Equality and Diversity

Equality and diversity statement:

NACCS welcomes diversity in our members, council and speakers invited to our meetings. Diversity is not just seen as something to aim for, but as something to be valued and an asset in delivering services to different people.

NACCS recognises that certain groups and individuals are discriminated against in society and is committed to ensuring that equality of opportunity becomes an integral feature of all our activities. NACCS will not discriminate on the grounds of the nine protected characteristics defined in the Equality Act 2010, namely age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, gender and sexual orientation. It will also not discriminate on other grounds that are irrelevant to any election process.

All members are required to comply with the Equality Act 2010. All Council members will be up to date with Equality and Diversity training, training of Council will be through local employer organisations. Failure to do so will result in disciplinary action and may result in exclusion from the society. A member of executive team will be lead Governance Officer.

Any member with a discrimination or harassment complaint is should raise the matter under the NACCS grievance procedure. The complaint will be fully examined and any problems will be addressed. Examples of discrimination can be found below in ANNEX A.

 

ANNEX A – types of discrimination:

There are various types of discrimination prohibited by this policy. The main types are:

  1. Direct discrimination Direct discrimination occurs where one person is treated less favourably than another because of a protected characteristic. By way of example, refusing to promote a pregnant employee on the basis that she is shortly due to go on maternity leave would be direct discrimination on the protected characteristic of the employee’s sex. Other types of direct discrimination are:
    1. Associative discrimination – this is direct discrimination against someone because they associate with another person who possesses a protected characteristic. For example, an employee is discriminated against because his/her son is disabled.
    2. Perceptive discrimination – this is direct discrimination against an individual because others think they possess a particular protected characteristic. For example, where co-workers believe the individual is gay. It applies even if the person does not actually possess that characteristic.
  2. Indirect discrimination Indirect discrimination occurs when an unjustifiable requirement or condition is applied, which appears to be the same for all, but which has a disproportionate, adverse effect on one group of people. This is discrimination even though there was no intention to discriminate. For example, a requirement for UK based qualifications could disadvantage applicants who have obtained their qualifications outside of the UK; this could amount to indirect discrimination on the grounds of race.
  3. Victimisation Victimisation is where a person is treated less favourably than others because they have asserted legal rights against NACCS or assisted a colleague in doing so. For example, victimisation may occur where a person has raised a genuine grievance against NACCS and has been excluded as a result.
  4. Harassment  Harassment is “unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic, which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual.” It is important to remember that it is not the intention of the harasser but how the recipient perceives their behaviour, which determines whether harassment has occurred.