline and selection for redundancy.
Person and job specifications will be limited to those requirements that are necessary for the effective performance of the job. Candidates for employment or promotion will be assessed objectively against the requirements for the job, taking account of any reasonable adjustments that may be required for candidates with a disability.
VSA will consider any possible indirectly discriminatory effect of its standard working practices, including the number of hours to be worked, the times at which these are to be worked and the place at which work is to be done, when considering requests for variations to these standard working practices and will refuse such requests only if VSA considers it has good reasons, unrelated to any prohibited ground of discrimination, for doing so. VSA will comply with its obligations in relation to statutory requests for contract variations. VSA will also make reasonable adjustments to its standard working practices to overcome barriers caused by disability.
VSA will monitor the ethnic, gender and age composition of the existing workforce and of applicants for jobs (including promotion), and the number of people with disabilities within these groups, and will consider and take any appropriate action to address any problems which may be identified as a result of the monitoring process.
VSA cannot lawfully discriminate in the selection of employees for recruitment or promotion, but VSA may use appropriate lawful methods, including lawful positive action, to address the under-representation of any group which VSA identifies as being underrepresented in particular types of job.
Dignity at work
VSA has a separate dignity at work policy concerning issues of bullying and harassment on any ground, and how complaints of this type will be dealt with.
Service Users, suppliers and other people not employed by VSA
VSA will not discriminate unlawfully against those using or seeking to use goods, facilities or services provided by the organisation.
Employees should report any bullying or harassment by service users, suppliers, visitors or others to their manager who will take appropriate action.
Training
VSA will provide training in equal opportunities to managers and other staff involved in recruitment or other decision making where equal opportunities issues are likely to arise.
VSA will provide training to all existing and new employees to help them understand their rights and responsibilities under the Dignity at Work policy and what they can do to help create a working environment free of bullying and harassment. VSA will provide additional training to managers to enable them to deal more effectively with complaints of bullying and harassment.
Your responsibilities
Every employee is required to assist VSA to meet its commitment to provide equal opportunities in employment and avoid unlawful discrimination.
Employees can be held personally liable as well as, or instead of, VSA for any act of unlawful discrimination. Employees who commit serious acts of harassment may be guilty of a criminal offence.
Acts of discrimination, harassment, bullying or victimisation against employees or service users are disciplinary offences and will be dealt with under VSA's disciplinary procedure. Discrimination, harassment, bullying or victimisation may constitute gross misconduct and could lead to dismissal without notice.
Grievances
If you consider that you may have been unlawfully discriminated against, you may use VSA's grievance procedure to make a complaint. If your complaint involves bullying or harassment, the grievance procedure is modified as set out in the Dignity at Work policy.
VSA will take any complaint seriously and will seek to resolve any grievance which it upholds. You will not be penalised for raising a grievance, even if your grievance is not upheld, unless your complaint is both untrue and made in bad faith.
Use of VSA's grievance procedure does not affect your right to make a complaint to an employment tribunal. Complaints to an employment tribunal must normally be made within three months beginning with the act of discrimination complained of.
Monitoring and review
This policy will be monitored periodically by VSA to judge its effectiveness and will be updated in accordance with changes in the law. In particular, VSA will monitor the ethnic, gender and age composition of the existing workforce and of applicants for jobs (including promotion), and the number of people with disabilities within these groups, and will review its equal opportunities policy in accordance with the results shown by the monitoring. If changes are required, VSA will implement them.
Information provided by job applicants and employees for monitoring purposes will be used only for these purposes and will be dealt with in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.
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