Promoting Equality of Opportunity and Diversity
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Frequently Asked Questions
Answers provided by: Moira Mitchell, Equality and Diversity Manager and Margaret Scott, Manager of Student Support and Guidance. August 2010.
1. Are HR forms checked to be dyslexia friendly?
3. How does
the new Equality Act relate to IT delivery?
4.Who
monitors what is 'reasonable adjustment'?
7. Didn't CCCU ban gay
marriages on site?
8.
How many wheelchair users currently attend CCCU?
9. Why do we
not have a stock of assistive technology?
10. How do
you measure and allow for mental disability?
11.Do you
have a quota of disabled people to employ?
12.What does CCCU have in
place to ensure students are recruited fairly?
13. What can
the University do for partially deaf staff where hearing is
deteriorating?
14. What
level of disability is regarded as 'substantial'?
1. HR forms have not be checked to be dyslexia friendly and this an issue that has been discussed. The HR recruitment system has recently become an online system and this will increase accessibility, as users will be able to adjust the display to suit their needs. Other HR forms do need to be audited for accessibility and the department are keen to conduct this work.
2. In 2004 a member of staff resigned and instigated Employment Tribunal proceedings which, in 2006, found the University responsible for constructive dismissal and racial discrimination but not responsible for victimisation or harassment.
The University held an internal investigation which was conducted by a University Governor and made a range of recommendations to the Vice Chancellor. Following the case, senior managers participated in Equality and Diversity training and a number of other strategies were implemented to promote Equality and Diversity throughout the University and to prevent such a case happening again.
We are not able to publicly disclose information about staff disciplinaries.
3. Through the Equality Act 2010 the University has a duty to proactively consider how its policies and practices impact on different types of people. In the case of IT delivery the most obvious examples are how accessible our systems are for disabled people. However, there are likely to be other characteristics the department should take into account when planning its operations.
4. Overall in society, what is a "reasonable" adjustment is determined by case law (usually an individual using law to challenge what has been provided). Within the University, departments are advised by the Equality and Diversity Manager and other staff with specific knowledge of this area.
Sometimes staff are not aware of their department's responsibilities and/or where to go for advice. We would therefore encourage those who are aware to inform colleague wherever relevant.
5.The fact that the offices are not accessible is a problem. However, this should not stop the department from interviewing a candidate who would require access adjustments if s/he is otherwise suitable for the post. The decision about if/how to make the offices accessible would be made by senior managers (and could of course be legally challenged as described in the answer above).
6. We are sorry if you experienced difficulty during the training session. Have you informed the department about your requirements in this regard? As trainers, we were not aware that any adjustments were required but we not ask specifically, assuming that the department would have been aware.
7. When civil partnerships were introduced in 2005, an announcement was made by the Vice Chancellor's office that civil partnerships would not be conducted at the University's sites in Canterbury and Tunbridge Wells, although marriages were conducted there. However, there was such a ground swell of opinion within the University against this decision that it was immediately revoked so a ban was never implemented.
In the last few years the University has undertaken a lot of work to promote equality for gay and lesbian staff, including the production of a University Position Statement on Sexual Orientation, available on the Equality and Diversity web pages, under reports and papers.
8.The Equality and Diversity Unit is aware of three members of staff who are wheelchair users but there could be more.
Last academic year, there were seven students who used a wheel chair full-time and fiver who used one occasionally.
9. Student Support and Guidance have a small stock of assistive technology (mice, keyboards, audio recorders, conversers etc.) which are lent out to students.
We have had a discussion about maintaining a simple stock of assistive technology to lend on trial to staff and this will be implemented in due course.
10. There is still a lot of sensitivity about mental health issues in the workplace. People tend not to want to disclose them for fear it could lead to discrimination. However, if they are disclosed the employed has the same to duty to make reasonable adjustments as for other disabilities. If a mental health issue is not disclosed but is suspected by a manager, the University would be expected to take this into account in any dealings with the staff member.
11. There are no quotas for any "characteristics" (disability, gender etc.). What institutions usually do is to look at percentage of people it has with different characteristics (gender, disability, ethnicity etc.) and compare the percentages to the percentages of these groups in the population it recruits from (for example Kent or the UK). If the University has a significantly smaller percentage of disabled people working for it than the percentage of disabled people living in Kent, it may need to reflect on the reasons for the difference.
12. Student recruitment at the University is governed by the University policy on recruitment and admissions (available on the website), Section 10 of the Quality Assurance Agency's Code of Practice - Recruitment and Admissions, and the Good Practice Guide from SPA (Supporting Professionalism in Admissions).
13. The University can help staff access an assessment of needs and if necessary make adjustments to the working environment. The first step should be to discuss the issue with the staff member's line manager. If adjustments appear to be required then the department's Human Resources Advisor should become involved. There should also possibly be an Access to Work Assessment.
Further information about all of these processes can be found in the University Guidance for Disabled Staff (available on the Equality and Diversity and Human Resources web pages).
14. The Equality Act defines a disabled person as a person with a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
The definition of who is a disabled person is a legal definition and only adjudicating bodies can determine whether a person meets that definition. Organisations such as Universities need to understand the definition in order to know who is covered by the Act.
15. The first point of contact for adjustments should be the staff member's line manager. If a suitable arrangement is not achieved in partnership with the manager, Human Resources and other relevant departments, the Equality and Diversity Manager should be contacted for further advice.
16. The Equality Act does not discriminate against anyone. It provides rights to everyone and these rights are categorised by what are referred to as "characteristics". Although all the characteristics may not apply to everyone, some of them will apply to everyone (for example age and gender) and some will apply to people temporarily and others permanently (for example disability).
17. We understand this question to be asking whether the University is more likely to employ someone because s/he is male/female, disabled or from an ethnic minority etc.
In fact until the Equality Act 2010, it has not been legal to do this. The new Act does make it possible to employ someone with a particular characteristic if s/he is as well qualified as the best candidate for the job and if there is clear evidence that people with the characteristic concerned are under-represented in the organisation. However organisations are unlikely to take this measure unless there is a very clear rationale and evidence of need.
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