EQUAL

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EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES POLICY

STATEMENT OF INTENT

Bradford Bereavement Support recognises that everyone has a contribution to make to our organisation and a right to equal treatment. We aim to ensure that no job applicant, staff member, volunteer or client, to whom we provide services, wil be discriminated against by us on the grounds of:

·	Race, colour, nationality, ethnicity or national origin

·	Gender, marital status or caring responsibilities

Sexuality

Age

·	Physical or learning disability, mental or physical ill health

·	HIV status

·	Political or religious belief

Class

·	Employment status

·	Unrelated criminal conviction

·	Asylum seeking or refugee status

Or any other reason other than unsuitability for the task in question

We aim to ensure that volunteers and staff working on behalf of BBS are not discriminated against in the course of their work and that where this occurs, BBS will take action to counter this.

We also aim to ensure that clients that use our service are not discriminated against and where this does occur will take action to counter this.

BBS is committed to ensuring that our policies and practices relating to all aspects of management, staffing, service delivery and development are accessible to, and reflect the needs of, groups and individuals within Bradford Metropolitan District. Therefore, we welcome and actively seek the involvement and participation of all the community.

This Statement of Intent will be displayed at all points of service delivery and copies of the full Equal Opportunities Policy are available to any individual upon request.

LEGAL FRAMEWORK

The following legislation is applicable to the work of BBS and to this Policy in particular:

The Equal Pay Act 1970

The Equal Pay Act 1970 makes it unlawful for any individual to be treated less favourably than a person of the opposite sex who works for the same employer. This is in relation to pay and other in terms and conditions of employment, where they are employed in work that has been rated as equivalent under a job evaluation scheme or on work which is of equal value.

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, 1974

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, 1974 exists to protect people from discrimination due to past convictions. A person convicted of a criminal offence can become rehabilitated after a defined period of time following conviction, through a conviction becoming ‘spent’, which allows the person to be treated for most purposes as if the conviction never occurred. Convictions involving custodial sentences of over 30 months cannot become spent. For some professions and areas of employment the law requires disclosure of all convictions including those deemed to be spent.

The Sex Discrimination Act 1975

The Sex Discrimination Act makes it unlawful to discriminate directly or indirectly, on the grounds of sex or marital status against women, men or married persons; in employment, training and related matters, education, provision of goods, facilities and services, and in the disposal and management of premises.

The Race Relations Act 1976

The Race Relations Act 1976 makes it unlawful to discriminate directly or indirectly on the grounds of colour, nationality (including citizenship), ethnic origin or national origin. The Act makes racial discrimination unlawful in employment, training and related matters, education, provision of goods, facilities and services, and in the disposal and management of premises.

The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000

The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 came into force in April 2001 strengthening and extending the scope of the 1976 Race Relations Act. This first major reform of the 1976 Act, which arose in part following the Stephen Lawrence inquiry, has been targeted at the public sector and prohibits racial discrimination by public authorities in all their functions. It places a new, enforceable positive duty on public authorities to eliminate discrimination and to promote racial equality.

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995

The DDA introduced measures aimed at ending discrimination on the grounds of disability. The Act’s provisions include employment, access to goods, services and facilities, and the buying and renting of land or property. The Act is being introduced on a staggered basis, with many of the Act’s provisions now being brought into force. The next stage is in 2004 when service providers will have a statutory obligation to take reasonable steps to remove physical barriers or provide services by other appropriate means.

The Human Rights Act 1998

The Human Rights Act 1998 came into force on 2 October 2000 and is one of the most significant pieces of constitutional legislation enacted in the United Kingdom. The Act allows people to claim their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), in UK courts and tribunals instead of going to the European Court in Strasbourg. The Act requires all public authorities in the UK to act compatibly with the Convention rights and has significant implications for many areas of local government activity.