We continuously look to provide the best possible service for our communities. These are best demonstrated by our five priorities and our Community Safety Plan.
We’re also mindful that, in order to provide the best service for our community, our staff need to feel physically and psychologically safe. We know we’re legally bound to fulfil the obligations under the Equality Act and Public Sector Equality Duty, but we strive to go beyond this and be a truly a person-centric organisation.
We have a fantastic workforce who are passionate about changing and saving lives. We therefore work to be fully inclusive of everyone, including groups who share characteristics that are not covered by the Equality Act. Here are some of the ways we do this:
- A large proportion of our workforce are on-call. We therefore make sure that we consider any impacts on this group of people when we make any changes or introduce something new.
- Our Staff Networks for under-represented groups are open to all. This allows everyone to grow from the rich conversations, help steer some of the important improvements they initiate, and become powerful allies.
- We consider accommodations for needs that may not qualify as a reasonable adjustment. As examples, we have supported people with a temporary disability, women experiencing menopause, and colleagues who do not feel they are neurotypical.
- Our Code of Ethics workshops encourage psychologically-safe spaces where people can share how they apply our five ethical principles, including Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.
- All our staff have access to a range of initiatives supported by our Health & Wellbeing team and our HR Business Partners.
Everyone holds at least one protected characteristic. On the right, we have listed each of the protected characteristics and within these pages we have outlined how we support these groups of people, both in our community and within our Service.