Equality Diversity & Inclusion Policy & Procedures

Oxford Community Action: Recognises that in society certain groups or individuals are denied equality on the grounds of race, gender, age, marital status, caring responsibilities, disability, gender re-assignment, pregnancy & maternity, social class, sex, sexual orientation and religion/belief or any other factor irrelevant to the purpose in view.

Legal/Statutory Requirements:   

Oxford Community Action welcomes the statutory requirements regarding ‘protected characteristics’ set out in the Equalities Act 2010;

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents
https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/advice-and-guidance/your-rights-under-equality-act-2010
https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/publication-download/equal-pay-statutory-code-practice

Note: the Equalities Act replaced the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Race Relations Act 1976, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and supplements the Equal Pay Act 1970 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1970/41/enacted

Oxford Community Action is committed to meeting the requirements of the Equalities Act 2010 and with such other Acts and statutory requirements furthering equality of opportunity for all as also apply to its activities and service delivery.

And Oxford Community action is also mindful of the Public Sector Equality Duty provisions within the Equalities Act 2010 to;

Eliminate unlawful discrimination

• Advance equality of opportunity between those who share a protected characteristic and those who don’t
• Foster or encourage good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who don’t.

Advancing equality of opportunity

• By striving to remove or reduce disadvantages suffered by people because of a protected characteristic.
• Meet the needs of people with protected characteristics
• Encourage people with protected characteristics to participate in public life and other activities.

The 9 Protected Characteristics covered by the Equalities act 2010 are:

Age, Disability, Gender Re-Assignment, Marriage & Civil Partnership, Pregnancy & Maternity, Race, Religion or Belief, Sex, Sexual Orientation.     

Promoting ‘Positive Action’:

Oxford Community Action recognises that it has moral and social responsibilities that go beyond the provisions of the above-mentioned Acts and Regulations, and that it should support and contribute to the wider process of change through all aspects of its work and practices in order to eliminate discrimination and promote equality, diversity and inclusion. In this regard Oxford Community Action is committed to using the greater scope for ‘positive action’ in the Equality Act 2010 to provide more effective services to all the groups the Act protects.

Oxford Community Action IS COMMITTED to taking positive steps to ensure that:
✓ all people are treated with dignity and respect, valuing the diversity of all;
✓ equality of opportunity and diversity is promoted;
✓ services are accessible, appropriate and delivered fairly to all;
✓ the mix of its employees, volunteers and management committees reflects, as far as possible, the diversity and broad mix of the population of its local community;
✓ traditionally disadvantaged sections of the community are encouraged to participate in policy decisions about, and the management of the services provided.

Policy:
This policy applies to all Oxford Community Action staff, volunteers, management committee members, users and the
general public.

Commitment:

Equality, diversity and inclusion are central to the work of Oxford Community Action. Oxford Community Action will treat all people with dignity and respect, valuing the diversity of all. And Oxford Community Action will strive to ensure that all community members, regardless of gender, age, ability, race, culture, language, sexual orientation, or social and economic status are empowered and engaged in Oxford Community Actions community development processes and are able to access its social and economic benefits.     

Oxford Community Action will promote equality of opportunity and diversity. It will strive to eliminate all forms of discrimination on grounds of race, gender, marital status, caring responsibilities, disability, gender re-assignment, age, social class, sexual orientation, religion/ belief, irrelevant offending background or any other factor irrelevant to the purpose in view.

Oxford Community Action will also strive to tackle social exclusion, inequality, discrimination and disadvantage. For this policy to be successful, it is essential that everyone is committed to and involved in its delivery. Oxford Community Action seeks to promote equality and social justice by working towards a just society free from discrimination, harassment, and prejudice. Oxford Community Action aims to embed the equality, diversity and inclusion guiding principles outlined above in all its policies, procedures, day-to-day practices and external relationships.

Aims:
Oxford Community Action aims to:
✓ Provide services that are accessible according to need;
✓ Promote equality of opportunity and diversity in volunteering, employment and development;
✓ Create effective partnerships with all parts of our community.

Objectives:
Oxford Community Action’s objective is to realise its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion standards by:
✓ Sustaining, regularly evaluating and continually improving its services to ensure equality and diversity principles and best practice are embedded in our performance to meet the needs of individuals and groups;
✓ Working together with the community and collaboratively and in partnership with relevant organisations to provide accessible and relevant service provision that responds to diverse communities and service users’ needs;
✓ Ensuring staff, volunteers and management committees are representative of the community served and that employment policies are fair and robust;
✓ Responding to volunteer’s & employees’ needs and encouraging their development to increase their contribution to effective service delivery;
✓ Recognising and valuing diversity including the differences and individual contribution that all people make to Oxford Community Action.

✓ Challenging discrimination;
✓ Providing fair resource allocation;
✓ Being accountable.

Why have this policy?
Oxford Community Action recognises, respects and values diversity in its employees, volunteers and service users. Oxford Community Action has this policy because it is a community-led and people-led organisation that must always ensure it meets the needs of the community and individuals through fair and appropriate policies, processes and procedures which enable the development of the people who work and volunteer for Oxford Community Action.

PROCEDURES:
Responsibility for Implementation
This policy covers the behaviour of all people employed or volunteering in Oxford Community Action or using the services and sets out the way they can expect to be treated in turn by Oxford Community Action. The overall responsibility for ensuring adherence to and implementation of this policy lies with the Directors, staff, management committee, and volunteers.

Method of Implementation:
Oxford Community Action intends to implement this policy by:
✓ Ensuring that it is a condition of paid employment in Oxford Community Action;
✓ Ensuring that Directors, Management committee, volunteers and users are made aware, understand, agree with, and are willing to implement, this policy. All staff and volunteers will be
given a copy of this policy as part of their induction;
✓ Actively encouraging Directors, staff, management committee and volunteers to participate in anti-discriminatory training, and making time and resources available for such training;
✓ Monitoring the services, publicity and events provided by Oxford Community Action, to ensure that they are accessible to all sections of the population and do not discriminate, and taking active steps to ensure that participation is representative.

Monitoring and Reviewing:
Oxford Community Action has declared its commitment to establishing, developing, implementing and reviewing a policy of equality, diversity and inclusion and equality of opportunity. Effective record keeping and monitoring, Equality Analysis/Equality Impact Assessments and acting on information gathered, are essential in order to measure effectiveness and plan progress. The Oxford Community Action Directors and Management Committee will review the policy annually.