Islington Council Policy

It is the council's policy that everyone should be treated fairly and without discrimination. Islington aims to ensure that:

• staff experience fairness and equity of treatment in the workplace
• customers receive fair and equal access to council services
• staff and customers are treated with dignity and respect

The council will actively remove discriminatory barriers that can prevent people from obtaining the employment opportunities and services to which they are entitled. The council will not tolerate processes, attitudes and behaviour that amount to discrimination, including harassment, victimisation and bullying through prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and stereotyping.

Diversity makes good business sense. Equality and greater diversity enables us to achieve service excellence and better represent the people of Islington.

All employees are expected to promote these values at all times and to work within the policy. Employees found to be in breach of this policy may face disciplinary action.

Managers

To comply with this policy, managers will:

• Actively promote equality and ensure the working environment is free of discrimination, including harassment, victimisation and bullying.
• Undertake training on equality and diversity issues on a regular basis (at least once every three years).
• Allow staff to attend staff diversity forums.
• Make clear to staff that discrimination is unacceptable and that it will be treated as a serious matter and a disciplinary offence.
• Deal promptly and thoroughly with any complaint of discrimination including harassment, victimisation and bullying - all incidents must be recorded.
• Ensure fairness and equity of treatment in all employment practices.
• Take appropriate action against any customer who harasses or acts in a discriminatory way towards other customers or members of staff.

Staff

To comply with this policy, staff will:

• Ensure that they treat everyone fairly and with respect.
• Undertake training on equality and diversity issues on a regular basis (at least once every three years).
• Not use discriminatory practices in the workplace or elsewhere.Ensure that customers are treated fairly and equally.
• Record any incident of harassment, bullying or victimisation.
• Not use discriminatory behaviour or practices when providing services.

Islington Council

To support policy compliance, Islington Council will:

• Meet the equality standard for local government as a minimum standard.
• Actively promote equality and compliance with current legislation.
• Explore equality implications of key council decisions and carry out impact assessments.
• Ensure corporate and departmental equality action plans are in place and that monitoring arrangements are accurate to direct future development and target planning processes.
• Ensure procedures and practices are fair so that the council workforce can better reflect the community it serves.
• Target recruitment to strengthen under-represented groups through campaigns, advertising and analysis of recruitment processes and policy.
• Run training and development programmes to underpin positive action initiatives, raise awareness of human rights and to educate staff about equality issues.
• Consult with representative groups to gauge the working practices of the council, test out strategies and receive feedback on policies, practices and services.
• Support staff who experience discrimination in the course of their work.
• Provide clear information about where, and to whom, customers should complain.
• Listen to complaints and comments and act upon them.
• Use complaints to improve awareness of equalities.
• Ensure that any complaint of harassment from a customer about another customer or member of staff is investigated and resolved promptly and fairly in line with BVPI requirements (174/5).
• Support and promote diversity events within the borough.