Equal Opportunities in Employment Policy Statement
Hartlepool Borough Council is committed to equal opportunities in employment and service delivery. The policies and practices of the Council aim to promote an environment that is free from all forms of unlawful or unfair discrimination and values the diversity of all people. At the heart of our policy, we seek to treat people fairly and with dignity and respect.
We will take every possible step to ensure that no person working with the Council, seeking employment with us, or any member of the public using the Council's premises or services will receive less favourable treatment (direct discrimination) or will be disadvantaged by requirements or conditions that cannot be shown to be justifiable (indirect discrimination) on the grounds of their:
1. Age
2. Disability
3. Gender reassignment
4. Marital, partnership and family status
5. Race (including colour, nationality, ethnics or national origin)
6. Religion/belief or non belief
7. Sex (gender)
8. Sexual orientation
9. Socio-economic status
10. Trade Union membership of non membership
We recognise that the provision of equal opportunities in the workplace is not only good management practice; it also makes sound business sense. Affording staff full dignity at work promotes good employee relations and satisfaction, and results in a motivated, productive and creative workforce which leads to service improvements.
We will ensure that equal opportunities are embedded in all our policies, procedures, day to day practices and external relationships.
Equal Opportunities in Employment
Hartlepool Borough Council is committed to having a workforce that is representative of the community it serves at all levels of the organisation. We therefore welcome applications from all backgrounds and all sections of the community.
As an applicant, you can be assured that the council will take positive steps to ensure:
1. Job descriptions and associated conditions relate to the particular job, define the qualifications, experience and other skills required in the post, and only include those factors which are necessary and justifiable on objective criteria for the satisfactory performance of the job.
2. All applicants are treated equally and fairly throughout the recruitment and selection process.
When you become employed, we aim to ensure:
1. A fair, transparent and equal chance in learning and development and terms and conditions of service.
2. A working environment that is free from discrimination, bullying, harassment and victimisation and where all complaints are promptly investigated and dealt with.
3. A working environment where a person's identity and culture is valued and respected.
Positive about Disability
Hartlepool Borough Council is recognised as ‘Disability Confident Committed’. Our commitment is that we will interview all job applications who report a disability and meet the minimum requirements of the person specification. All such candidates will then be considered on their merits and abilities. If we know you have a disability we will make reasonable adjustments required for you to attend the interview, complete required testing and for your subsequent employment.
As a MINDFUL EMPLOYER we aim to reduce the stigma of mental health issues within the workplace by showing a positive and supportive attitude, being non-judgmental and proactively supporting those employees who may experience mental health issues.
Employment Monitoring
We encourage all applicants to complete the Equality Monitoring form with their application so that we can measure how well we are working towards achieving a workforce that reflects our community.
If you are concerned about how your data will be stored, accessed or shared, be reassured that it will be kept confidential at all times and in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. It will not be accessible to anyone outside of the designated authorised personnel and will be used to monitor the effectiveness of our employment policies so that we can improve where appropriate. This information will be used for statistical purposes only and you will not be identified in any way.
Workforce Monitoring FAQs
Why do we monitor?
We are committed to being representative of the community we serve and becoming an employer of choice. To help us achieve this, we need to have a clear picture of who we employ.
Equalities monitoring therefore enables us to examine the make-up of the workforce and compare this with local data used as a benchmark to ensure that the workforce reflects the community. It also enables us to analyse how human resources practices and procedures affect different groups, address any inequalities and ensure compliance with legislative requirements.
Will my data remain anonymous?
Yes. The monitoring information will be kept separately from any identifying personal information. Any findings published will only ever by anonymised and aggregated. So we may publish statistics about our employees as a whole but will never publish individual information.
Who will access my data?
Only you and designated employees will be able to access the data for updating or analysis. We can track who has accessed the data to ensure it is only used for the correct purpose. The monitoring information you supply will be processed in compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018.
How will the data be used?
Data will be analysed to spot trends and remove barriers or target areas where our policies and practices can be improved to boost equal opportunity.
Do I have to complete the monitoring form?
Completing equality monitoring data is not compulsory. However, the Council is statutorily obliged to collect this information to ensure that our recruitment and employment processes are equitable and in some instances the council has to provide this information in statutory and other returns. Therefore, we would encourage you to complete it.
Although you are not obliged to answer every question, by doing so, it helps to ensure best practice and equal opportunities are upheld and allows for any barriers to workforce diversity to be highlighted. If we get a low response rate then the findings may be inaccurate.