EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY POLICY

Transcription

1 EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY POLICY Refreshed January 2011 Page 1 of 14

2 Wolverhampton Homes Equality and Diversity Policy Foreword Welcome to our Equality and Diversity Policy for Wolverhampton Homes We hope you find it to be of value and a useful document. We are proud to be operating in an area with rich cultural diversity. This policy therefore sets out our strong commitment to promoting and practising equality, embracing diversity across all of our activities and dealing with any form of discrimination or hasarrassment. It also sets out mechanisms for implementing, monitoring and co-ordinating progress towards the achievements of our equality objectives and priorities. We recognise that different people and communities may have different needs and this may sometimes mean providing a range of different services to meet these varying needs. The one-size-fits-all approach to the provision of public services doesn t work for diverse communities with diverse needs. We will tailor our services in order to meet individual needs. This policy has been put together through the collective efforts of Wolverhampton Homes customers, employees and key partners in the community. We thank them for their contribution. Leslie Roberts Chief Executive Sue Roberts Chair Page 2 of 14

3 1.0 Introduction Wolverhampton Homes is legally obliged as an employer and provider of housing services to promote and deliver equality of opportunity for all. Wolverhampton Homes will ensure that in the delivery of services and employment, we do not discriminate, unlawfully, directly or indirectly as set out within the Equality Act We will also take into account the duty to advance equality as set out within the Act. This policy therefore is underpinned by relevant laws, regulations, statutory codes of practice and guidance from the statutory agencies such as the Commission for Equality and Human Rights and the Audit Commission. Please refer to Appendices A for details. The Single Equalities Act outlaws discrimination against nine protected characteristics and Wolverhampton Homes will at all times ensure that its policies are in keeping with legislative requirements. To this end, Wolverhampton Homes will not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment on the grounds of people s age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, race, gender, and or sexual orientation.(note; its is recognised that discrimination and harassment can take different forms please refer to Appendice B for details- terminology ) In addition to this statutory duty, Wolverhampton Homes also acknowledges both the moral and business case for promoting diversity and equality and therefore committed to an organisational culture which recognises the values and needs of all individuals. What Do We Mean By Equality - Common misconception about equalities is that it involves treating everyone the same. We have tended to see this as being fair to everyone. What begins as an attempt to ensure everyone receives the same treatment can end up with a failure to meet individual needs. In some cases it could actually cause harm. Equality of opportunity goes beyond the idea of treating everyone the same. It takes on board the fact that individuals have the right to equal access to opportunities that arise and it recognises that we have different starting points and identifies that we need to understand and value differences. What Is meant By Diversity - Diversity is about respecting and understanding difference, about valuing the creativity and fresh thinking that it can bring to our business and about fairness in how we accept difference and how we develop and use the added value it brings. This policy s aimed at ensuring we are all treated in a fair, reasonable and appropriate way. Page 3 of 14

4 2.0 Our Values and Vision for Achieving Equality and Valuing Diversity 2.1 Our Values We believe in putting the customer first, working together, being progressive and inspirational and embracing learning. Our values also include being approachable and caring and ensuring that everyone s views are heard. We will operate with professionalism, integrity and openness and believe that everyone should be treated with dignity, respect and fairness. We are committed to ensuring that all our policies, procedures and practices provide appropriate treatment in the allocation of housing, provision of services and employment of staff and service providers. 2.2 Our Vision As a large employer in the City, we will work towards employing a workforce which is representative of the communities we serve in order to be equipped to meet the diverse needs of local people. As a provider of housing and related services we will deliver excellent services which are accessible and responsive to meet individual needs rather than one size fits all. This means treating everyone fairly not treating everyone the same. As a major purchaser of goods and services, we will ensure that the money we spend is used to support and encourage equality of opportunity and good community relations. As a community leader we will champion equality of opportunity and challenge all forms of discrimination. This policy has therefore been introduced as a means of demonstrating our commitment to providing our services and employment opportunities fairly to all sections of the communities Page 4 of 14

