Statement of Service
Equal Opportunities Practice
The following is a suggested plan, which enables employers to put Equal Opportunities into practice in a structured way. This is not a comprehensive guide and should not be taken as an authoritative statement.
Assess the current situation and develop an equal opportunities policy including an action plan with achievable targets.
1) Staff Training and Awareness
- Communicate the policy to all existing and new employees, through notices, notice boards, circulars or written notification to employees.
- Provide equal opportunities training to all relevant members of staff, for example:
- Personnel
- Those involved in recruitment and selection
- Line Managers, responsible for appraisal and the day-to-day needs of employees.
- Those involved in training and induction.
- Front line staff, such as receptionists, telephone operators etc.
2) Working Conditions and Working Environment.
- Consider flexible working, career breaks, child care facilities to help women in particular to meet domestic responsibilities and pursue occupations.
- Make reasonable adjustments to equipment, premises, and conditions of employment to remove any unnecessary barriers they pose to employees with disabilities.
3) Recruitment and Selection
- Encourage applications from all areas of the community by advertising as widely as possible, including minority press and media.
- Make it possible for all people to apply providing alternative formats to application forms.
- Include an equal opportunities statement on application forms and job advertisements.
- Make sure not to include discriminatory language in job advertisements by drawing up clear, justifiable job criteria that is job related.
- Job descriptions and employee specifications should be reviewed to ensure that the job criteria are essential to doing the job and do not discriminate.
- Keep records of reasons for the selection and non-selection of applicants.
- Make sure those involved in selection have received training in equal opportunities.
4) Career Development
Make sure that all employees are given the same opportunities for development and promotion.
5) Training
- All employees should be given the same chances for training.
- Specific training can be provided for underrepresented groups, e.g. women only management training and mentoring schemes for people from ethnic minorities.
- Make sure that people with disabilities receive the same chances for training by making any necessary adjustments to equipment, manuals etc.
- Staff involved in providing training should be aware of equal opportunities.
6) Retention
- Every effort should be made to accommodate for employees who become disabled or who disability becomes worse.
- Consider alternative ways of working to encourage women to return to work after childbirth.
7) The Wider Community
- Recognise issues concerning sex, race, disability, age, religion and sexual orientation in your customers, shareholders and suppliers.
- Develop links with community groups, organisations and schools to access a wider pool for potential recruitment.
8) Monitoring
- Keep records of employees and job applicants race, gender, disability and age in order to review the effectiveness of your policy.
- Keep this information confidential and restricted in use. Employees may access their own records for correction/checking if necessary.
- Regularly review your progress against your starting position to identify areas of success and shortfalls. Take action to against your shortfalls.
June 8, 2007
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