EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES POLICY
Registered Charity 1147051
July 2017

Sturfit is committed to achieving equal opportunities, respects and values diversity, and is committed to applying equality of opportunity in all its practices and objective/service delivery with regard to ethnic origin, age, gender, religion or belief, sexual orientation, marital status and disability or any other criterion not relevant to the point at issue.

The Sturfit Trustees have overall responsibility for the effective operation of this policy. However, all volunteers, contractors and service users have a duty as part of their involvement with the group/organisation to do everything they can to ensure that the policy works in practice.

The Trustees of Sturfit will bring to the attention of all volunteers the existence of this policy, and will provide such training as is necessary to ensure that the policy is effective and that everyone is aware of it.

Reference to the policy should be included in the contract documents with outside agencies.

Equal Opportunities Policy Implementation

General activities of Sturfit

As a provider of a service to the community, Sturfit accepts responsibility to promote equal opportunities and challenge discrimination wherever it occurs. This document sets out the main consequences of this commitment and the action to be taken in order to achieve equal opportunities.

We will actively monitor all activities to ensure that we are serving the needs of all communities and groups.

It is the responsibility of all staff, volunteers and service users to ensure that no other committee member, volunteer or service user receives less favourable treatment than another on the grounds of age, ethnic origin, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marital status or gender.

We will encourage our committee, volunteers and the staff of any organisation working with us to take positive steps to ensure that the needs of minority communities and disadvantaged people are met.

We will listen carefully to what people tell us they need from Sturfit and do everything in our power and within our resources to ensure their needs are met.

This policy will be reviewed periodically or when new legislation requires it.

Physical access

The Sturfit premises will be reviewed regularly so that access by committee, staff and users with disabilities can be maintained and improved where necessary.

Recruitment and Employment Practices

It is vitally important that Sturfit Trustees/staff understand the full diversity of their clientele.

As far as it lies within our power we will ensure that our recruitment processes are designed to ensure equal access for all.

All Trustee or job vacancies will initially be advertised internally to encourage service users and volunteers to apply.

We will design our Trustee role or job specifications to allow for as wide as possible a range of transferable experience and qualifications to be taken into account.

Application forms will make it clear that life experience as well as formal qualifications and work experience is valid.

The Sturfit work force is never likely to be large enough to reflect the full diversity of our users. However, we will do everything we can to ensure that those we do employ share our belief in the value of everyone and reflect that belief in their work.

Adopted by the Trustees on 12/07/17