Equality and Diversity Policy

● This policy sets out how Latin American House (LAH) approaches the principles of equality and diversity in employment and service delivery in accordance with the Equality Act 2010. LAH is committed to promoting diversity and promoting a culture that actively values difference and recognises that people from different backgrounds and experiences can bring valuable insights to the workplace and enhance the way we work.

● LAH recognises, respects, and values diversity. This policy applies to all Trustees, staff, volunteers, management committee members, users and the general public.

● LAH has this policy because it is a people-led organisation that must always ensure it meets the needs of the community through fair and appropriate employment and development of the people who work and volunteer for the organisation.

● LAH believes that all persons should have equal rights to recognition of their human dignity, and to have equal opportunities to be educated, to work, receive services and to participate in society. It is in the best interest of this organisation to recruit and develop the best people for our jobs from as wide and diverse a pool of talent as possible.

● LAH recognises that many people in our society experience discrimination. Discrimination is acting unfairly against a group or individual through exclusion, verbal comment, denigration, harassment, victimisation, a failure to appreciate needs or the assumption of such needs without consultation.

● LAH is committed to the promotion of equal opportunities within the organisation, and affiliated organisations, through the way we manage the organisation and provide services to the community. In order to express this commitment, we develop, promote and maintain policies that will be conducive to the principles of fairness and equality in the workplace.

● All forms of discrimination are unacceptable, regardless of whether there was any intention to discriminate or not. Employees, Board trustees and volunteers have a duty to cooperate with LAH to ensure that this policy is effective in ensuring equal opportunities and in preventing discrimination.

This organisation believes that it should promote equality of opportunity and diversity, actively fight against discrimination in all areas of its work and employment and management practices. This commitment is to be delivered taking positive steps in areas such as :

● Service delivery according to need
● Recruitment
● Policies and procedures
● Management practices
● Accessibility
● Monitoring and evaluation

The objective of this policy is that no person should suffer or experience less favourable treatment, discrimination or lack of opportunities on the grounds of gender, race, colour, nationality, ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, age, marital status, parental status, sexual orientation, political beliefs or trade union membership, class, responsibility for dependents, physical attributes, ex-offender status as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, lack of formal qualifications where such qualifications are not formally required, or any other grounds which cannot be shown to be justifiable within the context of this policy. This policy will influence and affect every aspect of activities carried out at the LAH, i.e. promotional work, educational activities, Legal and Social Advice Services and other functions linked to the LAH, as determined by the management committee. Employment practices and procedures will be carried out in strict accordance with the following legislation:

● Rehabilitation of Oenders Act 1974;
● NHS Community Care Act 1990;
● Asylum & Immigration Act 1996;
● Human Rights Act Nov 1998;
● Equality Act 2010 and any other relevant legislation, current and future.

● The recruitment and selection process is crucially important to any equal and diversity policy. LAH is aware that in order to deliver its strategic objectives effectively, it has to reflect the communities it serves
● Interview questions will be related to the requirements of the job and will not be of a discriminatory nature. We will endeavour through appropriate training to ensure that employees making selection and recruitment decisions will not discriminate, whether consciously or unconsciously, in making these decisions. The application of equality in the workplace is essential for effective service delivery, as well as being good management practice (see LAH Recruitment Policy).
● Promotion and advancement will be made on merit, and all decisions relating to this will be made within the overall framework and principles of this policy.
● Job descriptions, where used, will be revised to ensure that they are in line with our Equality and Diversity policy. Job requirements will be reflected accurately in any personnel specifications.
● We will adopt a consistent, non-discriminatory approach to the advertising of vacancies.
● All applicants who apply for jobs with us will receive fair treatment and will be considered solely on their ability to do the job.
● Short-listing and interviewing must be carried out by more than one person.
● Selection decisions will not be influenced by any perceived prejudices of other staff.
● It is intended that LAH employees/volunteers should be enabled to develop their full potential, and that the quality of the workforce be fully applied to realising the objectives of the organisation.
● LAH aims to create a culture that respects and values each other’s differences, that promotes equality and diversity, and that encourages individuals to develop and maximise their true potential.
● We aim to remove any barriers, bias or discrimination that prevent individuals from realising their potential and contributing fully to our organisation’s performance and to develop an organisational culture that positively values diversity.
● Selection for employment or promotion or any other benefit will be on the basis of merit and ability only. Selection for training will be on the basis of job requirement only. Intimidation, harassment and bullying will not be tolerated and may lead to disciplinary action.
● LAH accepts its responsibilities as set out in the following legislation and recognises that its responsibilities are not limited to those items listed, but are defined by any current relevant legislation, or best practice.

4.1 We will maintain and review the employment records of all employees in order to monitor the progress of this policy.

Monitoring may involve :

● the collection and classification of information regarding race in terms of ethnic/national origin and sex of all applicants and current employees;
● the examination by ethnic/national origin and sex of the distribution of employees and the success rate of the applicants; and
● recording recruitment, training and promotional records of all employees, the decisions reached and the reason for those decisions.

4.2 The results of any monitoring procedure will be reviewed at regular intervals to assess the effectiveness of the implementation of this policy. Consideration will be given, if necessary, to adjusting this policy to afford greater equality of opportunities to all applicants and staff.

In order to preclude discrimination in the selection and treatment of clients, LAH will offer assistance to all and will:

5.1 base decisions regarding the level of assistance to be offered (i.e. whether to signpost, refer, offer initial advice only or take on casework) on;

1. the limitations of its staff
2. the competence of its staff

5.2 Using LAH’s database, we evaluate uptake and adapt accessibility of its service based on monitoring the following data relating to clients:

● gender
● age (date of birth)
● ethnicity
● first language
● disability
● religious belief
● sexual orientation
● borough or other place of residence.

