Equal Opportunities and Diversity
(For organisations without employees, or with a separate policy for employees)
(Resource contributed by Richmond Council for Voluntary Service)
This document gives a brief introduction to equal opportunities and diversity including
definitions of these terms, of discrimination, the kinds of factors which can give rise to
discrimination and a list of the key laws that apply.
It sets out a simple model policy covering volunteers, trustees, members and beneficiaries for
organisations to adapt and complete for their own use, along with a short section describing
the kind of procedures organisations might need to put in place to make sure the policy
happens in practice.
Lastly, the document also lists several links to example policies and procedures including
ones which cover staff.
It is important to remember that it is It is the responsibility of each individual organisation to
ensure any policies and procedures adopted are both appropriate for its particular needs and
compliant with all relevant prevailing legal requirements.
What Is Diversity?
Diversity means having a wide range of different people with different life experiences
and perspectives involved throughout your organisation.
Diversity benefits an organisation by broadening the views, experiences and awareness
available to the organisation generally, and to discussions and decision making in particular; it
tends to mean more and different ideas, fuller, more insightful discussions and more robust
decisions.
Diversity means ‘all of us’ not ‘some of them’ - it is not about ‘collecting’ people from different
groups - one black person, one disabled person, one young person etc – that’s tokenism. It is
simply about trying to make sure that the people involved are not all very much the same as
each other.
Diversity is also not about putting individuals forward as representative of a community. To
represent groups of people you have to consult widely with that group.
What Is Equal Opportunities?
Equal opportunities means making sure everyone has a fair and equal chance to
volunteer for your organisation or to access its goods, activities and services.
This is not the same as treating everyone in exactly the same way, or simply saying that
‘anyone is welcome’ – sometimes ‘positive action’ may be needed to give some people the
same chance as others.
Equal opportunities benefits an organisation by making sure that the best people for the job
are able to come and work there.
Equal opportunities also helps make sure that your goods, activities and services are taken up
by all those most in need, regardless of their background or circumstances.
Diversity relates to your organisation as a whole.
Equal Opportunities relates to individuals.
To achieve diversity, your organisation must offer equality of opportunity.
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Equal Opportunities means taking active steps to make sure that one person is not treated
less favourably than another person because of:
 Age
 Disability
 Gender reassignment
 Marriage / civil partnership
 Pregnancy / maternity
 Race, colour, ethnic or national origins
 Religion, creed or belief
 Gender or sex
 Sexual orientation
 Responsibilities for dependants
 Socio-economic background
 Political beliefs
 Offending background
 Employment status
 Any other factor that can give rise to unfair treatment
Unfair, unequal treatment of this kind is called discrimination.
Discrimination can be either direct or indirect.
Direct Discrimination
Direct discrimination occurs when one person is treated less favourably than another on
grounds relating to sex, race, marital status, disability, age, etc.
Indirect Discrimination
Indirect discrimination occurs where a requirement is imposed which can be complied with by
a smaller proportion of persons of a particular sex, race, marital status, disability, age, etc,
than persons in another group and which is not objectively justifiable in the given situation.
Examples include:
 demanding technical qualifications for a job which are not strictly necessary;
 sending only full time employees on training courses.
Objectively Justifiable Requirements
The potential for indirect discrimination does not mean that you cannot specify any
requirements that will exclude some groups of people, only that any such requirements must
be fair.
Objectively justifiable requirements usually mean that fewer or no people from a particular
group can participate. Examples:
 minimum physical capability requirements for firefighters and similar professions
 specifying that only women may apply for a position in a refuge for female victims of
domestic violence or other specific same-sex environments
If you think you have such a situation in your organisation, it is sensible to double check (and
possibly take advice) before setting the restriction.
It can be useful to include some or all of the above definitions as an introduction to
your policy.
Who Is Covered by Equal Opportunities?
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Equal Opportunities should apply throughout all organisations. For many organisations in the
Voluntary and Community sector this will mean:
 Employees
 Volunteers (including trustees)
 Service users/ Beneficiaries/ Members
If you have no employees, you should still have a policy relating to volunteers and service
users. If you do have employees, you may find it best to have a separate policy for volunteers
and service users to avoid confusion between employee and volunteer roles (as different laws
apply).
The policies should also make it clear that the organisation intends to provide equal
opportunities to potential volunteers and beneficiaries as well as current ones.
The basic Equal Opportunities system in your organisation should include:
1. Policies covering volunteers and service users (and employees if you have them), recognising that discrimination exists, voicing your commitment and saying what you want
to happen
2. Procedures for implementing the policies - saying how you will make it happen
Larger organisations sometimes separate out the part of the policy which voices their
commitment and call it a ‘Statement of Intent’. This can be useful if you have separate
policies covering employees and volunteers.
