Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy

2.1    The purpose of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy is to set out our commitment to an inclusive and supportive environment for our employees, customers, partners and contractors that is free from discrimination. This enables all to participate and where everyone has the opportunity to fulfil their potential.

2.2    Estuary is committed to embedding diversity and inclusion in all our business functions. Defining Diversity and Inclusion means.

• Equality is about ensuring that every individual has an equal opportunity to make the most of their lives and talents and believing that no one should have poorer life chances because of where, when or whom they were born, or because of other characteristics. Promoting equality is about behaving in a way that tackles inequalities, aiming to ensure that all staff and service users are treated fairly, and do not experience discrimination.
• Promoting diversity is about recognising that everyone is different and creating a working environment that values each customer and employee ensuring that services are delivered that suit all sections of the community. We are made stronger by having a diversity of experiences among our people and customers.
• Inclusion is about positively striving to meet the needs of different people and taking deliberate action to create environments where everyone feels respected and able to achieve their full potential. We adapt our services so that no one is excluded or ignored.

2.3    The Policy promotes positive attitudes towards inclusivity and valuing diversity. It seeks to ensure that all who are subject to our policies, practices and procedures are treated fairly and not less favourably on the grounds of any of the protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex and sexual orientation.

2.4    Equally, the Policy sets out our expectation, where each of us has a responsibility to adhere to and uphold the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion.

2.5    Our commitment to an inclusive and diverse community is embraced by our Board and informs all our activities and their impact on our customers, employees and stakeholders.

3.1    The Board and Executive Team are responsible for:

• leading and supporting the organisation in creating an inspirational inclusive and diverse environment and ensuring Estuary meets its legal, statutory and regulatory obligations relating to equality.
• ensuring an effective policy and service provision infrastructure is in place to support Estuary in meeting both its legal responsibilities and fulfilling its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion vision.
• ensuring that equality analysis is carried out on all policies, proposed policies and decisions where appropriate.

3.2    Assistant Directors and Heads of Service are responsible for:

• fostering a culture in which equality, diversity and inclusion considerations are embedded into their work areas.
• ensuring that customers are enabled to access excellent service that is consistently high quality and free from discrimination.
• encouraging and enabling staff to reach their full potential by identifying appropriate development to meet their needs.
• ensuring procedures relating to staff recruitment, selection, performance management, career development grievance and discipline are carried out in accordance with the statutory duties to promote equality, eliminate discrimination and in the spirit of this policy.

3.3    People and OD is responsible for:

• providing advice, guidance and support on this strategy.
• supporting managers in ensuring that procedures relating to staff recruitment, selection, career development, performance management, discipline and grievance are carried out in accordance with the statutory duties to promote equality and eliminate discrimination and in the spirit of this strategy.
• advising colleagues in addressing equalities-related employment issues.

3.4    All Employees are responsible for:

• upholding the principles of this strategy and actively promoting equality of opportunity, diversity and inclusion in the workplace and with customers.
• contributing to a safe and inclusive environment that celebrates diversity.

4.1    We aim to:

• Prevent discrimination, eliminate prejudice, promote inclusion and celebrate diversity.
• Be fair in our dealings with all people – board members, staff, customers, volunteers and partners – with whom we have relationships taking into account the diverse nature of their culture and backgrounds.
• Ensure equality, diversity and inclusion is embedded in everything we do.

5.1    Our policy applies to everyone who receives a service from us, forms part of our governance, is employed by us or volunteers their services. We will also seek to ensure that anyone who works on our behalf demonstrates commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

5.2    The policy will help us deliver our vision of being a top performing, customer driven business, making a positive contribution to supporting diverse and cohesive communities. It underlines our commitment to support sustainable communities by revitalising our neighbourhoods as well as developing as an open and inclusive organisation.

5.3    This policy also aims to ensure that we comply with all our legal and regulatory responsibilities; current requirements as set out in the Equality Act 2010, Human Rights legislation and by the Regulator of Social Housing.

6.1    Estuary is committed to achieving an inclusive and diverse workforce and to providing services that are accessible to all. We have a separate policy which covers our internal approach to EDI regarding the employee lifecycle. We seek to embed equality and inclusion in all our practices and aim to establish an inclusive culture that celebrates diversity, is free from discrimination and based on the values of dignity and respect.

6.2    In applying this policy we seek to create a working and lived environment free of bullying, harassment, victimisation and unlawful discrimination. We will promote dignity and respect for all and seek to create an environment where individual differences and the contributions of all staff, customers and those for whom we provide a service are recognised and valued.

6.3    Estuary’s employment and operational practices, policies and procedures seek to ensure that no employee, potential employee or resident receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of any of the protected characteristics. These are defined and explained as:

• Age – people of all ages are protected under the Equality Act 2010. Some acts of direct or indirect discrimination can be justified if it is ‘a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim’.
• Disability – a person is disabled if they have a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. There is a duty to make reasonable adjustments to assist in overcoming the disadvantages of the impairment. Individuals are also protected from discrimination arising from something connected with their disability where it could be reasonably expected that Estuary would know that the person has a disability. It is also unlawful in most circumstances to request information about the health of job candidates prior to making a job offer. Employees who are disabled or become disabled are encouraged to inform Estuary accordingly so that appropriate support can be explored.
• Gender Reassignment – transsexual people who propose to, start, or complete a process to change their gender regardless of whether or not this involves medical procedures are protected under the Equality Act 2010. An employee who is absent due to such procedures cannot be treated less favourably than if the absence was due to sickness, injury or some other reason.
• Marriage or Civil Partnership – the Equality Act 2010 protects employees who are married or in civil partnerships from discrimination on account of this status.
• Pregnancy and Maternity – female employees and applicants are protected against discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy and maternity during the period of pregnancy and any statutory maternity leave.
• Race – individuals are protected against discrimination on the grounds of colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins.
• Religion or Belief – individuals are protected against discrimination on the grounds of their religion or lack of religion and belief or lack of belief. A religion can be any religion that has a clear structure and belief system. A belief can be a religious or philosophical belief that affects a substantial aspect of human life and behaviour. Political beliefs are not protected.
• Sex – refers to both men and women.
• Sexual Orientation – refers to bisexual, gay, heterosexual and lesbian people. In some cases, there may be a genuine occupational requirement to select employees on the basis of certain protected characteristics because of the nature of the role.

6.4    Estuary commits to go beyond the protected characteristics and will ensure that no employee or resident will receive less favourable treatment on the grounds of colour or ethnic/national origin, offending behaviour (subject to our duty to safeguard our people and our approved employment policies and procedures), mental health, social and employment status, domestic circumstances, political affiliation or other characteristics.

6.5    We seek to actively promote best practice in diversity and inclusion across the organisation and to our customers. We will rigorously apply these in areas such as pay and benefits, terms and conditions of employment, dealing with grievances and disciplinary issues, dismissal, redundancy, requests for flexible working, selection for employment, promotion, training, learning and development opportunities and services to our customers.

6.6    We expect our employees to conduct themselves in a manner which is in accordance our ROAR values of

• Respect
• One Estuary
• Accountability
• Responsibility

7.1    We recognise that we have work to do to embed the EDI principles and to bring alive our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion in everything we do. We will therefore launch a strategy and action plan and report on our progress to stakeholders in our Annual Report and on website. 

We will apply this policy consistently and fairly and will not discriminate against anyone based on any relevant characteristics, including those set out in the Equality Act 2010.

We will review this policy in 3 years as a minimum, or sooner if there is a specific legislative, regulatory or service requirement or change in guidance, law or practice.