Introduction.

Au Milieu believes that equality of opportunity and freedom from discrimination are fundamental rights of all people.  We recognise that discrimination, prejudice and disadvantage exist in society and acknowledge that we have a duty to address these issues whenever possible.  

Au Milieu is committed to a Policy of Equality of Opportunity that respects the identity, rights and value of each individual. Au Milieu respects and celebrates difference and will promote the principles of understanding and respect for others. No one will be discriminated against, including families, staff, volunteers, visitors or Trustees. 

Au Milieu does not accept discrimination based on any of the protected characteristics of equality and diversity (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnerships, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex and sexual orientation) and will endeavour to ensure that its policies, practises and procedures do not discriminate on these grounds. No one will be discriminated against, including families, staff, trainees, visitors or trustees on any of the grounds of these nine legislatively protected characteristics of diversity. Au Milieu is committed to opposing any direct and indirect discrimination in the organisation and upholding the highest standards of professionalism.

Aims.

Au Milieu’s aim is to treat everyone with respect and to be aware of his or her individual needs and circumstances.  Au Milieu will endeavour to incorporate this approach in all aspects of its work and contacts whether they are with clients, fellow team members, the community, business, donor or partner organisations.

Our objectives are to:

• Ensure that any selection for employment, promotion, training or any other benefit will be on the basis of aptitude and ability. 
• Eliminate unlawful discrimination of clients, workers, trainees or visitors, on the grounds of race, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, and physical or mental abilities.
• Ensure equal access for all to Au Milieu’s services, selection, training, promotion and allocation of work
• Achieve a balanced workforce that reflects the make-up of the community it serves
• Maximise the use of skills available to Au Milieu.
• To challenge discrimination and lack of opportunity in our own policy and practise and to encourage other organisations and individuals to do the same.
• To create a culture that respects and values each other’s differences and recognises that difference/diversity is a great asset to Au Milieu, both to its work and the people it serves.
• Ensure that these standards are adopted by any employee, contractor, or agency used to recruit, promote or deliver services on behalf of Au Milieu.

Employment.

• Au Milieu is committed to eliminating discrimination in recruiting, promoting and developing staff, as well as in its day-to-day work.
• Au Milieu will recruit the person who best matches the requirements of a vacant post.  Appointment will be made on merit.  Advertisements will include a statement indicating Au Milieu’s commitment to equal opportunities. All vacancies will be advertised. Restricted advertising will only occur to allow redeployment. Recruitment by ‘word of mouth’ is potentially discriminatory and is not permitted. 
• All employees who are involved in recruitment and selection must be trained in fair methods and there must always be a minimum of two interviewers at every interview. Job descriptions and personnel specifications must only contain realistic job criteria.

Employees and Clients.

• Diversity amongst employees, trainees, contractors and clients will be valued and individual skills will be taken into account, utilized and maximized wherever possible.
• Where services are targeted at a community or population group (e.g., new or vulnerable families) Au Milieu will actively seek to increase service usage in order to represent an accurate cross-section of the community, including pro-actively identifying and engaging with hard-to-reach groups and those who are under-represented. 
• Discrimination, bullying, harassment of any kind or exclusion are unacceptable and behaviour of this kind will not be tolerated. Any breach of this Equality and Diversity Policy will be promptly dealt with within the Au Milieu disciplinary procedure.

Training, development and supervision.

• • This positioning statement will be made available to all via the Au Milieu website. New staff will be briefed on this policy during induction, and sign to say they have understood its contents.

• Appropriate training to raise awareness of equality and diversity issues may be offered to all employees, volunteers, trainees and Trustees. This may need to be renewed should the ethnic mix of the community change.

 

Unacceptable behaviour.

• Employees of Au Milieu have a responsibility to report all incidents of harassment or discrimination to the Clinical Director
• Incidents of discrimination or harassment will be treated seriously and dealt with fairly

• The Clinical Director will seek to put in place an adequate system or procedures in order to deal with any form of harassment, unfair discrimination, incidents or complaints.

 

Implementation.

• Au Milieu will strive to become an example of equal opportunities by all team members adhering to all responsibilities as outlined in this Equality and Diversity Policy

• The policies and practise of Au Milieu will be responsive to feedback from employees, service users and those who contract the service with regards to ensuring they encourage equality and diversity.

• The implementation and effectiveness of the Equality and Diversity Policy will be monitored and reviewed on an annual basis.