5 3.0 Our Equality and Diversity Policy Statement Wolverhampton Homes is committed to genuine equality of opportunity and valuing diversity in its role as a community leader in service delivery, employment and as a procurer of services. At Wolverhampton Homes, we believe that everyone has the right to be treated equally, with respect for their cultures and values and to feel safe and secure in their own home and neighbourhood. We will not tolerate any form of discrimination and therefore committed to the elimination of all forms of discrimination in all our policies, procedures and practices.we will make sure that no person or group applying for housing services or employment will be treated less favourably than any other person or group because of their individual characteristics. These characteristics include but are not limited to, disability, ethnicity, race, colour, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, gender reassignment and marital status. All employees and our partners acting on behalf of the organisation will be expected to comply with legislation and behave towards others in a way that is in keeping with the Equality and Diversity policy. In order to ensure our policy statement becomes a reality, we will ensure that: We implement corporate equality policies and strategies effectively. We identify and work towards the organisations equality objectives. We enhance and promote high quality services which are responsive to different communities and individual needs. We continue to review our services in terms of their accessibility, availability and appropriateness and further monitor the take up of all services. We develop stronger internal and external communications on equality issues and ensure that people s views are listened to and responded to. We provide all employees with the relevant training and development they need in order to better understand how valuing diversity can improve our ability to deliver better services and so reduce disadvantage. We work towards a workforce that is representative of the community we serve aiming to build a workforce and Board which reflects the diverse communities in which we work in. We consult and involve our customers and the wider community in the development, audit and scrutiny of our policies and services. Page 5 of 14

6 4.0 Scope of the Policy Equality and Diversity is central to our corporate visions and values. The main objective of this policy therefore is to ensure that we become and remain a more inclusive organisation, by promoting fairness and implementing best practice. 4.1 Key Objective Corporate Commitment and Continuous Improvement We will demonstrate corporate commitment and continuous improvement by: Publishing a summary of this policy and making it available to Board members, staff, contractors and customers. Taking account of equality and diversity impact on service improvements and developments. Providing training and guidance to all staff, board members, active tenants and contractors to ensure that they clearly understand their position in law and personal responsibilities. Encouraging recognised tenants groups to adopt our ethos and work in the spirit of our values. Regularly analysing and reporting performance against targets to the board and tenants. Carrying out an annual programme of Equality Impact Assessments for all new or revised policies/services and functions. This will help filter out any potential discrimination and help to prevent institutional discrimination. Encouraging our partners and contractors to follow best practice in race and equal opportunities in all of their activities. Working towards achieving level three of the equalities framework for local government 4.2 Key Objective - Provision of Services to Wolverhampton Homes Customers Wolverhampton Homes will promote equality of opportunity and welcome diversity in all aspects of its activities as a social landlord, including: Allocations and Lettings Provision of housing services Provision of information and advice Dealing with anti-social behaviour and harassment Resident involvement and community development Page 6 of 14

7 Customer Profiling Wolverhampton Homes will ensure that research is carried out to help the company understand the scale and characteristics of different groups and if necessary in collaboration with the council. We will: Carry out a census every three years, inviting tenants to check and validate the information we hold on them in order to ensure that we continue to tailor services to meet individual needs. Tenant Involvement We believe that customer involvement and consultation are at the centre of delivering decent homes and services. We will ensure that we engage in meaningful consultation with the local community about the design and delivery of our services. We will ensure that a wide range of consultation and involvement methods are used in order to reach different groups and to encourage participation in local decision making. In particular, we will ensure that we fulfil our duties under the New Single Equalities Act 2010 by developing effective consultation mechanisms to find out if our proposed policies are likely to have any adverse impact on equality and diversity. We will: Promote and encourage the involvement of all communities in decision-making and developing services through our tenant involvement structures. Provide a set of services standards which summarise our commitments to customers and make these available through our tenants and leaseholders handbook, our shops and website. Provide an annual report on how we have met these commitments by 1 st October every year. Access to Homes and Services We will work towards ensuring that our services are accessible to the communities we serve. We will recognise people s cultural and language needs and services will be provided which are appropriate to those needs. We will make reasonable adjustments to ensure services are accessible to every one who needs them and seek alternative methods of service delivery for disabled people where barriers may exist. Page 7 of 14

