THE EAST OF ENGLAND
FAITHS AGENCY CIC (EEFA)

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy.

July 2021

THE EAST OF ENGLAND FAITHS AGENCY CIC

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy.

The East of England Faiths Agency CIC is committed to encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion among its workforce, and eliminating unlawful discrimination.

The aim is for our workforce and volunteers to be truly representative of all sections of society and our customers, and for each employee and volunteer to feel respected and able to give their best.

The organisation - in providing goods and/or services and/or facilities - is also committed against unlawful discrimination of customers or the public.

The policy’s purpose is to:

· provide equality, fairness and respect for all our volunteers and all in our employment, whether temporary, part-time or full-time.

· not unlawfully discriminate because of the Equality Act 2010 protected characteristics of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race (including colour, nationality, and ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

· oppose and avoid all forms of unlawful discrimination. This includes in pay and benefits, terms and conditions of employment, dealing with grievances and discipline, dismissal, redundancy, leave for parents, requests for flexible working, and selection for employment, promotion, training or other developmental opportunities.

The East of England Faiths Agency CIC commits to:

· Encourage equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace as they are good practice and make business sense.

· Create a working environment free of bullying, harassment, victimisation and unlawful discrimination, promoting dignity and respect for all, and where individual differences and the contributions of all staff are recognised and valued.

· This commitment includes training managers and all other employees and volunteers about their rights and responsibilities under the equality, diversity and inclusion policy. Responsibilities include staff and volunteers conducting themselves to help the organisation provide equal opportunities in employment, and prevent bullying, harassment, victimisation and unlawful discrimination.

· All staff and volunteers should understand they, as well as their employer, can be held liable for acts of bullying, harassment, victimisation and unlawful discrimination, in the course of their employment or volunteering, against fellow employees, volunteers, customers, suppliers and the public.

· Take seriously complaints of bullying, harassment, victimisation and unlawful discrimination by fellow employees, customers, suppliers, visitors, the public and any others in the course of the organisation’s work activities.

· Such acts will be dealt with as misconduct under the organisation’s grievance and/or disciplinary procedures, and appropriate action will be taken. Particularly serious complaints could amount to gross misconduct and lead to dismissal without notice.

· Further, sexual harassment may amount to both an employment rights matter and a criminal matter, such as in sexual assault allegations. In addition, harassment under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 – which is not limited to circumstances where harassment relates to a protected characteristic – is a criminal offence.

· Make opportunities for training, development and progress available to all staff and volunteers, who will be helped and encouraged to develop their full potential, so their talents and resources can be fully utilised to maximise the efficiency of the organisation.

· Decisions concerning staff and volunteers being based on merit (apart from in any necessary and limited exemptions and exceptions allowed under the Equality Act).

· Review employment practices and procedures when necessary to ensure fairness, and also update them and the policy to take account of changes in the law.

· Monitor the make-up of the workforce regarding information such as age, sex, ethnic background, sexual orientation, religion or belief, and disability in encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion, and in meeting the aims and commitments set out in the equality, diversity and inclusion policy.

· Monitoring will also include assessing how the equality, diversity and inclusion policy, and any supporting action plan, are working in practice, reviewing them annually, and considering and taking action to address any issues.

The equality, diversity and inclusion policy is fully supported by the Board of Directors.

Details of the organisation’s grievance and disciplinary policies and procedures can be found in the Policies and Procedures Handbook.

Use of the organisation’s grievance and/or disciplinary procedures does not affect an employee’s right to make a claim to an employment tribunal within three months of the alleged discrimination.

PROTECTED CHARACTERISTICS

The Equality Act covers the same groups that were protected by existing equality legislation — age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership and pregnancy and maternity. These are now called 'protected characteristics' In addition the Act extends some protections to characteristics that were not previously covered, and also strengthens particular aspects of equality law.

The Protected Characteristics: key points.

· Disability.

· Gender Reassignment.

· Marriage and Civil Partnership.

· Pregnancy and Maternity.

· Race.

· Religion or Belief.

· Sex.

· Sexual Orientation.

· Age.

The Act protects people of all ages. However, different treatment because of age is not unlawful direct or indirect discrimination if you can justify it, i.e., if you can demonstrate that it is a proportionate means of meeting a legitimate aim. Age is the only protected characteristic that allows employers to justify direct discrimination.

Disability.

The Act has made it easier for a person to show that they are disabled and protected from disability discrimination. Under the Act, a person is disabled if they have a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long- term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities which would include things like using a telephone, reading a book, or using public transport.

As before, the Act puts a duty on you as an employer to make reasonable adjustments for your staff to help them overcome disadvantage resulting from an Impairment (e.g., by providing assistive technologies to help visually impaired staff use computers effectively).

The Act includes a new protection from discrimination arising from disability. This states that it is discrimination to treat a disabled person unfavourably because of something connected with their disability (e.g., a tendency to make spelling mistakes arising from dyslexia) This type of discrimination is unlawful where the employer or other person acting for the employer knows, or could reasonably be expected to know, that the person has a disability. This type of discrimination is only justifiable if an employer can show that it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

Additionally, indirect discrimination now covers disabled people. This means that a job applicant or employee could claim that a particular rule or requirement you have in place disadvantages people with the same disability. Unless you could justify this, it would be unlawful.

The Act also includes a new provision which makes it unlawful, except in certain circumstances, for employers to ask about a candidate's health before offering them work.

Gender reassignment.

