Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Policy & Procedure

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy and Procedure

Summary	The purpose of a policy on equality, diversity and inclusion is to demonstraite that we at INDEPENDENCE-DEVELOPMENT LTD are fully committed to these principles and values and to communicate this commitment to all stakeholders. The policy should always be referred to wherever differences of view based on lack of understanding or prejudice about diversity, equality and inclusion are evident.
Scope	The following people may be affected by this policy: All staff. Whether temporary or permanent, Local Authorities, Commissioners. Families, NHS, and Young People.
Document Type	Policy & Procedure
Verified By	Dr Michael Olyedemi
Issued Date	06-10-2023
Review Date	06-10-2024

Policy Statement

The purpose of a policy on equality, diversity and inclusion is to make sure that INDEPENDENCE-DEVELOPMENT LTD is fully committed to these principles and values and to communicate this commitment to all stakeholders. The policy should always be referred to wherever differences of view based on lack of understanding or prejudice about diversity, equality and inclusion are evident. The commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion is included in our statement of purpose and information produced for the people who use its services. It is instrumental in many aspects of our practice including in our capacity to provide a responsive service to meet diverse needs and corresponding staff recruitment and selection.

INDEPENDENCE-DEVELOPMENT LTD recognises that discrimination and victimisation is unacceptable and that it is in the interests of the Company and its employees to utilise the skills of the total workforce. It is the aim of the Company to ensure that no service user, 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.

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 young people or staff because of age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation in the provision of the Company’s 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.

This policy applies to anyone receiving a service from INDEPENDENCE-DEVELOPMENT LTD, including young people and their families.

Equality, diversity, and inclusion means that every service user — adult or child — has their individual needs comprehensively addressed. They will be treated equally and without discrimination. This is regardless of the individual’s ethnic background, language, culture, faith, gender, age, sexual orientation, or any other aspect that could result in their being discriminated against purely because they have such characteristics.

EQUALITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

INDEPENDENCE-DEVELOPMENT LTD recognises that some sections of our society experience prejudice and discrimination. The Equality Act 2010 specifically recognises the protected characteristics of age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, and transgender.

The Equality Act also requires regard to socio-economic factors including pregnancy /maternity and marriage/civil partnership. INDEPENDENCE-DEVELOPMENT LTD is committed to equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice both in the provision of services and in our role as an employer. INDEPENDENCE-DEVELOPMENT LTD believes that all people have the right to be treated with dignity and respect and is committed to the elimination of unfair and unlawful discriminatory practices. INDEPENDENCE-DEVELOPMENT LTD also is aware of its legal duties under the Human Rights Act 1998. Section 6 of the Human Rights Act requires organisations to uphold and promote Human Rights in everything they do. It is unlawful for an organisation to perform any act which contravenes the Human Rights Act. INDEPENDENCE-DEVELOPMENT LTD is committed to carrying out its functions and service delivery in line with the Human Rights based approach and the FREDA principles of Fairness, Respect, Equality Dignity, and Autonomy.

References to Legislation and Quality Standards
Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015	Regulation 5, Regulation 7
Quality Standard	The Protection Standard. The Support standard

Legal Considerations

Data Protection Act 2018
Equalities Act 2010
Equalities Act 2010: Chapter 1 (Protected Characteristics) Chapter 2 (Prohibited Conduct and Chapter 3 (Services and Public Functions)

Regulation Context and Principles (main one- Support Standard)

