University Secretariat Work-related Learning and Equal Opportunities Guidance Note Relationship with Learning from Work Policy Statement 1 The University s commitment to making learning from work available to students, and its approach to it, is outlined in the document, Learning from Work Policy Statement approved by the Academic Board in June 2001. Under paragraph 9 of the key principles there are three bullet points which are relevant to equal opportunities: Students and work place supervisors should be prepared for the activities and supported through them. Such support should be appropriate for the students, work place supervisors and organisations involved Responsibilities of those involved should be clearly specified (e.g. of the student, academic staff, workplace supervisor or equivalent) Statutory requirements (e.g. Health and Safety and Equal Opportunities legislation) should be allowed for and met. 2 In this policy, responsibility for putting the principles into practice is delegated to: Course teams for the implementation of this policy, monitored and supported by Faculty quality and standards management procedures University Standing Panels to consider and confirm appropriate implementation of this policy with respect to the University s awards, when considering proposals at validation. 3 The purpose of this guidance note is to assist course teams and panels in undertaking these responsibilities to take due account of equal opportunities issues. University responsibilities and types of work-related learning 4 In the Learning from Work Policy Statement, work is defined as, a structured activity which has a clear purpose and involves effort/ exertion/ toil. It can encompass paid employment, voluntary work or domestic/ family work. This is a broad definition and there is a wide variety of work-related learning activities in the University such as placements, professional practice, reflection on voluntary and part-time work, consultancy projects and work shadowing. They are also of different durations, some are compulsory and some voluntary, and some opportunities are found by the University and others by students. 5 The University s responsibilities to students regarding equal opportunities are different for different types of work-related activities. The University s responsibilities can be summarised as follows: i) Making students aware of equal opportunities issues relating to work, the problems that may arise and the legislation which is designed to address them
ii) Taking reasonable steps to ensure that students have equal access to suitable workrelated learning opportunities iii) Taking reasonable steps to ensure that students will not be discriminated against or harassed in a work environment and that they will be supported appropriately by the University if they experience discrimination or harassment. 6 The first responsibility is an educational one and is relevant to some extent to all the activities defined as work-related. The extent to which it is relevant and the way in which it should be addressed is for the course teams and panels involved to consider. The other responsibilities are statutory and contractual. They are not relevant for all work-related learning activities. The University has these responsibilities where it organises, or requires in advance to be organised by the student, an activity within another organisation. It does not have these responsibilities where the learning is related to existing arrangements such as, for example, reflection on current or past part-time work. Another consideration is the length and nature of the involvement. The University s duty of care is of a different order for a student on a one year full-time placement than for a student undertaking three days of work shadowing. 7 Employers have statutory duties relating to equal opportunities. However, it is insufficient for the University to assume that employers will meet their responsibilities. There is a responsibility to make sure that employers are aware of our expectations, to assist them if necessary and to support our students if they encounter difficulties. Furthermore, where the University has policies relating to equal opportunities, these form part of the contract with the student and the University may be in breach of contract unless it takes reasonable steps to ensure that its policies apply to all its activities. 8 The intention is that this guidance will make a difference to the student experience and assist compliance with the University s statutory and contractual responsibilities. It is not intended to be a bureaucratic straightjacket but useful guidance which: allows for variations in types of work-related learning activities; imposes a minimum of additional burdens on relevant administrative and academic staff; allows faculties to make arrangements which fit with their own processes and needs; and, does not make it more difficult to find employers who wish to engage with the University s students. 9 This guidance covers the following areas: course planning and approval relationships with employers orientation of, and support for, students data collection and monitoring internal guidance
external guidance equal opportunities checklist and information Course planning and approval Sheffield Hallam University 10 Where work-related learning is an integral part of the course, the needs of all students should be considered at the course planning and approval stage. This is likely to apply mainly to disabled students. Under disability legislation universities have a responsibility to anticipate the needs of disabled students and make adjustments in advance where these are reasonable. For example in some cases the learning objectives may need to be adjusted and work-based assessment and accreditation processes should also ensure equal opportunity for progression by disabled students. Relationships with employers 11 Some employers are found by students themselves and others by University staff. There are a range of criteria for identifying appropriate employers, one of which could be evidence of a positive attitude to equal opportunities. Two ways in which this could be acquired are: External evidence of commitment such as membership of relevant bodies (Employers Forum on Disability or the IMPACT Supporters Club) or workforce profiles and recruitment practices Feedback from previous students about particular employers, both positive and negative 12 However, it is also important that all students should have access to the type of workplace that meets their learning needs. It should not be assumed that students from minority groups will be better off in public and voluntary bodies with explicit equal opportunities policies when a small commercial organisation is best suited to provide appropriate work. 13 There are various ways in which the University can ascertain the attitude of employers to equal opportunities and make them aware of University policies. They could be asked for copies of their policies, given copies of ours, or asked specific questions either on their own or as part of a more general fact finding exercise. What is appropriate will depend on the employer and the particular work-related learning opportunity. What is important is that equal opportunities issues are raised and the employer is aware that the University takes them seriously. Some examples of what could be done are given in Appendix 1. These are examples and are not prescriptive. 14 For some placements involving disabled students it may be necessary to discuss with an employer what adjustments are required and this advice could include guidance on access to public funds. It may also be helpful in these cases to have a written agreement with the placement provider which outlines the responsibilities of the employer, the University and the student. 15 It may be that the University is able to offer employers some help and encouragement. This could be in the form of briefing notes on good practice and sources of further information and invitations to relevant events within the University. The Careers and Employment Service is planning to produce a good practice guide for employers which could be send out routinely.
