Equality & Diversity Policy
St. Edmunds Charity aims at all times to promote equality and diversity in the workplace and to provide a working environment for staff and a living environment for service users that is free from discrimination. We wish to ensure that all of our staff and service users feel respected and valued, that they can achieve their full potential, and that all decisions are taken without reference to irrelevant or discriminatory criteria.
St Edmunds Charity recognises the importance of equality and diversity. It is important all residents and staff of St Edmunds Charity are treated in a fair and lawful manner in regards to their individuality.
This includes the promotion of religion, language, gender, sexual orientation and cultural heritage, in order to develop the positive identity of each individual and their potential in recovery.
Staff and service users will not be treated less favorably, or discriminated against, directly or indirectly because of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
Staff and service users will be expected to abide by the equality and diversity policy in place at St. Edmunds Charity.
It is our aim to stamp out any prejudice and create an ethos which is free from discrimination
This policy will be read and signed for in relation to your support plan and the Equal Opportunities policy.
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What is Equality and Diversity?
Equality is ensuring individuals or groups of individuals are treated fairly and equally and no less favorably, specific to their needs, including areas of race, gender, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation and age.
Promoting equality removes discrimination in all the aforementioned areas. Bullying, harassment or victimisation will not be tolerated and will be considered a breach of this equality and diversity policy.
Diversity aims to recognise, respect and value people’s differences to contribute and realise their full potential by promoting an inclusive culture for all service users and their visitors, other people visiting the project and staff.
How can we promote Equality and Diversity?
We can promote equality and diversity by:
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treating all service users and staff/volunteers fairly
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creating an inclusive culture for all service users and staff/volunteers
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ensuring access to equal opportunities which enable service users to fully participate within the service.
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enabling all service users to develop their full potential
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equipping service users with the skills to challenge inequality and discrimination.
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ensuring all policies, procedures and processes are not discriminatory.
Religious Needs
Each service user will be supported to follow their chosen religion.
It is important to remember that for all service users there may be individual/family variances and that these specific variances are given due consideration.
Community and faith groups are also a useful resource.
Staff will have details of all the local religious/spiritual places of worship and ensure each service user is supported to explore other faiths should they wish to do so.
Cultural Needs
Cultural needs should not always be assessed solely on the assumption of race or ethnicity. They must also encompass the type of, lifestyle and environmental influences for individuals.
Service users will come from a variety of social backgrounds and our service will reflect this social and cultural diversity.
Anti-Oppressive Practice
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Working in a multi-racial and multi-cultural society requires staff to be committed to equality and diversity. St Edmunds meetings must serve the needs of all service users, to help understand the effects of racial harassment, racial discrimination and institutional racism, as well as cultural misunderstanding or misinterpretation. Staff will have an understanding of Anti-Oppressive incidents and will adhere to the principles and high standard of practice from St Edmunds Charity.
Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex ( LGBTQI+)
Same sex relationships are accepted at St. Edmunds Charity and negative attitudes towards these relationships will not be tolerated from either staff or residents at St Edmunds.
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St Edmunds is a safe environment for LGBTQI+ staff and service users. Staff, volunteers, and service users need to be considerate to the feelings of same sex relationships. Personal views and judgemental attitudes will not be tolerated from either service users or staff.
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Homophobia will be challenged by all staff and volunteers. The vulnerability of bullying and the discrimination in groups will be recognised in the service ethos. Workers should also be aware of local support services and information on services provided alongside supportive information for service users.
The legal framework
As well as being morally wrong, it is illegal to discriminate against a person on the basis of any of the following Protected Characteristics:
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Age
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Disability
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Gender reassignment
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Marital or civil partner status
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Pregnancy or maternity
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Race (including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin)
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Religion, religious belief or similar philosophical belief
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Sex
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Sexual orientation (ie homosexuality, bisexuality or heterosexuality)
There are four basic types of unlawful discrimination:
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Direct discrimination
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This means treating someone less favourably than you would treat others because of a Protected Characteristic. For example, rejecting a job applicant because they are Jewish, or not promoting someone because they are gay. This includes any less favourable treatment because you perceive a person to have a Protected Characteristic (even though they do not in fact have it), or because they associate with a person or group who has a Protected Characteristic.
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Indirect discrimination
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This means placing someone at a disadvantage through a policy, practice or criterion that applies to everyone but adversely affects people with a particular Protected Characteristic. For example, if a company insisted that all employees work on a Sunday, this would adversely affect Christians. And requiring that a job be fulfilled full-time would adversely affect women as they generally have greater childcare commitments. If such a practice or criterion cannot be justified as a reasonable means to an end, then it could be considered unlawful.
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Harassment
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Harassment related to any of the Protected Characteristics will be unlawful if it consists of unwanted conduct that has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, offensive, degrading or humiliating environment for that person. If you feel that you have been the subject of harassment please refer to our Bullying & Harassment Policy for more information and guidance.
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Victimisation
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This is the unfavourable treatment of a person because they have taken action to assert their own legal rights under discrimination law, or assisted someone else to do so