Tendring District Council is committed to eliminating unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation, and advancing equality of opportunity for all staff. Our aim is to foster good relations between employees who share a protected characteristic and those who do not, ensuring our workforce and services are inclusive, fair and respectful.
This Policy applies to all employees (regardless of their employment status), workers, agency staff, apprentices, volunteers, contractors and job applicants. Selection for employment, promotion, training or any other progression will be solely based on aptitude, skills and ability. The policy aims to ensure that all individuals, regardless of their characteristics or backgrounds, are treated fairly, with dignity, and are provided with equal opportunities.
The Council is committed to eliminating discrimination, promoting diversity, and ensuring equal opportunities for all employees. Creating a working environment in which individual differences are respected, and the contributions of all employees are valued. Every employee is entitled to work in a setting that promotes dignity and respect, where intimidation, bullying, and harassment are not tolerated.
The Council will make reasonable adjustments to remove or reduce substantial disadvantages faced by disabled people in employment and recruitment. This may include adjustments to policies or practices, physical features, and the provision of auxiliary aids or services. No costs of adjustments will be passed to the individual.
Recruitment and progression will be based on merit. We will use inclusive advertising, accessible selection methods, and diverse panels where practicable. In line with section 60 of the Equality Act 2010, we will not ask about health or disability before making a job offer, except where permitted (e.g. to identify reasonable adjustments for assessment or to establish ability to carry out intrinsic job functions).
The Council will continue to maintain the standards of a Disability Confident Leader by demonstrating strong, outward facing leadership on disability inclusion.
The Equality Act 2010 consolidates previous anti-discrimination laws and sets out nine protected characteristics: age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; and sexual orientation.
• Age – it is unlawful to discriminate against a person because of their age.
• Disability – a person is disabled if they have a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Anyone who meets this criteria is protected by law from disability discrimination.
Departments must make reasonable adjustments for staff to help them overcome any disadvantages resulting from an impairment, e.g. providing them with specialist equipment. It is discriminatory to treat a disabled person less favourably because of something connected to their disability. The employer, however, must be made aware that the employee has a disability.
It is unlawful to ask a job applicant questions regarding their health, prior to offering them employment. Once the appointment has been made, the usual health checks will be carried out by the People team.
• Gender Reassignment – the law provides protection for transsexual people. A transsexual person is someone who proposes to, starts or has completed a process to change his or her gender. There is no requirement for the person to be under medical supervision in order to be protected, e.g. a woman who decides to live as a man but does not undergo any medical procedures would be covered.
• Marriage and Civil Partnership – employees who are married or in a civil partnership are protected against discrimination. Single people are not protected.
• Pregnancy and Maternity – a woman is protected against discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy and maternity during the period of her pregnancy and any statutory maternity leave. An employee’s period of absence due to pregnancy related illness must not be taken into account when making decisions about their employment.
• Race – it is unlawful to discriminate against a person because of their colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins.
• Religion or belief – it is unlawful to discriminate against a person because of their religion or belief. The term religion refers to any religion including a lack of religion, e.g. where someone has no religion at all. The term belief means any religious or philosophical belief or a lack of such a belief.
• Sex – both men and women are protected from discrimination based on their gender.
• Sexual orientation – the law protects bisexual, gay, heterosexual and lesbian people. It is discriminatory to treat transsexual people less favourably for being absent from work because they propose to undergo, are undergoing or have undergone gender reassignment, than if they were absent because they were ill or injured.
In addition, the Council must also comply with the general Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 and the supporting specific duties regulations applicable to England. The Duty requires the Council to ensure when exercising functions including policy, service delivery and decision making, to have due regard to the need to:
a) eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation,
b) advance equality of opportunity; and
c) foster good relations between different groups.
4. Definitions of Prohibited Conduct
Discrimination can occur in many forms, but the key 4 areas are:
• Direct discrimination – this occurs when someone is treated less favourably than another person because of a protected characteristic they have or are thought to have.
• Discrimination by association – this is direct discrimination against someone because they associate with another person who possesses a protected characteristic.
• Perception discrimination – this is direct discrimination against an individual because others think they possess a particular protected characteristic. It applies even if the person does not actually possess that characteristic.
• Indirect discrimination – can occur when there is a condition, rule, policy or practice within the Council that applies to everyone but particularly disadvantages people who share a protected characteristic.
The Council will continue to monitor its workforce and applicants based on their ethnic groups, age, gender and disability. The data gained and monitored is anonymous and allows us to ensure that our workforce represents the local community. Applicants are invited to complete a monitoring section as part of the online application form, which is not used as part of the recruitment and selection process.
The Council will collect, use and publish workforce and applicant diversity data in accordance with data protection law to identify trends, tackle barriers, and inform actions. This includes publishing gender pay gap data annually by the statutory deadline and maintain data online for at least three years.
The Council has a specific duty to:
• Publish relevant, proportionate information annually to demonstrate compliance with the PSED.
• Set and publish equality objectives at least every four years as outlined in the Council’s Equality and Inclusion Strategy.
• Report gender pay gap data annually in line with statutory requirements (including the 31 March snapshot date for public authorities).
This policy will continue to be monitored and updated in order to remain compliant with current changes in legislation. The Council re-affirms its commitment to work towards the elimination of discrimination and achieve equality of opportunity and inclusion in all its working practices.
There is a corporate responsibility to ensure that the Council adopts and promotes a fair and equitable culture across this organisation. This is achieved through:
Management Team, Assistant Directors and Heads of Service:
Provide strategic direction for the organisation. They set objectives, allocate resources, and ensure that all services comply with policies and equality requirements. They are responsible for promoting a culture of fairness, inclusion and accountability across the Council’s operations.
Maintains and reviews workforce policies, offers professional advice on employee cases, and co ordinates organisational monitoring and reporting. They deliver training, support reasonable adjustments in partnership with Occupational Health, and lead staff development through policies and training commitments. They also promote apprenticeship opportunities and work with other local authorities and public sector partners through the Essex Equality Network to share and adopt best practice.
Support fair and inclusive practice by holding regular development conversations with employees, ensuring equal access to training and progression, and applying people processes consistently. They are responsible for completing Equality Impact Assessments where needed, supporting staff wellbeing, enabling reasonable adjustments and challenging unacceptable behaviour within their teams.
All employees and workers are expected to treat colleagues and service users with dignity, respect and professionalism. They must report concerns, complete mandatory training, and take responsibility for their own ongoing learning. Their daily behaviour plays a key role in maintaining an inclusive, welcoming workplace culture.
Help embed inclusion across the organisation by promoting good practice, sharing insight and offering support to teams. They provide challenge where needed, act as points of contact for queries, and help identify barriers and opportunities for improvement.
This policy is fully supported by Unison and will be routinely monitored and reviewed to ensure it remains effective. Any breach of the policy will be treated as misconduct and may lead to disciplinary action.
• ACAS website
Website: www.acas.org.uk
• Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)
Website: www.equalityhumanrights.com
• Direct.Gov
Website: www.direct.gov.uk