8 We will: Provide services in a sensitive way and take into account the diverse needs of our customers and in particular groups that are become vulnerable. Provide clear, accurate and accessible information about services including interpretation and translation services in order to remove any communication barriers. Set targets and measure performance on lettings to diverse groups. Ensure reasonable adjustments are made in the provision of services for disabled people. Provide documents in alternative formats on request Customer Satisfaction Our aim is to ensure that all customers are equally satisfied with our services. Key services will be monitored on a quarterly basis by a range of demographic data held. Analysis will include, (a) Satisfaction with services and (b) Accessibility of information and services We will: Regularly monitor our services, including paying attention to disadvantaged groups in order to identify with any unfair and/or discriminatory practice or outcomes. Undertake regular satisfaction surveys. Results will be analysed to identify differences in responses from different groups. Encourage survey responses from all groups and in particular identify ways in which to gather views from disadvantaged groups. Anti Social Behaviour We believe that no one in society should live in fear of harassment or victimisation. We are fully committed to ensuring that effective action is taken against perpetrators of anti social behaviour so that tenants and leaseholders are able to live in a safe and secure environment. Our tenant agreement requires customers and members of their household including visitors, not to harass, intimidate or create a nuisance, we encourage customers to inform us of any such breaches so that we can investigate them. We will ensure that: Action is taken to eliminate all forms of harassment Victim centred approach is taken when investigating cases Page 8 of 14

9 Steps are taken to encourage vulnerable groups to report possible incidents Appropriate mechanisms are in place for reporting and recording incidents of racial harassment, homophobic harassment, disability harassment and domestic violence. Action is taken against the perpetrators Relevant training is provided to staff to deal with all forms of hate crime. 4.3 Key Objective - Equal Opportunities in the Procurement of goods, works and Services Wolverhampton Homes will ensure that the way in which we procure our services and supplies do not discriminate, unlawfully, directly or indirectly as set out within the Equality Act We will also take into account the duty to advance equality as set out within the Act. Wolverhampton Homes will only work with contractors who can demonstrate that they comply with acceptable equality and diversity standards. Our procurement policy and supporting procedures make clear reference to equality and diversity and how this will be taken into account throughout the procurement process. We will: Incorporate equality and diversity considerations into all stages of the procurement process and this to include; Pre-contract considerations initial assessment of potential contractor to ensure they meet the organisations minimum E&D requirements. This is done through our pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ), Drawing up contract specifications - and inviting tenders we will clearly set out specific equality and diversity requirements in all contract specifications where deemed relevant and include the need for compliance with equality law as mandatory. Selecting a contractor, we will carefully consider and seek evidence from contractors that demonstrates that they are the best equipped organisation to fulfil the contract being let. Contract conditions we will set out specific equality and diversity requirements of the appointed contractor in the final contract, for example, if direct contact with tenants - suitable code of behaviour to be in place, appropriate level of E&D Page 9 of 14

10 training or toolbox talks to be delivered and possible sharing of customer profiling information required. Monitoring performance once the contract has been let- we will put in place suitable monitoring mechanism as agreed with the contractor. The monitoring mechanisms will be integrated into the ongoing performance management of the contract and ongoing performance in relation to E&D will be measured against targets set. Wolverhampton Homes will follow the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) guide for Race Equality and Procurement in Local Government in all of its procurement practices. All contractors and suppliers on Wolverhampton Homes approved list will have met the Common Standard for Equalities in Public Procurement set by the West Midlands Forum. 4.4 Key Objective - Equal Opportunities In Employment Equality of opportunity for all sections of the workforce is an integral part of Wolverhampton Homes' approach to Equality and Diversity. Wolverhampton Homes will not tolerate less favourable treatment on grounds of: Race Gender Transgender/Gender re-assignment Disability Sexual Orientation Age Faith/Religion/Belief Marriage and Civil Partnership Pregnancy and Maternity Or any other reason which cannot be shown to be justified. We are committed to developing an organisational culture which values people from all sections of society and the contribution which each individual can make. We are committed to achieving the highest standard of service delivery in employment practice. Equality of Opportunity for all prospective employees and the established workforce is an integral part of this commitment. We are committed to having a workplace that is free from discrimination, bullying, harassment and victimisation. We aim to create a workforce that is a diverse as the community we serve by regularly challenging and reviewing our own practices and Page 10 of 14