Orientation of, and support for, students 16 Students involved in work-related learning should be made aware of equality opportunities issues in the workplace, relevant equality legislation and the business benefits of diversity. This will both inform students who may experience discrimination or harassment of their rights and equip all students with the knowledge needed to operate successfully in the modern workplace. 17 It is good practice for students who have been involved with employers to be used to inform future cohorts about their employment experience. Some thought should be given to ensuring that minority groups who may have particular concerns can raise those concerns with those from a similar background e.g. Muslim students or students with a particular disability. This could be face-to-face or online contact. 18 Another aspect of induction is support for students in terms of being confident, presenting themselves, writing CVs, making contact with employers etc. Clearly this is of benefit to all students but there may be particular groups of students who require specialist assistance such as dyslexic students. Also disabled students might need advice on disclosing a disability if and how to do it. Ensuring equal opportunities does not mean treating every student in the same way. Some students may need more preparation than others. Such students can be referred to the University's IMPACT scheme, run by the Careers and Employment Service, for support and guidance. 19 Where students are going on placements or undertaking professional practice they need to know how they can raise any concerns about the employer with the University. Whoever the student makes contact with in the University should take any concerns about equal opportunities issues seriously and support the student in taking these up with the employer. It is the responsibility of the employer to investigate promptly and take any necessary action as it is only the employer who has jurisdiction over other staff. However, the University may in some cases need to terminate the arrangement if the employer fails to investigate properly or ensure that harassment or discrimination is not repeated. In such cases alternative arrangements will have to be put in place to allow the student to gain appropriate work experience elsewhere. 20 It is important to obtain feedback from students about employers in order to inform the process of identifying appropriate providers and the induction of further students. Data collection and monitoring 21 It is important that all students are given the opportunity to benefit from appropriate workrelated learning. What monitoring is appropriate will depend on the activity. The purpose of monitoring should be to be to identify any significant differences between groups of students regarding access to opportunities, satisfaction and achievement and then investigate whether or not there is any action the University should take to reduce the differences. Internal guidance 22 For guidance on legislation or University policies: Geoff Smith, University Secretariat, Ext 3854 For support on disability issues: Disabled Student Support Team in the Student Services Centre. See http://www.shu.ac.uk/services/sls/support/disability/
For information on employers: Careers and Employment Team in the Student Services Centre. See http://www.shu.ac.uk/employability/careers/ For information on learning from work issues: Learning from Work Forum: Dave Cotton, Student Services and Sue Drew, LTI. CETL: Embedding, Enhancing and Integrating Employability Paul Helm, LTI https://staff.shu.ac.uk/lc/lti/cetls.asp External guidance 23 There is a useful publication, Providing Work Placements for Disabled Students a good practice guide for further and higher education institutions published by the DFES. http://www.lifelonglearning.co.uk/placements/placeme1.pdf 24 Another source of information on disability : toolkits for success: managing off-campus learning for students with disabilities, University of Manchester Careers Service http://www.disabilitytoolkits.ac.uk/ 25 There are a number of sources of information and guidance about employment and equality in general such as the diversity section of the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS) Website http://www.agcas.org.uk/index.htm,the equality and diversity section of the ACAS Website http://www.acas.co.uk/index.html and the website of the Equality Challenge Unit http://www.ecu.ac.uk/ 26. National centre for Work Experience produces a range of useful publications at http://www.workexperience.org/cms/showpage/home_page/students/resource_centre/fa Qs/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/NCWE_awards/Sharing_best_practice/cms/ShowPage/Ho me_page /Practitioners/Resource_centre/p!edcabbX
Appendix 1 Equal Opportunities Information Sheffield Hallam University has a duty to take reasonable steps to ensure that students undertaking work-related learning in other organisations do not experience unlawful discrimination or harassment on the grounds of sex, race/ethnicity/nationality, disability, religious belief or sexual orientation. This duty derives from our statutory responsibilities under equal opportunities legislation and from our responsibilities to students detailed in our equal opportunities and diversity policies. For Information we have provided a copy of the University s Diversity and Equality statement. If you are interested in other University diversity and equality policies and statements please access the following web site http://www.shu.ac.uk/university/diversity/ For copies of relevant legislation please access the following website http://www.ecu.ac.uk/links/legislation.htm Please provide the University with a copy of your organisation s policies which relate to equal opportunities. In addition, or alternatively, one or more of the following questions could be asked 1. Do you have a written equal opportunities or diversity policy or policies relating to specific issues such as disability? If yes, please give details. 2. Do you provide equal opportunities training or development for your staff? If yes, please give details. 3. What processes do you have in place to enable staff to raise concerns about harassment or discrimination? 4. How do you ensure that your staff act in accordance with equal opportunities legislation? 5. In the last three years, has any finding of unlawful discrimination been made against your organisation in any court or tribunal? If yes, please give details and outline what steps you have taken as a result of the finding. The above statements are true to the best of my knowledge and belief. Name: Signature: Position in organisation Date: Thank you for completing the questionnaire.