Procedures
All policies (statements of what you want to happen) need procedures (instructions for how to
do things) to implement them in practice.
Although the content of Equal Opportunities policies is often similar from organisation to
organisation and therefore a model policy can be a useful starting point, it is very hard to
suggest sample procedures since every organisation has its own way of doing things.
At the end of this document is a list of questions that will help you identify what procedures
your organisation has in relation to equal opportunities and where you might need to develop
those procedures further.
You may find it useful to have the list of common factors leading to discrimination to hand and
to consider each question briefly in relation to the different aspects of it.
Your procedures don’t have to be complicated, or very detailed, or rigid, but you should have
a sentence or two about how you approach each point.
The Law Underpinning Equal Opportunities
The Equality Act 2010 is the main law that applies. The Act brings together, harmonises and
in some areas extends the equality law that was already in existence. The intention of the Act
is to make the law more consistent, clearer and easier to follow. It replaces previous
legislation such as the Race Relations Act and the Disability Discrimination Act.
The Equality Act 2010 protects people who have a ‘protected characteristic’.
The protected characteristics are:
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disability
gender reassignment
pregnancy and maternity
race – this includes ethnic or national origins, colour and nationality
religion or belief
sex
sexual orientation
NOTE: Employers will find that there are other laws that link to equality of opportunity and fair
treatment, that have not been replaced by the Equality Act, such as:
 Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (1974)
 Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations (2000)
 Fixed Term Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations (2001)
If you are an employer, this document does not fully cover your situation. Refer to the ACAS
link on the following page and PEACe under ‘Links to Example Policies’.
Finding Out More About the Equality Act
The best place to start is the Home Office page on the Equality Act
http://homeoffice.gov.uk/equalities/equality-act/
From here you can find:
 Guidance on the Equality Act (scroll right down to the bottom for the link)
 The full text of the Act
 A list of the legislation replaced by the Act
Under the Guidance, start with:
 Voluntary and Community Sector – Quick Start Guide for Associations
(Actual guide is titled: Equality Act 2010: What Do I Need To Know? A Summary Guide
For Voluntary and Community Sector Service Providers)
Direct link:
www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/equalities/equality-act-publications/equality-actguidance/vcs-service-providers?view=Binary
The same Guidance page offers links to the Equalities and Human Rights Commission
(EHRC) and the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) (at the top of the
page).
EHRC (Equalities and Human Rights Commission)
Follow the ‘Equality Act’ link to the ‘New Equality Act Guidance’ page, select the ‘Guidance’
link and under the ‘Service Providers’ heading, you’ll find the document:
 What Equality Law Means For Your Voluntary and Community Sector Organisation.
Direct link:
www.equalityhumanrights.com/uploaded_files/EqualityAct/service_providers_guide_voluntary
_and_community_sector.pdf
ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service)
ACAS is the best place for employers to find information.
Both the documents on their Equalities page are useful:
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ACAS – Delivering Equality and Diversity
The Equality Act – What’s New for Employers?
Direct link:
www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=3017
Further Links to Example Policies
As well as the template policy on the next page, there are other examples and templates
available including:
NCVO
www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/gge-templates-downloads#policies
NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations) provides a selection of policy templates
online in support of its ‘Good Guide to Employment’ book. This includes an Equality and
Diversity Policy.
PEACe (LVSC)
www.lvsc.org.uk/what-peace-does/document-bank/equality-and-diversity.aspx
PEACe (Personnel, Employment Advice and Conciliation Service), experts in VCS personnel
and HR, offer a guide to developing and implementing an equality and diversity policy for
employers, including an example policy
(pay to download £10 +VAT as at April 2012)
IMPORTANT
Organisations are all different – what is suitable for one may not be suitable for another. It is
therefore important that you think through carefully what you actually need to put in place in
your particular organisation and how it will work in practice.
As with all model policy and procedure documents, the models and examples given here
should only be used as a starting point to develop a tailored version.
It is the responsibility of each individual organisation to ensure any policies and procedures
adopted are both appropriate for its particular needs and compliant with all relevant prevailing
legal requirements.
Equal Opportunities and Diversity Policy of [Organisation Name]
Introduction to Policy
Diversity means having a wide range of different people with different perspectives involved
throughout our organisation.
Equal opportunities means making sure everyone has a fair and equal chance to work for
our organisation or to access our goods, activities and services.
Achieving diversity depends on offering equality of opportunity.