The support standard

(2)—(1) The support standard is that children receive individual and tailored support that meets their needs. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— (a) ensure that children are encouraged and enabled to take a lead role in determining the support they receive and to participate in and influence how the supported accommodation operates; (b) ensure that plans for support are based on initial referral information, are meaningful and are created in full consultation with the child, taking account of relevant plans for the child; (c) keep the child’s support under review, taking into consideration the plans for support, and relevant plans, to ensure that the child’s needs continue to be met and that the child is kept safe; (d) co-operate with the child’s accommodating authority in agreeing the child’s placement plan or, as the case may be, pathway plan; (e) comply with requests by the child’s accommodating authority to provide— (i) the accommodating authority with information relating to the child; (ii) a suitable representative to attend any meeting the accommodating authority may hold about the child; (f) engage and work with the accommodating authority if the registered person has concerns or if the child’s support needs to be changed, including where that change may mean that the child requires more intensive support; (g) ensure that processes are in place to enable children to access support from other organisations and community services, such that they are encouraged and enabled to access a range of services, including those offered by advocacy organisations and training providers; (h) in the event that the registered person or a member of staff considers that an accommodating authority or a relevant person is failing to provide the support set out in a child’s relevant plans, make representations, or, as the case may be, enable staff to make representations, to the accommodating authority or relevant person with a view to ensuring that the child’s needs are met; (i) ensure that staff seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations that the registered person considers appropriate, having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended the supported accommodation undertaking is to provide support and accommodation; (j) before a child arrives or upon a child’s arrival, ensure that the child is given a written guide, in an accessible format, containing information about— (i) the support and accommodation provided by the supported accommodation undertaking; 33 (ii) what advocacy support or services are available, how the child may access that support or those services, and any entitlement the child may have to independent advocacy; (iii) how to make a complaint or representations in relation to the support and accommodation provided and how any such complaint will be dealt with; (iv) what services and facilities are available that take account of children’s needs arising as a result of cultural differences or disability; and which the registered person must keep under review, seeking children’s comments before revising the written guide; (k) ensure a plan for support is in place to support the child to develop the resilience and skills required to transition out of supported accommodation when the child is ready to live more independently; (l) ensure that an adequate level of support is available to the child to assist with the transition out of supported accommodation; (m) ensure that children are supported to access education, training or employment; (n) ensure that children are supported to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect.

Policy

To ensure that no person applying for a service will be refused on discriminatory grounds, e.g. because of their ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc. when they meet all other admission criteria.
To ensure that inferior or substandard services are not provided because of a person’s ethnicity, sexual orientation or any grounds on which discrimination can occur.
To work out with each young person and staff what they want and need and how they will be provided with the required service. This will be influenced by the individual’s gender, culture, personal choices and other characteristics and it should not be assumed everyone wants the same thing.
To encourage Young People and staff to relate to one another on the basis of equality and respect for individual differences.
To develop an attitude of self-awareness among the staff and Young People to ensure any form of discriminatory behaviour, such as offensive or abusive language, does not occur and to communicate that it is unacceptable in whatever form it might take and from whichever person.
To ensure that Young People and staff are continuously aware of the procedures for dealing with complaints and allegations of discriminatory or oppressive language or behaviour.
To ensure that all complaints and allegations are addressed properly and in non-discriminatory ways.
Breaches of our equality policy will be regarded as misconduct and could lead to disciplinary proceedings.
This policy is fully supported by senior management and has been agreed upon with trade unions and/or employee representatives.
The policy will be monitored and reviewed annually

Procedure

Expressions of Commitment to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

INDEPENDENCE-DEVELOPMENT LTD expresses its commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion by:

respecting young people’s ethnic, cultural and religious practices

reassuring its Young Persons and staff that their diverse backgrounds enhance the quality of experience of the service
accepting Young People and staff as individuals, not as cases or stereotypes
involving Young People and staff to express their individuality and to follow their preferred lifestyle, also helping them to celebrate events, anniversaries or festivals which are important to them as individuals
showing positive leadership and having management and human resources practices that actively demonstrate a commitment to equality and diversity principles
developing an ethos throughout the Supported Accommodation service that reflects these values and principles
expecting all staff to work to equality and diversity principles and policies and to behave at all times in non-discriminatory ways
providing training, supervision and support to enable staff to do this
having a code of conduct that makes any form of discriminatory behaviour unacceptable; this is applicable to both staff and Young People and is rigorously observed and monitored accordingly
carrying out regular assessments of the impact of our approach to equality, diversity and inclusion on policies, young people and service provision generally.

Protected characteristics

The Equality Act 2010 came into force on 1 October 2010. The purpose of the Act is to simplify discrimination legislation and create a more consistent and effective framework, while at the same time extending discrimination protection.

