Bushmead Community Centre aims to encourage, value and manage diversity and is committed to providing equality for all. Bushmead Community Centre wishes to secure genuine equality of opportunity in all aspects of its activities.
Bushmead Community Centre is committed to eliminating discrimination and encouraging diversity amongst employees, volunteers and users of its services. Equality and diversity will be considered in all activities and resources. This policy will be implemented within the framework of current legislation.
1. Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to provide equality and fairness for all in Bushmead Community Centre employment, volunteering and service delivery and to eliminate discrimination on grounds of:
Gender (including sex, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, gender re-assignment)
Women and men are fully and properly represented and rewarded for their contribution at all levels of the organisation through:
Employees and volunteers are treated fairly and equally in the workplace irrespective of their marital/civil partnership or family status.
Employees and volunteers who plan to undergo, are undergoing, or have undergone gender re-assignment are protected against all forms of discrimination and harassment. Bushmead Community Centre will take positive steps to support a transgender person and ensure they are treated with dignity and respect.
Race (including ethnic origin, colour, nationality and national origin)
The racial and cultural diversity of the local community is represented at all levels of the organisation through:
Disability
The abilities of disabled people are recognised and valued at all levels of the organisation through:
Sexual orientation
People are treated fairly irrespective of their sexuality through:
Religion or belief
People are treated fairly irrespective of their religious beliefs, faith or lack of belief.
Employees and volunteers are also expected to recognise the individual freedom of belief and right to protection from intolerance and persecution of other individuals and groups.
Demands of religion (e.g. prayer times and religious holidays) and of culture (traditional dress) are accepted.
Age
Age diversity within the organisation is promoted and valued through:
2. Eliminating Discrimination
Discrimination occurs when a condition or requirement is applied which cannot be justified. Forms of direct discrimination include less favourable treatment (denial of access to or a poor level of service), harassment or victimisation.
Harassment occurs when someone's actions or words, based on the relevant grounds, are unwelcome and violate another person’s dignity or create an environment that is intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive.
Bushmead Community Centre will not tolerate harassment in any form and in particular:
Racial harassment is unlawful. Incidents include:
Sexual harassment is unlawful. The definition adopted by Bushmead Community Centre is:
Harassment against disabled people. It is unlawful to subject a disabled person to harassment by engaging in unwanted conduct which has the purpose or effect of violating the disabled person's dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for him/her.
Victimisation means treating someone less favourably because they have made a complaint of discrimination (a "protected act"), or are thought to have done so; or because they have supported someone else who has made a complaint of discrimination.
Indirect discrimination occurs where the effect of provisions, criteria or practices imposed by an employer have an adverse impact disproportionately on one group or other. Indirect discrimination generally occurs when a rule or condition, which is applied equally to everyone, can be met by a considerably smaller proportion of people from a particular group; the rule is to their disadvantage and it cannot be justified on other grounds.
Bushmead Community Centre will seek to overcome indirect discrimination by:
3. Responsibilities
Bushmead Community Centre’s commitment to equality and diversity means that everyone involved with Bushmead Community Centre has a duty to:
Managers and trustees have additional responsibility to:
All employees must be aware that discrimination, abuse or harassment on the grounds of race, gender, disability or sexuality - if proven - is a dismissible offence.
4. Recruitment and employment
Bushmead Community Centre is an equal opportunities employer and wishes to attain a workforce that is representative of the local community to secure the widest pool of talent possible. 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.
5. Volunteering
It is crucial that all volunteers are able to participate and enjoy the activities without discrimination. Bushmead Community Centre believes that volunteers should not be excluded from any opportunity without due reason.
Volunteers will not be discriminated against in the advice and support they are given. Nor will they be denied access to opportunities because of their assumed abilities, skills or behaviour and each volunteer will be judged on his/her own merits. Bushmead Community Centre will actively encourage and support volunteers to participate in the planning and implementation of their work.
6. Monitoring, review and responsibility
The Trustees are responsible for implementing the equal opportunities policy. Any complaint or grievance should be made to the chair of the organisation.
We used to have real problems finding a hall that was bit enough and accessible enough to hire for our yearly events. There are not many places in this area which offer what Bushmead Community centre offers. It’s a friendly place to go as well, well run and the staff are great.