Introduction

ISKCON Scotland:

ACCEPTS that in society certain groups or individuals are denied equality on the grounds of race, gender, marital status, caring responsibilities, disability, gender re-assignment, age, social class, sexual orientation and religion/belief or any other factor irrelevant to the purpose in view.

WELCOMES the statutory requirements laid down in:

• the Equal Pay Act 1970;

• the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974;

• the Sex Discrimination Act 1975;

• the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Race Relations Amendment Act Feb 2000;

• the NHS Community Care Act 1990;

• the Disability Discrimination Act 1995;

• the Asylum & Immigration Act 1996;

• the Human Rights Act Nov 1998;

• the Employment (Religion or Belief) and (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003.

RECOGNISES that it has moral and social responsibilities that go beyond the provisions of the above-mentioned Acts and Regulations, and that it should support and contribute to the wider process of change through all aspects of its work and practices in order to eliminate discrimination and promote equality and diversity.

IS COMMITTED to taking positive steps to ensure that:

• all people are treated with dignity and respect, valuing the diversity of all;

• equality of opportunity and diversity is promoted;

• services are accessible, appropriate and delivered fairly to all;

• the mix of its employees, volunteers and management committees reflects, as far as possible, the broad mix of the population of its local community;

• traditionally disadvantaged sections of the community are encouraged to participate in policy decisions about, and the management of the services provided.

Policy

This policy applies to all Trustees, staff, volunteers, management committee members, users and the general public.

Commitment

Equality and diversity are central to the work of ISKCON Scotland.

ISKCON Scotland will treat all people with dignity and respect, valuing the diversity of all.   It will promote equality of opportunity and diversity.   It will eliminate all forms of discrimination on grounds of race, gender, marital status, caring responsibilities, disability, gender re-assignment, age, social class, sexual orientation, religion/ belief, irrelevant offending background or any other factor irrelevant to the purpose in view.

It will tackle social exclusion, inequality, discrimination and disadvantage.

For this policy to be successful, it is essential that everyone is committed to and involved in its delivery. ISKCON Scotland’s goal is to work towards a just society free from discrimination, harassment and prejudice.   ISKCON Scotland aims to embed this in all its policies, procedures, day-to-day practices and external relationships.

Aims

ISKCON Scotland aims to:

• Provide services that are accessible according to need;

• Promote equality of opportunity and diversity in volunteering, employment and development;

• Create effective partnerships with all parts of our community.

Objectives

ISKCON Scotland’s objective is to realise its standards by:

• Sustaining, regularly evaluating and continually improving its services to ensure equality and diversity principles and best practice are embedded in our performance to meet the needs of individuals and groups;

• Working together with the community to provide accessible and relevant service provision that responds to service users’ needs;

• Ensuring staff, volunteers and trustees are representative of the community served and the employment policies are fair and robust;

• Responding to volunteer’s & employees’ needs and encouraging their development to increase their contribution to effective service delivery;

• Recognising and valuing the differences and individual contribution that all people make to ISKCON Scotland;

• Challenging discrimination;

• Providing fair resource allocation;

• Being accountable.​

Why have this policy?

ISKCON Scotland recognises, respects and values diversity in its Trustees, employees, volunteers and service users.

ISKCON Scotland 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 ISKCON Scotland.

 

PROCEDURES

Responsibility for Implementation

This policy covers the behaviour of all people employed or volunteering in ISKCON Scotland or using the services and sets out the way they can expect to be treated in turn by ISKCON Scotland.   The overall responsibility for ensuring adherence to and implementation of this policy lies with the Trustees, staff and the management committee.

Method of Implementation

ISKCON Scotland intends to implement this policy by:

Ensuring that it is a condition of paid employment in ISKCON Scotland;

Ensuring that Trustees, Management committee, volunteers and users are made aware, understand, agree with, and are willing to implement, this policy.   All staff and volunteers will be given a copy of this policy as part of their induction;

Actively encouraging Trustees, staff, management committee and volunteers to participate in anti-discriminatory training, and making time and resources available for such training;

Monitoring the services, publicity and events provided by ISKCON Scotland, to ensure that they are

accessible to all sections of the population and do not discriminate, and taking active steps to ensure that participation is representative.

Monitoring and Reviewing

ISKCON Scotland has declared its commitment to establishing, developing, implementing and reviewing a policy of equality of opportunity.   Effective record keeping and monitoring, and acting on information gathered, are essential in order to measure effectiveness and plan progress.   The management committee will review the policy annually.

Handling breaches and enforcement

The Management Committee will take complaints of discrimination and harassment very seriously.

They will investigate them thoroughly, and provide opportunities for the person making the complaint to speak in a safe environment about their experience.

If the complaint is against a particular individual, the committee will hear their point of view.

The Committee will decide the action to take based on the principle of ensuring the continued inclusion and safety of any member who has experienced discrimination or harassment.

If you wish to complain or raise an allegation of breach (or potential breach) under the policy, you should contact us via or as soon as possible.

Review

This policy is reviewed every 2 years

Signed:

George McMullan

Charity Director

Date: 1st February 2020