EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
STATEMENT OF COMMITMENT
The Parish Council is committed to creating accessible communities in
the Parish of Upton by Chester & District, where all people are valued, can
live in harmony and have access to what they need in order to play an active
and inclusive part in society, free from fear of discrimination.
To that end the Parish Council will work as a provider of services, an
employer and community leader to promote social inclusion, respect for other
and equal opportunities for all.
As an organisation it recognises equality of opportunity and fairness
as core values. It wants everyone in the
organisation to be aware of this and to be skilled and trained to work in
accordance with these values. It expects
employees and elected Members to subscribe to these values and to behave in
accordance with them.
INTRODUCTION TO
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
By ‘equal opportunities’ the Parish Council mean how fairly people are treated and gain access to jobs, opportunities, goods and services.
The law says that Council’s are responsible for ensuring that no unlawful discrimination on grounds of race, gender, marital statusor disability takes place in the provision of services, or against application for jobs, as service providers, employers and leading players in the community. Local Authorities also have a responsibility to ensure equality of opportunity to employees and others contacted to work for the authority.
The Parish Council will not discriminate directly or indirectly by applying conditions or requirements that cannot be justified. It will strive to ensure that no one is disadvantaged by virtue of negative attitude toward age, colour, culture, disability, economic status, ethnic origin, gender, race, martial status, religion or sexual orientation.
The Parish Council will try to treat all people equally and fairly whether they are:
· seeking employment with the Parish Council or already employees of the Parish Council
· users of, or potential uses of the Parish Council’s services
· contracting to supply services of goods to the Council
·
working with the Paris Council in partnership
for the benefit of
The Parish Council also appreciates that, as a public authority for the purpose of the Human Rights Act, it has statutory responsibilities and will act as far as possible and at all times in accordance with the spirit of the Act. It will respect the appropriate fundamental human rights of all employees, customers and members of the public.
Local Authorities must have in place a policy and strategy to ensure equal opportunities in terms of access to, treatment in and outcomes of all their services, regardless of gender, marital status, race or disability.
The Parish Council will:
· ensure that individuals are not discriminated against on the grounds of race, sex, marital status, disability, political opinion, language, birth and status
· ensure that the organisation’s procedures, policies and actions are not unlawfully discriminatory and comply with the Race Relations Act, the Sex Discrimination Act, the Disability Discrimination Act, the Human Rights Act and other relevant legislation
· provide a safe working environment
· promote equal opportunities between men and women and different ethnic groups and disabled persons
Suppliers and Contractors will be expected to:
· Comply with all their statutory obligations under existing law including those required under the Human Rights Act
The Sex Discrimination Act 1975(SDA) and the Race Relations Act 1976(RRA) define three main types of discrimination:
· Direct discrimination occurs when a person is treated less favourably then others on grounds of sex, marital status or race. The Race Relations Act defines ‘racial grounds’ as race, colour or nationality (including citizenship), and ethnic or national origins
· Indirect discrimination occurs when a rule or condition or requirement which applies equally to everyone has a disproportionately adverse effect on people from a particular racial group, or on one sex, or a married person of the same sex, and there is no objective justification for the rule.
·
Victimisation occurs when a person is
discriminated against for taking action under the Race Relations Act or the Sec
Discrimination Act, or for supporting such action by another