Document Title
Equality and Diversity Policy
Approved Date
Oct 2014
Review Date
Oct 2016
Document Type
IGA
ORBIT GROUP POLICY
EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY
Scope
This policy provides the framework for continuous improvement, to meet the Orbit
Group’s commitment to equality and diversity as well as our statutory and moral
obligations.
1.
Introduction
1.3
This Group policy sets out how we will promote Equality and embrace Diversity
across everything that we do, as an organisation which employs people,
provides services and works in partnership with others.
2.
Principles
2.1
We believe in a society that gives everyone an equal chance to live, learn
and work free from discrimination, harassment, victimisation and prejudice; a
society that respects and celebrates our differences making for a stronger more
vibrant community.
2.2
Equality
Equality is fundamental to us in the provision of homes, housing related
services and the creation of communities. We recognise that within Orbit we
have a key role to play in creating an equal society which
‘….protects and promotes equal, real freedom and substantive opportunity to
live in the ways people value and would choose, so that everyone can flourish.
An equal society recognises people’s different needs, situations and goals and
removes the barriers that limit what people can do and can be’.1
We understand that a person’s home directly influences their access to
education and employment; it affects their health and wellbeing and access to
social and economic opportunities within their communities.
2.4
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We are committed to tackling discrimination and disadvantage through positive
action, fairer policies and programmes, services, training and changing how we
use resources.
Taken from the definition of an Equal Society Fairness and Freedom: The Final Report of the
Equalities Review
2.6
Diversity
People from different backgrounds and with different experiences bring fresh
ideas and solutions, which can improve what we do and make us more
efficient. We recognise that the diversity of our customers and our employees
enables us to:
 develop and improve our services and explore new ideas and business
opportunities
 respond to the changing needs of our customers and partners attracting
new customers
 attract, keep and motivate the best people to work for us
 deliver excellent services to all our customers.
The Legal and regulatory requirements
2.7
We are committed to meeting the duties of the Equality Act 2010 which
effectively replaced / consolidated previous equality legislation (appendix 2)
The Equality Act protects people sharing ‘protected characteristics’ of:Age, disability, gender, gender identity, race, religion/ belief, sexual orientation,
pregnant / on maternity leave, those who are married or in a civil partnership
from discrimination.
We wish to be an organisation which not only meets, but exceeds the
standards set by other bodies in this area. We will ensure that no customer,
resident, service user, stakeholder, employee or job applicant is discriminated
against or receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of their protected
characteristic or their :State of health, appearance, family circumstances (responsibility for
dependents), criminal convictions, HIV status, plus any other ground which
cannot be shown to be justified.
We are committed to tackling social exclusion in its widest sense
2.8
Under the legislation all organisations providing a public service are required to
observe the public sector equality duty which requires organisations to
demonstrate how they will;
 eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct
prohibited within the Act
 advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected
characteristic and those who don’t by
o Removing / minimising disadvantages suffered by people due to their
protected characteristic.
o Taking steps to meet the needs of people from protected groups
where they are different from the needs of other people
o Encouraging people from protected groups to participate in public life
or in activities where their participation is disproportionately low.
 foster good relations between people who share protected characteristics
and those who do not.
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2.9
In addition to the legal requirements as a provider of social housing, Orbit
works in a regulated sector. Our Regulator specifies the requirements on
housing associations through its Standards framework. Under these standards,
all housing associations must:
Customer service, choice and complaints:
 To provide choices, information and communication that is appropriate to
the diverse needs of their tenants in the delivery of all standards.
Involvement and empowerment:
 To develop and implement opportunities for involvement and
empowerment, including by providing support to tenants to build their
capacity to be more effectively involved.
Understanding and responding to the diverse needs of tenants:
 To treat all tenants with fairness and respect to demonstrate that they
understand and respond to the different needs of their tenants, including
in relation to the equality strands and tenants with additional support needs.
In the way they provide services and communicate with tenants.
3.
Our Commitment
3.1
Orbit is committed to developing an organisational culture which
 gives everyone fair and equal chance to be successful in all that they do
 understands and values diversity and the contribution of all people
 treats every individual with dignity and respect
 does not tolerate prejudice, discrimination or harassment
We recognise that a policy in itself is not a solution. Mainstreaming equality
and diversity throughout the Group is key to our success. Equality and diversity
is a key part of our values, vision, policies, strategies, systems, and practices. It
is fundamental to our success in reducing and eliminating any discrimination
within our daily work practices and promoting good relations between our staff
colleagues, customers and partners.
4.
The Policy
As a provider of services and as an employer we will ensure that:
 we keep up to date with legislation and regulatory good practice ;
 we review our policies and practices regularly and when new legislation or
regulatory guidance emerges to ensure that they comply with the law;
 we develop and adopt good practice;
 staff / board members are aware of current legislation and good practice.