11 will ensure all our employment policies and procedures meet any reasonable and appropriate additional needs they prospective and current employees have. Full details about our approach the Equality in Employment is contained in the Equal Opportunities in Employment document which is section G29 of our Personnel Manual. (WHCD130) 4.5 Key Objective Our role as a community leader to help promote equality of opportunity and work towards building cohesive communities. Wolverhampton Homes recognises that it has the opportunity to use its role as a community leader to help to promote equality of opportunity. Our role as a community leader also means that we will play a key role in building community cohesion. We are committed to using our role as a community leader to challenge racism and all forms of discrimination wherever they occur. We will do this in partnership with other agencies, influencing where appropriate and providing support to organisations aimed to combat discrimination. Exclusion and discrimination may be faced for many different reasons and we recognise the importance of fair treatment and believe that everyone should have equal access to services and the opportunity to participate to community life and are committed to building strong and cohesive communities in Wolverhampton in which all tenants and residents feel valued and safe. Our role is to provide community leadership in the development of an inclusive society where no-one is marginalised. We will work with our partners and beyond to ensure that we understand our community profile and promote and co-ordinate work on community cohesion effectively. We recognise, welcome and embrace our community leadership role in relation to the responsibilities for promoting cohesion We want Wolverhampton to be a city where: Fair access to services - We will ensure fair service delivery Feeling safe within our neighbourhoods - We will work closely within the Wolverhampton Partnership in order to reduce the fear of crime. Page 11 of 14

12 We will empower our communities to respond effectively to actions that threaten our right to live in peace with each other Creating opportunities to build respect together - We will enable our communities to get to know the borough and each other better. Through cultural events and social activities we will support and encourage a cohesive community proud of its diversity Strengthening ties within our communities - We will build and nurture a sense of togetherness. We will be honest with our community about the challenges we face and ensure that perceptions are based on facts. We will challenge myths that seek to undermine the spirit of togetherness. 5.0 Implementing the Policy and Key Responsibilities Everyone within the organisation, including the Board, its employees and its partners, has responsibilities for complying with the Equality and Diversity Policy and for ensuring that the standards of behaviour required by the organisation are achieved. The success of this policy in bringing about change requires the active commitment of everyone involved in running or working for the organisation. Board members and staff at all levels of the organisation have responsibility for making this policy a reality. Key responsibilities vary according to their different roles: Board members have responsibility for taking forward the vision that underpins this policy and ensuring adequate resources are available to implement this policy. Board member equalities champion appointed by the Board acts as a focal point for equality and diversity issues and is responsible for championing this agenda, liaising as necessary with the Head of Community Partnerships. The Chief Executive provides leadership, commitment and strategic direction in relation to this policy. The Director of Performance & Customer Services has overall responsibility for the effective implementation of the organisation s equality and diversity policy across the organisation. Service Directors are responsible for challenging inappropriate behaviour by their employees, implementing this strategy through annual and long term action plans. They are also responsible for ensuring that this policy is consistently implemented and Page 12 of 14

13 maintained in their own service areas. They have responsibility for ensuring that their service reflects the different needs of all service users and potential users and can be accessed by them. The Head of Community Partnerships, responsible to the Director of Performance & Customer Services has responsibility for effective delivery of the organisation s equality and diversity policy and associated strategy, to ensure that the organisation drives through change and enables the organisation to comply with and go beyond its statutory responsibilities. All senior staff must ensure that they understand how the services they manage can contribute to the promotion of equality of opportunity, a diverse workforce through fair employment practices and the delivery of services in ways which meet the diverse needs of local people. They are also responsible for ensuring that the staff they manage are made aware of and behave in accordance with this policy. All employees are responsible for behaving in a positive and nondiscriminatory manner towards service users and colleagues by: Treating colleagues and service users with respect Challenging inappropriate and discriminatory behaviours in others. 6.0 Governance The promotion of equality and diversity is a central part of Wolverhampton Homes governance arrangements. Current and future members of the Board will receive appropriate advice, guidance and training to enable them to help deliver the organisations equality objectives. Wolverhampton Homes aspires to a governing body that broadly reflects the profile of the communities in which it operates and the composition of the people it delivers services to. It will ensure that the recruitment and selection of the governing body members is fair and non-discriminatory. Strategies will be put in place where necessary to address any imbalances in the Board. Page 13 of 14

14 7.0 Setting targets, monitoring and evaluating. To assess the success of the equality and diversity policy, monitoring systems are essential. We will identify key performance indicators, set targets and analyse performance. Board members will regularly monitor the effectiveness of practice against this policy. Six monthly reports will be presented to Business Improvement Committee and the Equality and Diversity Steering group on the actions achieved against the single equalities and cohesion plan and a further six monthly equalities monitoring report will be presented, including an analysis of performance broken down by equalities data and targets achieved against performance indicators. 8.0 Policy Review The Chief Executive has the responsibility for ensuring that this policy is reviewed and presented to Board at least every three years. Page 14 of 14