Equal opportunities means making sure that one person is not treated less favourably than
another person because of their:
 Age
 Disability
 Gender reassignment
 Marriage / civil partnership
 Pregnancy / maternity
 Race, colour, ethnic or national origins
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Religion, creed or belief
Gender or sex
Sexual orientation
Responsibilities for dependants
Socio-economic background
Political beliefs
Offending background
Employment status
Any other factor that can give rise to unfair treatment
Unfair, unequal treatment of this kind is called discrimination.
Discrimination can be either direct or indirect.
Direct Discrimination
Direct discrimination occurs when one person is treated less favourably than another on
grounds relating to sex, race, marital status, disability, age, etc.
Indirect Discrimination
Indirect discrimination occurs where a requirement is imposed which can be complied with by
a smaller proportion of persons of a particular sex, race, marital status, disability, age, etc,
than persons in another group and which is not objectively justifiable in the given situation.
[Organisation name] has therefore established the following policy
Policy
[Organisation name] values and encourages diversity, appreciating individual differences and
collective variety and the benefits that these different perspectives and experiences bring.
[Organisation name] recognises that talent and potential are distributed across the population
and that we will do best as an organisation if we are able to attract and retain trustees and
volunteers from the widest possible spectrum.
[Organisation name] values inclusiveness and is committed to the principles of equal
opportunities in all aspects of volunteering (including trusteeship) and provision of activities /
services.
[Organisation name] recognises that some members of the community have been affected by
discrimination and that as a result, they may be denied the opportunity to participate equally
and fully in [e.g. community life, sport, the arts] and/or the opportunity to full and equal access
to [e.g. services, learning opportunities].
[Organisation name] recognises that discrimination can result from a range of factors
including, but not restricted to:
 Age
 Disability
 Gender reassignment
 Marriage / civil partnership
 Pregnancy / maternity
 Race, colour, ethnic or national origins
 Religion, creed or belief
 Gender or sex
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Sexual orientation
Responsibilities for dependants
Socio-economic background
Political beliefs
Offending background
Employment status
It is the intention of [Organisation name] to work to ensure that no current or potential
volunteers, trustees, members or beneficiaries are treated less favourably as a result of
discrimination whether intentional or unintentional, direct or indirect.
[Organisation name] believes everyone has a role to play in ensuring fairness towards
colleagues and towards the community we serve. [Organisation name] therefore seeks to
promote an atmosphere in which all people have regard for one another’s rights and everyone
is treated with respect and dignity.
It is our intention to follow practices which actively work to eliminate discrimination.
[Organisation name] will ensure that these practices comply with all prevailing relevant
legislation, currently the Equalities Act (2010).
[Organisation name] intends to monitor its diversity and the effectiveness of its equal
opportunities activities.
[Organisation name] is committed to regular review of its policies and procedures to ensure
they continue to promote diversity and equality of opportunity.
Overall responsibility for this policy and its implementation lies with [e.g. the board of trustees,
the management committee]
Adopted on:……………………………[date]
Last reviewed:…………………………[date]
Equal Opportunities and Diversity Procedures of [Organisation name]
There are two main ways to use the prompt list of questions below. One is to convert the
answers to the questions into statements e.g.:
"We will always aim to ensure the widest number of people from the local community are
able to find out about our activities. We will do this by advertising in a wide range of local
places and media which between them cover all sectors of our community”.
The other is to use the main part of the question as a heading (which can be helpful when you
come to review the procedures) e.g.:
How will we make sure everyone has opportunity to hear about our services and
activities?
We will advertise our services and activities in a wide range of local places and media
which between them cover all sectors of our community
Advertising Services
 When you are advertising your services and activities, what do you do to try to ensure
everyone has opportunity to find out about them?
 What do you do to try to ensure everyone has opportunity to access them?
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Recruiting Trustees and Volunteers
 When you are seeking new volunteers or trustees, what do you do to try to ensure
everyone has opportunity to find out about the roles?
 When you describe the roles on offer, do you make sure any requirements are genuine?
 What do you do to make sure you select fairly?
 What do you do to try to ensure as many people as possible could become a trustee or
volunteer for your organisation? / What do you do to reduce any barriers?
Existing Trustees and Volunteers
 What do you do to ensure any opportunities (e.g. training) are fairly offered?
 What ongoing support do you offer to trustees and volunteers, especially those from
disadvantaged groups?
Reporting and Correcting Problems
 Who does someone go to if there is a problem?
 What do you do if something is found to be discriminatory?
Monitoring
 What do you do to check whether your organisation is achieving equal opportunities and
diversity in practice?
Keeping up to date
 How often do you check your policy/procedures? Do you need to set a regular interval e.g.
2 years, 3 years?
 How do you keep up to date with any changes in the law or in good practice?
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