Age is one of the protected characteristics that is defined under the Equality Act. Any discrimination based on this characteristic is unlawful and we carry out People Impact Assessments to protect our community and staff from this. For more information around our legal duties click here.
So, how do we consider Age as a protected characteristic in practice?
In our communities
We work collaboratively with our partners to identify the members of our communities most at risk. Age is a factor that has been proven to place individuals at a higher risk from a fire in the home as well as the risk associated with slips, trips and falls. Based on this information our Safe and Well Visits are targeted at older people in our communities. The support we offer enables the most vulnerable within our communities to live safely.
Like many counties across the country both Dorset and Wiltshire have ageing populations so the demand for these services is ever increasing. Our Safe and Well Advisors and Duty Crews have been specifically trained to provide a person-centred visit, which expands beyond only identifying fire risks but also considering health and wellbeing issues, taking a more wholistic approach to reducing risk. Our staff will not only signpost individuals but also seek to immediately identify and reduce risks where appropriate. The wishes, behaviours, needs and abilities of the individual are always at the heart of any intervention.
- To ensure that our services are reaching the most vulnerable we work with agencies, other organisations and authorities such as Safe and Independent Living, Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust, Age UK, Careline etc. who are regularly in contact with the members of our communities who require our support but may not have access to obtain the information from our usual channels, for example if they do not have access internet.
- We also offer a Freephone telephone number which can be called to request a visit, or a request can be made in writing. All our materials are available in easy read and large font making them accessible to a wider audience.
It is not just the elderly who require input from the Fire Service, we are also passionate about educating future generations in our communities to ensure they remain safe and healthy. We therefore deliver a range of education and intervention programmes that have been designed to support children, young adults, and their families.
- Our Education Programme is delivered to young members of our communities through school programmes, offering advice on fire safety in the home. We follow a structured programme to ensure consistency across the area, but if there is a local problem or trend developing we have a reactive aspect to our programme which enables us to build this into the programme educating children on this particular aspect of fire safety.
- In addition to our main delivery programme in schools we work with our partners to support the safety of children and young people. We signpost and share key safety messages through campaigns and themed weeks using our website, social media and through community events.
- We offer more specific services to children and young adults who may be exhibiting signs of Fire Setting behaviour.
- We educate members of our communities about the dangers on our roads through our Road Safety Education Programme. New drivers and older drivers are two of the most vulnerable road user groups and we have various interventions to help keep them safe.
Within Our Workforce
We recognise the ageing profile of our workforce here are some of the ways we support our staff in the workplace:
- Comprehensive health and wellbeing offering, including access to personal trainers to help staff maintain their fitness, access to the Firefighters charity for physical and mental convalescence or rehabilitation, retirement information sessions and menopause workshops.
- Digital learning and workshops on ED&I subjects including our code of ethics and unconscious bias.
- A number of staff networks to support underrepresented groups of all ages.
- A network of “Guardians” are available to discuss concerns with objectively for advice and guidance.
- Robust procedures, such as Recruitment and Bullying and Harassment to ensure equity and inclusion.
- In 2024, we launched our “Safe To” programme, empowering all staff with tools to help our staff feel psychologically safe to “Be”, “Speak”, “Challenge” and “Lead”.