5.3 LAH also ensures that domestic legislation is interpreted in a way that is compatible with the Convention rights. It applies to all public authorities, making it unlawful for such bodies to violate Convention rights and placing a duty on public authorities to ensure that respect for human rights is integral to their work. LAH adopts a human rights based approach to its work and performs its functions in accordance with the legislation.

The LAH equal opportunities policy aims are to:

● Provide services that meet the needs of the Latin American community, Spanish and Portuguese speakers in London and other communities in the local area.
● Promote equal opportunities and tackle discrimination
● Be a fair employer
● Meet its legal obligations under relevant legislation.

People with protected characteristics are particularly at risk of discrimination. The protected characteristics are:

● Age
● Disability
● Gender reassignment
● Pregnancy and maternity
● Marriage and civil partnership
● Race
● Religion and belief
● Sex
● Sexual orientation

LAH will aim to ensure that equality and diversity concerns are central to service provision and will aim to include equal opportunities objectives in all our strategic and service plans. The organisation also recognise that some individuals experience issues of multiple -discrimination.

7.1 Responsibility

● The Management Committee/Trustees are responsible for setting LAH ’s policy and reviewing, monitoring and developing it. Monitoring and review will take place annually.
● The Director is responsible for the policy’s day-to-day implementation. Consultation takes place with the staff on the implementation and development of this policy.
● Each employee, volunteer and Committee members/Trustee is responsible for their own compliance with this policy. Breaches of the Equalities Policy will be regarded as potential misconduct and could lead to disciplinary action against employees, appropriate action against a Committee Member/Trustee or a volunteer, including termination of contracts for services or withdrawal of volunteer agreements.

7.2 Implementation – Organisation issues and Employment/Volunteering

LAH will implement its Equalities Policy in organisational and employment issues by:

7.2.1 Recruitment

Barriers to employment have a major impact on disadvantaged and minority groups. How Latin American House will seek to address barriers to employment is defined in LAH ’s ‘Recruitment Policy’. The organisation will ensure staff members involved in recruitment and selection follow the correct procedures relating to equality and diversity, providing training to do so if necessary.

7.2.2 Induction

LAH has a detailed induction policy and checklist that specifically deals with equalities issues in the workplace and work plan.

7.2.3 Training and Development

Based on its Training and Development Policy LAH will ensure that all employees have been trained in the practical implementation of this policy, and are aware of their responsibilities.

7.2.4 HR policies

LAH has a set of HR policies and will review its employment/HR policies every two years (or earlier if changes in law or best practice dictate). The organisation will consult with staff on the implementation of this policy, and as part of a continuous review process.

7.2.5 Bullying and harassment in the work context

Discrimination can take the form of bullying and harassment. Harassment can be defined as: “Any conduct, physical, verbal or written, that has the intent or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance, or that creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.”

7.3 Implementation – Service Delivery

LAH believes:

● in working towards a just and participatory society;
● that all people have equal rights to work towards social justice and to participate in decision-making processes and local action;
● that all LAH services users have to be treated fairly and equally
● that steps should be taken to promote equal opportunity in relation to access to the services we provide.
● in identifying other sections of the community that we may not and reaching out to them LAH will:
● Identify LAH users and predominant users groups’ needs
● Devise policies and procedures outlining how the needs of all users will be met
● Make sure that equal opportunities and inclusion become part of mainstream service delivery through commitments in strategic and service delivery plans
● Make our service accessible to all
● Make sure that equal opportunities and inclusion become part of mainstream service delivery through commitments in strategic and service delivery plans
● Ensure each individual knows their role in this implementation plan
● Inform users through our communication channels and third parties have been taken to implement LAH policies and procedures to make our services accessible.

We will also:

● Require that third parties (such as other legal services providers, contractors, organisations that we may collaborate with on occasion to advance our legal remit) and when undertaking general procurement, comply with equalities standards at least as robust as those that LAH holds for itself
● Aim to increase involvement and collaboration with other organisations to promote diversity and equal opportunities generally
● Monitor the service provision of LAH against equality criteria (including access/usage statistics by protected category)
● Review the effectiveness of our service delivery and practice based on monitoring and evaluation
● Incorporate relevant guidance from our funders with a view to exemplifying best practice

7.4 Raising a concern or issue (See also Grievance Procedure)

Employees or volunteers who feel they have been discriminated against should raise the matter with their line manager. Initially, the employee and manager should aim to resolve the matter informally. It may be that discriminatory action is unwitting and easily resolved once the problem is clear. If the employee is dissatisfied with the outcome, the complaint is very serious, or their line manager is the cause of the complaint, the employee should raise the matter, in writing, as a formal grievance under LAH’s Grievance Procedure.

7.5 Induction and Training

LAH will ensure that all new employees, volunteers, and Board members will receive induction on this policy and action plan and that trainers and facilitators will be fully informed.

● Ensure that all employees, volunteers and [Committee members/trustees] are aware and trained in the operation of this policy and their requirements under it.
● Work towards our organisational commitment to secure equality of opportunity in the workplace and in terms of access to our core services by reflecting this ethos in all LAH policies, publications, employment and working practices.
● Continue to identify and reach out to individuals and groups who for whatever reason are deemed marginalised and may be in need of our assistance via our community engagement activities.
● Monitor service use to anticipate trends and future client needs.
● Help empower individuals to access their legal rights and promote sustainable community cohesion.

The effectiveness of the Equalities Policy is monitored through the collection of statistical data about service users using LAH’s database (currently AdvicePro and also Google Forms). In addition, LAH will regularly monitor the composition of its workforce and its governing body.

The action plan objectives are reviewed by the Management Committee every year. The Equality policy is reviewed on change of relevant legislation and at each new Strategic plan time period.

Last review: January 2022