Equality and
Diversity Policy

Equality Diversity Policy

 

General Statement:

 

TicTock Therapy C.I.C and Tictock Therapy & Coaching Limited believes that following a policy of equality and diversity will benefit not only our clients and our employees but also enrich the whole organisation.

 

We recognise that an effective Equality and Diversity Policy will help all staff/volunteers as well as our business and therefore aim to ensure that we not only observe the relevant legislation but also do whatever is necessary to provide genuine equality of opportunity.

 

• TicTock Therapy C.I.C and Tictock Therapy & Coaching Limited is committed to encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion among our workforce, and eliminating unlawful discrimination. Harassment or bullying will be challenged and not tolerated.

 

• TicTock Therapy C.I.C and Tictock Therapy & Coaching Limited aims to provide equality of opportunity for anyone who comes into contact with the organisation and to ensure that no-one is treated less favourably because of their “protected characteristics”

 

Legislation:

 

The Equality Act 2010 aims to offer protection from discrimination to people with “protected characteristics”. These protected characteristics are as follows:

 

• Age

• Disability

• Gender reassignment

• Marriage and civil partnership 

• Pregnancy and maternity

• Race

• Religion or belief

• Sex

• Sexual orientation

 

In addition, the following legislation should be taken into consideration within equality and diversity:

 

• The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974

• The Protection from Harassment Act 1997

• The Human Rights Act 1998

• The Modern Slavery Act 2015

• The Sex Discrimination (Gender Reassignment) Regulations 1999

• The Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006

• Any Codes of Practice issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission

 

Employment: 

 

Our policy is designed to ensure that current and potential staff/volunteers are offered the same opportunities regardless of race, nationality, ethnic origin, age, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, domestic circumstances, disability, pregnancy, transgender, civil partnership or any other characteristic unrelated to the performance of the job. 

 

We seek to ensure that no one suffers, either directly or indirectly, as a result of unlawful discrimination. (1.1) This extends beyond the individual's own characteristics, to cover discrimination by association and by perception.

 

We further recognise the benefits of employing individuals from a range of backgrounds, as this creates a workforce where creativity and valuing difference in others thrives.

 

 We value the wealth of experience within the community in which we operate and aspire to have a workforce that reflects this. We expect everyone who works for us to be treated and to treat others with respect.

 

Our aims:

 

Our aim is to provide a working environment free from harassment, intimidation, or discrimination in any form that may affect the dignity of the individual.

 

We also aim to…

 

You may have ideas here

 

• Recognise that everyone has a right to their distinctive and diverse identities and therefore will actively encourage; the use of pronouns, round table communication.

• We have a workforce which generally reflects our clients.

• Provide accessible online spaces for our staff and clients to use.

• Understand how diversity can improve our ability to deliver better services.

• We will constantly strive to learn more about differences.

• Provide all employees/volunteers with the necessary training and development they

need to contribute to our goals.

• Recognise the risk of slavery or human trafficking.

•Make reasonable adjustments where necessary.

• Provide a supportive, open environment where all employees/volunteers may use

their talents fully and are treated fairly and with dignity and respect.

•Create an environment free from abuse or offensive behaviour, bullying or harassment, intimidation or prejudice regardless of sex, sexual orientation, race, ethnic origin, age, disability, religion or belief, marital status or civil partnership, gender reassignment, disability, pregnancy, responsibility for dependents, social background or any other individual characteristic which may unfairly affect their opportunities in life.

•Recognise the benefits of helping our employees/workers/volunteers to balance the responsibilities of their work and private life.

 

Flexible working:

We will consider requests for flexible working under our policies in a way which fairly balances the needs of the individual and our business.

 

Grievances, disputes and disciplinary procedure:

Staff/volunteers who believe they have been discriminated against and have not been able to resolve this informally are advised to contact management. 

 

An employee or volunteer who brings a complaint of discrimination must not be less favourably treated.

 

Bullying and harassment:

Harassment will not be tolerated and any individual employee who feels that they have been subjected to harassment or bullying should refer to our Bullying and Harassment Policy. Equally, any employee who witnesses incidents of harassment or bullying should report this to their manager or an appropriate senior member of staff.

 

When dealing with general disciplinary matters, care is to be taken that employees/workers/volunteers who have, are perceived to have, or are associated with someone who has, a protected characteristic are not dismissed or disciplined for performance or behaviour which could be overlooked or condoned in other employees.

 

Implementation, monitoring and review of this policy:

 

TicTock Therapy C.I.C and Tictock Therapy & Coaching Limited have overall responsibility for implementing and monitoring this policy, which will be reviewed on a regular basis following its implementation and may be changed from time to time. Last Reviewed on: 14/07/2023 

 

Signed:

 

Sarah Sharp:

Founder and CEO:

 

TicTock Therapy C.I.C

 

Tictock Therapy & Coaching Limited

 

Appendix

 

1.1 – Discrimination -

In order to understand current equality legislation the following is an explanation of the types of unfair treatment that can occur

 

Direct discrimination - occurs when someone treats another person less favourably because of a protected characteristic, or an assumption about one of the above, e.g. a Black candidate being refused a job, even though they are the best candidate, purely because of the perception that they may not fit in with the rest of the team.

 

Discrimination by association – discrimination against someone because

they are associated with a person who has a protected characteristic. For example, an employee who is unfairly treated because they have a disabled child - can claim discrimination.

 

Discrimination by perception – is discrimination against an individual because other people think they possess a protected characteristic, e.g. a heterosexual employee being unfairly treated on the basis think they are homosexual can claim discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.

 

Indirect discrimination – is when a condition, rule, policy or practice disadvantages people who have a protected characteristic, e.g. a manager asking that employees work on Friday evenings to meet the demands of high workload may discriminate against Jewish people who wish to commence the Sabbath at sunset. However, indirect discrimination can be objectively justified, e.g. if there is an absolute organisational necessity for staff to be available to work at a certain time.

 

Harassment - is unwanted conduct relating to a protected characteristic which is intended to violate another’s dignity or to create an offensive, hostile, humiliating or degrading environment for that individual. E.g. an employee being continually teased by colleagues about their gender reassignment. If you feel that you are being harassed, you should raise the issue via the Bullying and Harassment Policy.

 

Victimisation - it is a discriminatory act to treat anyone less favourably if they have made (or are suspected of having made) a complaint, or raised a grievance under the Equality Act, about discrimination during either present or previous employment, or they intend to make a complaint or they have assisted someone else’s complaint by giving evidence or corroborating a story.

 

Reasonable adjustments- Employers must make reasonable adjustments to make sure workers with disabilities, or physical or mental health conditions, are not substantially disadvantaged when doing their jobs.