Equal opportunities information and statement
The council is committed to equal opportunities policies and action to ensure that its employees and the people it serves are not discriminated against on the basis of their age, class, disability, employment status, ethnic or national origins, race or colour, HIV status, marital status, religious or political beliefs, responsibilities for children, sex, sexuality, trade union activities and unrelated criminal convictions.
Our commitment to job applicants.
We are committed to ensuring that we provide equal opportunities in employment.
The aim of this policy is to make sure that we do not unfairly discriminate against any job applicant or employee for any reason.
We will make sure that we do not discriminate when we decide whom to employ so that the best people are appointed to deliver our services. Hence our need to identify the diversity of applicants for our jobs and inclusion of a recruitment monitoring section within the application form.
To reinforce this we also have a policy on the recruitment and employment of ex-offenders where we commit to not discriminating unfairly on the basis of convictions or other information. We welcome applications from a wide range of candidates, including those with criminal records, and we select candidates for interview based on their skills, qualifications and experience, and having a criminal record will not necessarily stop someone from being appointed. A full copy of the policy is available on request. Further clarification on how criminal convictions impact upon the application process is provided in the document - "Help with completing your form" (point 10).
In deciding who will be shortlisted for interview we will only consider applicants for jobs on the basis of their relevant experience, qualifications, skills and abilities.
We aim to create a workforce that is representative of the population of the borough. It is therefore, very important that you complete the recruitment monitoring section of the application form.
Disabled job applicants.
The Disability Discrimination Act is designed to help make sure that disabled people have a fair chance of getting and staying in employment. The definition of a disabled person is wide ranging and includes wheelchair users, people with visual or hearing impairments, staff who can walk easily on a flat surface but have a long-term difficulty in using stairs, or staff who have dyslexia, and other disabilities that have lasted or are likely to last for 12 months or more.
This is not an exhaustive list. If you declare your disability status on this form by ticking yes in the disability section of the recruitment monitoring form and you minimally meet the selection criteria, you are guaranteed an interview.
There is a wide range of benefits of declaring a disability, various loans and allowances are available for employees with mobility difficulties, such as essential car user allowance and loans for the purchase or adaptation of new or second hand cars.
Disabled staff (or those with disabled children) are prioritised for financial assistance on the council’s childcare subsidy scheme.
Corporate human resources are the central point of contact for:
- Carrying out disability related workplace assessments
- Referrals under the Access to Work scheme
- Accessing the council's disability equipment bank.
