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Introduction

Diversity is a combination of many unique individuals, and comprises of people from various nations, cultures, colours, ethnic groups, generations and backgrounds.  It encompasses gender, disability, sexuality, marital status and religious beliefs.All of this provides each person with their own exclusive skills, experiences, perspectives, abilities and ways of working and communicating.

Stone Lodge understands the requirements we have as an employer and landlord, in eradicating discrimination and in encouraging tolerance and equality amongst those with whom we house and work with. Therefore, an effective Equalities and Diversity Policy can improve all aspects of equality and assist in creating a good representation of our company and a good rapport with employees, tenants, prospective tenants and other customers.

We understand that as a social landlord we need to recognise and take into consideration the housing and related requirements of everybody in the different communities we serve.  To accomplish this we will work together with local authorities, to make certain that all the housing needs and aspirations amongst diverse communities and minority groups are addressed.  We will also routinely evaluate our contribution to meeting those needs through the use of existing stock or developing new housing.

Taking diversity into consideration is fundamental in creating new services to meet long term needs and to maintain relevancy of existing services. We aim to ensure that our workforce is truly representative of all sections of society and that each employee feels respected and able to give their best.  Utilising a workforce that mirrors the customer base at all levels will be more adequately prepared to manage the variety of needs and desires of service users.

Our Policy Statement

Stone Lodge is dedicated to eradicating discrimination and encouraging equality and diversity amongst our staff and the communities in which we serve.  We aim to ensure that our that our employees, residents and customers are always treated with respect, regardless of culture, race or beliefs and also given a receptive service, which eliminates discrimination and harassment in our housing.  We condemn harassment, bullying or intimidation and are dedicated to taking action to terminate such conduct and rectify any negative situation. We are aware of the disadvantage and discrimination experienced by particular groups because of their race, ethnic origin, colour, national origin, disability, sexuality, religion, gender, marital status or age.  However, we do not tolerate any unlawful discrimination and seek to achieve equality in all aspects of the Stone Lodge Group.  We will abide by all relevant Equality & Diversity legislation, including:  

• The Race Relations Act
• The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 
• The Race Relations Act  (Amendment) 
• The Sex Discrimination Acts (As Amended)
• The Disability Discrimination Act
• The Disability Discrimination Act and (Amendment) Regulations
• The Equal Pay Act
• The Equal Pay (Amendment) Regulations
• The Human Rights Act
• The Employment Rights Act
• The Employment Act
• The Employment Relations Act
• The Age Discrimination Act
• The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations
• The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations
• The Flexible Working (Procedural Requirements) Regulations
• The Flexible Working (Eligibility, Complaints and Remedies) Regulations
•  The Code of Practice on Gender Equality Duty (Equal Opportunities Commission)
• CRE Code of Practice
• Housing Corporation Regulatory Code and Guidance
• Housing Corporation Good Practice Notes 4 and 8  

Racial Discrimination

Racial discrimination is disrespecting people because of their race, colour, nationality or ethnic origin.  Racial discrimination can manifest in several ways, such as 

Withholding facilities, services or opportunities from someone because of their race

• Exclusion,
• Oppression
• Stereotyping
• Marginalisation. 
   

The Stone Lodge Group is active in very ethnically diverse areas of London, and we strive for racial equality and take a practical stand against unfair behavior by

• Having an understanding that people from black and minority ethnic (BME) groups and other minority groups such as refugees and asylum seekers face unlawful discrimination, combating any such racial prejudice
• Raising awareness
• Confronting unreasonable practices and racial stereotypes.
• Frequently reviewing our policies of racial harassment and other kinds of prejudiced behaviour to make sure that these policies are applied effectively
• Monitoring satisfaction with our methods of combating racism.
• When investigating customer satisfaction, finding out which groups of customers are less satisfied with our service and why, and tackling these areas accordingly
• Complying with legislation concerning race equality 
   

Gender Equality Scheme

Sex discrimination is regarding a person less favorably because of their gender, marital status or gender reassignment.  Stone Lodge is dedicated to ensure that men and women staff, residents and customers are treated fairly and equally, respecting people for who they are, not what, they are. We commit to achieve equality by:- 

• Challenging gender stereotypes sexist language and behaviour
• Providing equal pay for equal work, ensuring that men and women are equally valued and that salaries
  pensions and other financial rewards and benefits are free from any form of partiality
• Supporting individuals, irrespective of gender  in pursuing training and development opportunities where they are under-represented,  providing them with equal opportunity to develop and progress
• Giving equal access to our provision and equal treatment and respect of our employees, residents and customers regardless of their gender
• Ensuring that our policies, procedures and practices do not show prejudice against any gender. 
• Monitoring and reviewing progress on our equality policy
• Ensuring that our female employees are not treated adversely because of pregnancy or child birth 
• Acknowledging the significance of family-friendly policies by allowing flexible working arrangements     
• Ensuring that transgender  and  transsexual employees and residents are not discriminated against in relation to employment and service provision  
   

Disability Discrimination 

Disability discrimination is defined as unfair treatment of a person due to a disability including a wide range of impairments, illnesses and other conditions, both physical and mental. Stone Lodge is committed to achieving disability equality by promoting equality for disabled people and tackle discrimination by:  

• Challenging harassment and discriminating attitudes about people with disabilities
• Promoting the focus on what people with disabilities can do rather than what they cannot
• Not discriminating against anyone with a disability in the interview process by interviewing all candidates with a disability who meet the minimum criteria for the job, and employing the on the basis of ability 
• Providing a system in place to discuss with disabled employees what can be done to ensure that all their abilities are being utilized.  
• Ensuring as much as possible that If any employee becomes disabled, that they will retain their employment.
• Allowing those with disabilities to achieve their full career potential
• Ensuring that employees increase their level of disability awareness.
• Creating a safe and secure environment for disabled people
• Giving support, assistance and care to disabled people and so allowing them to lead an independent life.
• Tailoring support to meet each individual’s needs.
• Including the ideas of disabled people when devising strategies and improvements to our services.  

Age Discrimination

Ageism is conveying prejudice towards a person because of their age, this can be discrimination towards young people or older people.

 

Stone Lodge determines to value everyone equally regardless of their age.  We aim to do this by achieving the following:-

• Challenging any misconceptions about age in Stone Lodge employment and service 
• Ensuring that all employees are aware and have an understanding of the Equalities and Diversity Policy
• Upholding the positives of an age diverse workforce
• Examining our employment, training and promotion procedures to eliminate age barriers.
• Motivating employees of all ages to reach their potential
• Making sure that when it comes to making redundancies, age is not a factor in the decision 
• Offering employees good non - discriminatory retirement options
• Religion or Faith Discrimination                           

This kind of discrimination relates to the unfair treatment of an individual based on their religious belief or similar philosophical beliefs.  Stone Lodge supports peoples’ right to their religious beliefs and does not tolerate any form of discrimination towards them because of their religion. 

We aim for fair treatment of individuals in the work place or using the service regardless of their religion.  To do this we will:-

• Encourage good rapport between people of different religions and beliefs in our vicinity 
• Recognise and respect religion and belief in the workplace and amongst our clients and customers
• Enhance our understanding of religion and belief amongst our staff.
• Provide our services in ways which acknowledge and respect religion and belief.
• Address unlawful discrimination and harassment. We will regularly review our harassment policies and ensure that support is provided to victims
   
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