As a Service Provider – we will:
 Seek to ensure that we are governed by board members whose
understanding of our customers is key to their board member role;
 Seek to understand who our customers are and provide a range of services
and housing options for people; in the communities in which we work
 Actively seek the views of customers and potential customers, including
minority groups, when planning, reviewing or making significant changes to
our services, ensuring that our services are accessible, relevant and of use
to our customers;
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Provide clear and meaningful information in ways that are accessible and
which meet the diverse needs of our customers;
Investigate promptly any complaint and take immediate action where there
is evidence of direct or indirect discrimination;
Work with community groups and others to contribute to an environment
and community free from harassment and violence.
Monitor and evaluate the services that we provide to ensure they do not
discriminate or exclude individuals or people from different groups
As an Employer – we will:
 Seek to establish a workforce that reflects the local population in which we
work; in all departments and at all levels within our organisation and
consider positive action to redress any imbalances found;
 Assist staff to realise their potential ensuring fair consideration of their
training and career development needs and opportunities;
 Provide a safe, supportive and accessible working environment which
values individuals’ identities and cultures.
 Monitor our employment policies and practices to ensure that they are fair
and demonstrate our commitment to diversity;
 Ensure that staff understand how valuing diversity can improve our ability to
deliver better quality services and so reduce inequality;
 Aim to become an employer of choice; for whom people will want to work,
and who will remain with Orbit because they see us as a good employer.
 Listen to our staff, and develop a culture and environment which
o Enables and supports colleagues to be themselves at work
o Encourages and supports staff involvement in employee networks and
forums.
In working with others - we aim to:
 Promote, share information, experiences and examples of good practice of
equality and diversity through links with other organisations;
 Encourage and support people to be active in community life by celebrating
contributions and respecting the variety of lifestyles and cultures;
 Ensuring that equality and diversity is embedded throughout our
procurement activity.
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Implementation
5.1
Group Board has overall responsibility for this policy and the Chief Executive
and Executive Team for its implementation.
5.2
All employees and Board Members will be trained and provided with guidance
on this policy to ensure that they clearly understand their position in law, and the
implications for them of the Group’s policy.
5.3
In addition we will seek to ensure that our commitment to equality and diversity
and the elements of this policy are implemented fully through
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Our Equality Framework and Business planning
Using equal impact assessments / equality analysis and benchmarking
opportunities (internal and external) to inform and influence policy and
service delivery.
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Monitoring of our key services by equality group / protected characteristic
Self assessments and improvement through diversity health checks.
Seeking external validation of our approach.
Improving knowledge, communication and understanding through our
equality and diversity forum.
Involving customers and partners to shape our future activities.
External and internal benchmarking.
Using our learning and development programmes to deliver consistent
messages relating to this policy.
Participation in Equality and Diversity forums to help improve our
understanding of the issues and to receive and share best practice.
6.
Monitoring and Accountability
6.1
Board members with Orbit staff of the Orbit Group are ultimately responsible for
the policy. Together they will monitor the effectiveness and implementation of
the policy and recommend changes to improve service delivery where
appropriate.
6.2
All members of staff have a responsibility for implementing this policy and using
the principles of equality and diversity in their day to day work.
6.3
All Board members, staff, partners, contractors, consultants, and customers
should ensure that their actions do not contribute to the unfair or discriminatory
treatment of others.
7.
Review
7.1
We will carry out a fundamental review of this policy every two years.
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Appendix One
Definitions
Equality is about
Our definition draws on the definition of the Equalities Review, which was set up to
carry out an investigation into the causes of persistent discrimination and inequality in
British society. In their final report ‘Fairness and Freedom: The final report of the
Equalities Review” is defined as one which;
 protects and promotes equal, real freedom and substantive opportunity to live in
the ways people value and would choose, so that everyone can flourish.
 recognises people’s different needs, situations and goals and removes the barriers
that limit what people can do and can be.
Diversity is about recognising that everyone is different and that we all have a
different contribution to make based on our life experiences, skills and knowledge, and
above all valuing those differences.
Direct Discrimination – is treating one person less favourably than another solely
due to e.g. their age or their race. Such an example of this would be not offering a
person accommodation because they were disabled.
Indirect Discrimination – is creating a condition or requirement which cannot be
justified and which prevents certain people from enjoying the service. For example
requiring all job applicants to have been educated within the UK which would
disadvantage applicants from outside the UK
Harassment – where an individual or group of people are harassed or abused
because of who they are. It can be intentional or unintentional. However, the key issue
is the impact of behaviour on the person receiving it and the feeling of violation of that
person’s dignity or the creation of an intimidating or hostile, degrading, humiliating or
offensive environment for them.
Positive action – where it can be demonstrated that members of particular groups
are under represented for example in the allocation of our homes or employment,
positive action can be used to encourage such people to take advantage of the
opportunities available. In terms of employment an organisation may wish to offer
training for those currently employed to support them in developing their career – Orbit
subscribes to the Housing Diversity Networks mentoring programme which supports
career development for groups which tend to be under represented in housing.
Prejudice - is when someone forms an opinion about something or somebody
without knowing the full facts for example someone has had damage caused to their
car they assume it is one of a group of young men congregated nearby without any
other evidence.
Victimisation - treating someone less favourably than others simply because they
have made ( or someone thinks they have made) an allegation about discrimination or
harassment. For example a witness of a racist incident may be victimised to try to
convince them not to support the victim of the incident.
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