The Equality Act prohibits discrimination, harassment and victimisation connected to certain “protected characteristics”. The protected characteristics are:

Age
Disability
Gender reassignment
Marriage and civil partnership
Pregnancy and maternity
Race
Religion and belief
Sex
Sexual orientation

Discrimination after employment may also be unlawful e.g., refusing to give a reference for a reason related to one of the protected characteristics.

Responsibilities of the management

Responsibility for ensuring the effective implementation and operation of the arrangements will rest with the Register Manager Manager who 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. INDEPENDENCE-DEVELOPMENT LTD 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.

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

Responsibilities of the staff

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.

Our Young People

Young People accessing our service have the rights to;

Be respected
Be treated equally and not be discriminated against
Be treated as an individual
Be treated in a dignified way
Privacy
Be protected from danger and harm
Be supported in a way they choose
Access information about themselves
Communicate using their preferred methods of communication and language.

Third parties

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

Types of Unlawful Discrimination

Direct discrimination is where a person is treated less favourably than another because of a protected characteristic. An example of direct discrimination would be refusing to employ a woman because she is pregnant.

In limited circumstances, employers can directly discriminate against an individual for a reason related to any of the protected characteristics where there is an occupational requirement. The occupational requirement must be crucial to the post and a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

Indirect discrimination is where a provision, criterion or practice is applied that is discriminatory in relation to individuals who have a relevant protected characteristic (although it does not explicitly include pregnancy and maternity, which is covered by direct sex discrimination) such that it would be to the detriment of people who share that protected characteristic compared with people who do not, and it cannot be shown to be a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.
Harassment is where there is unwanted conduct, related to one of the protected characteristics that has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity; or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. It does not matter whether or not this effect was intended by the person responsible for the conduct.
Associative discrimination is where an individual is directly discriminated against or harassed for association with another individual who has a protected characteristic.
Perceptive discrimination is where an individual is directly discriminated against or harassed based on a perception that he/she has a particular protected characteristic when he/she does not, in fact, have that protected characteristic.
Victimisation occurs where an employee is subjected to a detriment, such as being denied a training opportunity or a promotion because he/she made or supported a complaint or raised a grievance under the Equality Act 2010, or because he or she is suspected of doing so. However, an employee is not protected from victimisation if he or she acted maliciously or made or supported an untrue complaint.

Failure to make reasonable adjustments is where a physical feature or a provision, criterion or practice puts a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage compared with someone who does not have that protected characteristic and the employer has failed to make reasonable adjustments to enable the disabled person to overcome the disadvantage.

Rights of Disabled People.

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

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 on the availability of advice and guidance from external agencies 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.

Monitoring

The Company 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 the 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 the 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 and Grievances
Where appropriate equality impact assessments will be carried out on the results of monitoring to ascertain the effect of the Company policies and our services/products may have on those who experience them.
The information collected for monitoring purposes will be treated as confidential and will not be used for any other purpose.
If monitoring shows that the Company, 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, Company policies and practices as well as consideration of taking legal Positive Action.

Disciplinary and Grievances

Employees have a right to pursue a complaint concerning discrimination or victimisation via the Company Grievance or Harassment Procedures.
Discrimination and victimisation will be treated as disciplinary offences and they will be dealt with under the Company Disciplinary and Grievances Procedure.

Associated Documents and References:

Grievance Policy and Procedure – HR/HR Policies and Procedures
Learning and Development Policy and Procedure – Training Policies and Procedures
Whistle Blowing Policy – Operations/Policies and Procedures – Disciplinary Policy and Procedure – HR/HR Policies and Procedures
Recruitment and Selection Policy and Procedure
Complaints and Compliments Policy and Procedure
Bullying and Harassment Policy and Procedure
Maternity Leave Policy and Procedure

Training

A series of regular briefing sessions will be held for staff on equality inclusion and diversity issues. These will be repeated, as necessary.

All staff are trained to follow INDEPENDENCE-DEVELOPMENT LTD policies on equality. inclusion and diversity.

GETTING HELP

If you require any help with any matters relating to this policy and procedure, please speak to your line Manager or Senior Manager.

It is the responsibility of every member of staff to ensure that they are working within this policy and keep up to date with changes in policy that may affect their practice at work.