Equality Policy

In relation to staff, the policy and practice of Christ Church require that all the staff are afforded equal opportunities within employment and that entry into employment with Christ Church and the progression within employment will be determined only by personal merit and the application of criteria which are related to the duties of each particular post and the relevant salary structure. In all cases, ability to perform the job is the primary consideration. Subject to statutory provisions, no applicant or member of staff will be treated less favourably than another because of his or her age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation. See the UAS information for staff about equality and diversity.

In relation to junior members Christ Church aims to provide education of excellent quality at undergraduate and postgraduate level for able students, whatever their background. In pursuit of this aim, Christ Church is committed to using its best endeavours to ensure that all of its activities are governed by principles of equality of opportunity, and that all junior members are helped to achieve their full academic potential.

This statement applies to recruitment and admissions, to the curriculum, teaching and assessment, to welfare and support services, and to staff development and training.

This policy statement is supported by employment equal opportunities policy, codes of practice for staff, and Christ Church rules on harassment.

1. Christ Church is committed to promoting equality of opportunity and avoiding discrimination.

2. The Equality Act 2010 has placed a general duty on public authorities, including Christ Church, to promote equality and in particular to:
 

• eliminate unlawful discrimination
• promote equality of opportunity; and
• promote good relations between people of different protected groups relating to age, disability, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

3. The Act has placed further specific duties on Higher Education Institutions to publish an Equality Policy and an action plan for its implementation, and to put in place appropriate monitoring and audit to allow for effective assessment of the impact of the policy and constructive development of new policies and the enhancement of existing policies.

4. This policy has been developed with regard to the guidance and code of practice issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

5. To support these aims Christ Church will ensure that in the conduct of all its activities, steps are taken to avoid the occurrence of discrimination, whether direct or indirect, and to promote good relations between different protected groups.

6. Any discriminatory behaviour, including harassment or bullying by individuals or groups, will be regarded extremely seriously and could be regarded as grounds for disciplinary action, which may include expulsion or dismissal.

7. At all stages in the implementation and review of this policy, consultation will be a key feature. This will include all staff and junior members and in particular those from different affected groups, and other interested and relevant groups within the College.

8. Christ Church will incorporate into the development and implementation of outreach activities, an awareness of the need to promote equality and good relations between different protected groups.

9. Appropriate guidance, support and training will be provided to members of staff to ensure that Christ Church’s commitment to equality is fully achieved. The purpose of training is to inform individuals and also to ensure that principles underlying the Equality Policy underlie decision- making processes throughout Christ Church.

10. Christ Church has put in place arrangements to monitor, by reference to different groups, the selection and recruitment of members of staff and the admission of students. The results of this monitoring process are collated by Christ Church’s Senior Censor, Tutor for Admissions, Tutor for Graduates and Steward and reported to the Governing Body.

11. In addition to the monitoring and assessment arrangements already in place, Christ Church will put in place procedures to ensure that such additional monitoring is undertaken as is necessary to ensure that Christ Church is able to identify possible improvements in its practices, whether in relation to teaching, learning and assessment; management and governance; admissions, access and participation; junior members’ support and guidance; behaviour and discipline; partnership and community links; staff recruitment, training and career development; and service delivery.

12. The College’s Equality data will be reviewed as required and the policy and practice modified and developed as necessary.

13. The Governing Body is responsible for securing compliance with the general and specific duties and for overseeing implementation of the policy.

14. The Dean is responsible for providing leadership in the promotion and implementation of the policy.

15. All Committees in Christ Church are responsible for ensuring that this policy is embedded in their duties and functions in relation to both junior members and staff.

16. All those with managerial responsibilities have a duty to take forward specific actions under this policy in addition to the general duties under the Act.

17. The Equality Policy will be reviewed periodically to assess its effectiveness.

18. Christ Church will publish the Equality Policy and will update this policy in the light of any reviews. This will include provision of information on consultation undertaken as part of the assessment and monitoring process.

19.  Equality Objective (April 6, 2016)

• To establish an equality and diversity group, whose aims should include to consider causes of any gender inequalities in recruitment, pay, and conditions, and to formulate proposals for addressing those inequalities.

20. Additional Objectives

• To continue to improve Christ Church's provision for the support of students from modest backgrounds.
• To develop and further Christ Church's access initiatives.

21. Objectives approved by Governing Body on 4th December 2019:

To foster good relations between members of the College, including staff, who share a protected characteristic (as defined by the Equality Act 2010) and those who do not share it.

To have at least one event a year that promotes inclusivity on the basis of a protected characteristic, in consultation with the relevant group(s), and to assess its effectiveness in consultation with the relevant group(s). 

22. Objective approved by Governing Body on 4th December 2020:

To run a staff survey, to listen to the opinions of all Christ Church’s people, taking appropriate actions to improve employee experience and creating an outstanding environment for all individuals to work within.

Statement

1. We recognise that unfair discrimination is unacceptable and although equality of opportunity has been a long-standing feature of our employment practices and procedures, we have made the decision to adopt a formal equal opportunities policy. Breaches of the policy will lead to disciplinary investigation and, if appropriate, disciplinary action.

2. The aim of the policy is to ensure no job applicant or employee is discriminated against either directly or indirectly on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion, belief, sex or sexual orientation.

3. We will ensure that the policy is circulated to any agencies responsible for our recruitment and a copy of the policy will be made available for all employees and made known to all applicants for employment.

4. The policy will be implemented in accordance with the appropriate statutory requirements and full account will be taken of all available guidance and in particular any relevant Codes of Practice.

5. We will maintain a positive working environment in which no worker feels under threat or intimidated.

Recruitment and selection

1. The recruitment and selection process is crucially important to any equal opportunities policy. 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.

2. 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.

3. Job descriptions will be revised to ensure that they are in line with our equal opportunities policy. Job requirements will be reflected accurately in any personnel specifications.

4. We will adopt a consistent, non-discriminatory approach to the advertising of vacancies.

5. We will not generally confine our recruitment to areas or media sources that provide only, or mainly, applicants of a particular group.

6. All applicants who apply for jobs with us will receive fair treatment and will be considered solely on their ability to do the job.

7. All employees involved in the recruitment process will periodically review their selection criteria to ensure that they are related to the job requirements and do not unlawfully discriminate.

8. Short-listing and interviewing will be carried out by more than one person where possible.

9. Interview questions will be related to the requirements of the job and will not be of a discriminatory nature.

10. We will not disqualify any applicant because he/she is unable to complete an application form unassisted unless personal completion of the form is a valid test of the standard of English required for the safe and effective performance of the job.

11. Selection decisions will not be influenced by any perceived prejudices of other staff.

Training and Promotion

1. All managers will receive training in the application of this policy to ensure that they are aware of its contents and provisions.

2. All promotion will be in line with this policy.

Monitoring

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

2. Monitoring will involve:-

a. )   the collection and classification of information given voluntarily regarding the age, disability, race, sex and sexual orientation of all current employees
b.)   the examination by age, disability, race, sex and sexual orientation of the distribution of employees and the success rate of the applicants
c.)   recording recruitment, training and promotional records of all employees, the decisions reached and the reason for those decisions.

3. The results of monitoring will be reviewed at regular intervals to assess the effectiveness of the implementation of this policy.