Statement of Service
Your Equal Opportunities Policy
Suggested structure for your equal opportunities policy.
The Statement
A Policy Statement sets out your organisation�s policy on equal opportunities and commits it to certain standards and practices in key areas.
These areas will vary from organization to organization and/or project to project, but in addition to primary areas such as employment, might include delivery of services, training of volunteers and recruitment of members.
There is no set format and structure for Policy Statements and, dependent on your organisation�s activities it may be possible to have one statement for the whole organisation, or alternatively, activities might be such that separate statements for areas of work are preferred.
Experience has shown that many organisations view the Policy Statement as the organisation�s complete Equal Opportunities Policy. The Policy Statement is only the declaration of the intent and requires complementing with Codes of Practice or Guidelines on the implementation of the Statement.
Codes of Practice and Guidelines
The Policy Statement sets out what must be done � the Codes of Practice Guidelines set out how it will be done.
As with the Policy Statement, it may be necessary to have several Codes of Practice or Guidelines covering key areas of work.
A Code of Practice sets out in detail the actions which are required in respect of a particular task and is usually compulsory.
Guidelines are normally discretionary and advise on matters/actions to be taken into account in a particular situation.
The Codes of Practice, or Guidelines, provide detailed working guidance on what should be undertaken in particular situations and particular areas of work.
June 8, 2007
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