The Act provides protection for transsexual people. A transsexual person is someone who proposes to, starts, or has completed a process to change his or her gender The Act no longer requires a person to be under medical supervision to be protected — so a woman who decides to live as a man but does not undergo any medical procedures would be covered.

It is discrimination to treat transsexual people less favourably for being absent from work because they propose to undergo, are undergoing or have undergone gender reassignment than they would be treated if they were absent because they were ill or injured.

Marriage and civil partnership.

The Act protects employees who are married or in a civil partnership against discrimination. Single people are not protected.

Pregnancy and maternity (no change).

A woman is protected against discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy and maternity during the period of her pregnancy and any statutory maternity leave to which she is entitled. During this period, pregnancy and maternity discrimination cannot be treated as sex discrimination.

You must not take into account an employee's period of absence due to pregnancy-related illness when making a decision about her employment.

Race.

For the purposes of the Act 'race' includes colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins.

Religion or belief

In the Equality Act, religion includes any religion It also includes a lack of religion, in other words employees or jobseekers are protected if they do not follow a certain religion or have no religion at all. Additionally, a religion must have a clear structure and belief system. Belief means any religious or philosophical belief or a lack of such belief to be protected; a belief must satisfy various criteria, including that it is a weighty and substantial aspect of human life and behaviour. Denominations or sects within a religion can be considered a protected religion or religious belief.

Discrimination because of religion or belief can occur even where both the discriminator and recipient are of the same religion or belief.

Sex.

Both men and women are protected under the Act.

Sexual orientation.

The Act protects bisexual, gay, heterosexual, and lesbian people.

TYPES OF DISCRIMINATION: DEFINITIONS.

Direct discrimination.

Direct discrimination occurs when someone is treated less favourably than another person because of a protected characteristic they have or are thought to have (see perception discrimination below), or because they associate with someone who has a protected characteristic (see discrimination by association below).

Discrimination by association.

Already applies to race, religion or belief and sexual orientation Now extended to cover age, disability, gender reassignment and sex. This is direct discrimination against someone because they associate with another person who possesses a protected characteristic. Perception discrimination.

Already applies to age, race, religion or belief and sexual orientation. Now extended to cover disability, gender reassignment, and set This is direct discrimination against an individual because others think they possess a particular protected characteristic. It applies even if the person does not actually possess that characteristic.

Indirect discrimination.

Already applies to age, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation and marriage and civil partnership. Now extended to cover disability and gender reassignment.

Indirect discrimination can occur when you have a condition, rule, policy or even a practice in your company that applies to everyone but particularly disadvantages people who share a protected characteristic. Indirect discrimination can be justified if you can show that you acted reasonably in managing your business, i.e., that it is 'a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim'. A legitimate aim might be any lawful decision you make in running your business or organisation, but if there is a discriminatory effect, the sole aim of reducing costs is likely to be unlawful.

Being proportionate really means being fair and reasonable, including showing that you have looked at 'less discriminatory' alternatives to any decision you make.

Harassment.

Harassment is "unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic, which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual's dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual.

Harassment applies to all protected characteristics except for pregnancy and maternity and marriage and civil partnership. Employees will now be able to complain of behaviour that they find offensive even if it is not directed at them, and the complainant need not possess the relevant characteristic themselves.

Employees are also protected from harassment because of perception and association.

Third party harassment.

Already applies to sex; however, this has now been extended to cover age disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief and sexual orientation.

The Equality Act makes you potentially liable for harassment of your employees by people (third parties) who are not employees of your company, such as customers or clients You will only be liable when harassment has occurred on at least previous occasions, you are aware that it has taken place, and have not taken reasonable steps to prevent it from happening again.

Victimisation.

Victimization occurs when an employee is treated badly because they have made or supported a complaint or raised a grievance under the Equality Act; or because they are suspected of doing so an employee is not protected from victimisation if they have maliciously made or supported an untrue complaint.

There is no longer a need to compare treatment of a complainant with that of a person who has not made or supported a complaint under the Act.

The Rehabilitation of Offenders.

People with criminal records are protected by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 which makes it unlawful for an employer to take account of (or be informed of) a person's previous offending history once the conviction has become spent However, some sentences cannot be spent, and others may be 'spent' but still have to be declared if the employment involves nursing, social work, working with children in care or people with learning difficulties, handling money or national security (if relevant).

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) was introduced by The Police Act 1997. This gave rise to employees and applicants in sensitive jobs having to give consent to a search being made for details of any previous or current convictions and for employers to be advised of the outcome by way of a Disclosure service.

The Disclosure service provides a means to carry out checks through the DBS on staff or applicants and allows for decisions to be made about recruiting staff who have a criminal record.

Applicants are offered equal opportunities when going through the recruitment process. They are informed at the outset that they have the opportunity to discuss criminal convictions, 'spent' or 'unspent', In confidence with the chair of the recruitment panel.

All posts supported by EEFA are subject to a Basic Disclosure check. Some posts may require a Standard or Enhanced Disclosure check to be carried out.  Anyone applying for such a post will be expected to declare any convictions 'spent' or 'unspent' and will be subject to consideration of suitability for appointment in accordance with EEFA’s policies and procedures.

Data Protection.

When collecting, storing, and analysing data full account must be taken of the General Duty Protection Regulation 2018. Therefore, it is imperative to ensure that personal data collected is used appropriately in accordance with the Act. Please refer to EEFA’s Data Protection Policy.

This policy was last updated on 20^th July 2021

Dr William David Capey              Company Secretary