Equal Opportunities and Diversity Policy

Statement:
SLB’s mission is to make a major contribution to the economic development of South London by fostering individual initiate and working in partnership with the private, public and voluntary sectors.  To succeed in fulfilling our mission, we must ensure that all people have a fair opportunity to access and benefit from our services and activities.
SLB recognises that particular groups in the community face disadvantage and discrimination, and that as a business support organisation we have a key role to play in helping to overcome these barriers.  We believe that quality of opportunity should be an integral part to all of the activities undertaken by SLB.

SLB is therefore fully committed to the active promotion and achievement of equality of opportunity in the provision of our services and as an employer ourselves.

Aim:
To actively promote quality of opportunity for all people irrespective of gender, ethnic or national origin, disability, long term health problem, marital status, caring responsibilities, hours of work, age, sexual orientation, religious affiliation or offender background.

Framework:
The Chief Executive has overall responsibility to the Board for the effective operation and review of the policy.  The Office Manager will be accountable to the Chief Executive for the overall implementation of the policy.

We will seek the advice of an equal opportunities advisor where appropriate to advise SLB on the effective implementation of its equal opportunities policy, and to ensure effective liaison across South London with external partners.

Our internal network of key staff will oversee the development of our equal opportunities strategy.

All staff  and sub-contractors working for SLB will be responsible for implementing SLB’s equal opportunities policy.

Our Objectives are to:

• Provide training for all SLB staff to raise awareness and understanding of their role in implementing our equal opportunities policy and also to provide recruitment and selection training for relevant staff.
  
  
• Ensure that personnel procedures include a commitment to equal opportunities and that recruitment and selection procedures are undertaken objectively and systematically, using external advertising, job descriptions and person specifications and selection panels.
  
  
• Removing barriers and changing attitudes which prevent disabled people gaining access to employment and services and participating fully in the local community;
  
  
• Ensuring that we comply with the Disability Discrimination Act (1995), and promoting the Act’s Code of Practice, so disabled people enjoy the same opportunities as others;
  
  
• Bringing together individuals and organisations to work for its implementation.
  
  
• Ensure that training, development and career opportunities are made available to all staff on the basis of individual and business need.
  
  
• Monitor the effective implementation of equal opportunities within the company by:
  
  (i) Recording and analysing details of job applicants 
  (ii) Maintaining records of selection decisions, participation in training and further education, performance appraisal discussions and the reason for decisions reached
  (iii) Continuously reviewing the composition of SLB workforce by ethnic origin, gender, disability, age and hours of work, and seeking to increase the numbers of under represented groups
  
  
• Fully comply with statutory obligations under the Race Relations Act 1976, the Sex Discrimination Acts 1975 and 1986, and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and not to treat one group of people less favourably than others because of their gender, colour, race, disability, sexuality, faith, nationality or ethnic origins when making decisions to recruit, train or promote employees)
  
  
• SLB will observe the Equality Rights Commission, the Commission for Racial Equality and all other relevant codes of practice for the employment
  
  
• SLB will carry out annual ethnic monitoring of applicants. 
  
  
• SLB is committed to employing staff who reflect the community we serve
  
  
• Provide an effective means of dealing with any complaints about discrimination through the operation of the Company’s grievance procedure, and making acts of discrimination a disciplinary offence.

All staff and sub-contractors working for South London Business will be responsible for implementing South London Business’s Equal Opportunities Policy.