1.0 Purpose and Scope

1.1        The vision of our charity is for a united and thriving Southwark with strong, inclusive and equal communities. This means that equity, diversity and inclusion principles underpin everything we do and how we operate, and are reflected in our values and embedded in our practices and individual behaviours. We recognise that some groups face inequalities and injustices in the way opportunities and resources are shared. If we address these barriers and include people with a diverse range of lived experiences, we know our impact will be greater.

1.2        The purpose of this policy is to explain how we:

  • comply with equality and anti-discrimination laws and regulation.
  • go beyond legal requirements to understand, implement and promote our diversity, equity and inclusion.
  • live our values of embracing diversity and treating everyone fairly
  • use our resources and assets to promote equality, diversity and inclusion in the borough
  • make sure we tackle prejudice and discrimination across everything we do.

1.3        The policy is based on best practice, legal advice and Charity Commission guidance on the Equality Act 2010. It applies to all UStSC employees, trustees, residents, grant partners and volunteers.

1.4        The policy applies to all areas of our work, our employees and trustees, our residents and partners.

 

2.0 Definitions

Diversity: means people’s different experiences, identities and points of view. For UStSC, our focus is the diverse characteristics and backgrounds of our area’s population. That includes legally protected characteristics and other things which can affect people’s life chances, like appearance, gender identity, caring responsibilities, or being a migrant, refugee or asylum seeker.

Equity: means everyone, no matter their background or characteristics, getting fair treatment and access to opportunities. This means recognising that some people experience inequality and injustice. So, for UStSC, treating everyone the same (‘equality’) is not enough – we must strive to remove barriers people face.

Inclusion: means everyone feeling they belong, being safe and respected, able to take part and realise their potential. For UStSC, this involves striving to reach, listen to and involve people in our work who tend to be under-represented or whose voices tend not to be heard.

Protected characteristics are defined in the Equality Act 2010 as:

  • age
  • disability (a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term effect on your ability to do normal day-to-day activities – it includes learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, sensory impairments, mental health issues, dementia and impairments resulting from injuries),
  • gender reassignment (transitioning from one gender to another),
  • marriage or civil partnership for same- or opposite-sex couples,
  • pregnancy or maternity (if you are expecting a baby and the period after birth),
  • your race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin,
  • having a religion or belief (including no religion) which affects the way you live,
  • your sex (whether you are a man or woman),
  • sexual orientation (whether you are sexually attracted to men, women or both).

The Act also covers people who care for someone who is elderly or disabled as being ‘associated’ with someone whose characteristics are legally protected.

Positive action in law means proportionate measures to help people with one or more protected characteristics to have the same chances as everyone else. This may include providing additional or targeted support to achieve equity, help address specific needs, overcome disadvantage linked to a protected characteristic or increase inclusion where there is under-representation.

Prejudice means an unjustified, usually negative, attitude towards a person or a group of people based on their different characteristics or background.

Discrimination means treating a person or a group of people unfairly because of their differences.

Direct discrimination means someone with a protected characteristic being treated less favourably than someone without that characteristic. Indirect discrimination is where a rule or practice applies to everyone, but it disadvantages people with a protected characteristic. Discrimination by association is where someone experiences direct discrimination because of their link to someone else’s protected characteristic.

Reasonable adjustment is a change an employer or provider of a service or activity must make to reduce a substantial disadvantage for a disabled person. Whether a proposed adjustment counts as reasonable depends on things like how far if it would remove or reduce the disadvantage, and whether it’s practical and affordable.

Unconscious bias is where, without actively intending to, people favour others who are most like them, which can increase barriers for people from diverse backgrounds.

 

3.0 Housing

3.1        Everyone has a role to play in helping us to create a fair and inclusive environment within UStSC’s almshouses. This includes our trustees, executive management team, employees and residents. We want to make sure that our residents are at the heart of everything we do and the services we provide are meeting their needs. We are committed to ensuring fair and equal access to services and facilities for all. We aim to promote equality, diversity and inclusion with our residents, suppliers, partners and other organisations who we work with. To embed a culture of respect for all and to ensure our employees who work in our almshouses are aware of and trained in diversity and equality issues. This includes understanding accessibility issues, embracing cultural diversity and promoting lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (+) equality.

3.2        When delivering services in our almshouses, we aim to provide services that are accessible to the communities we serve and meet their needs. We do this this by getting to know our residents so we can shape services to meet their needs. We deliver appropriate, accessible and responsive services which promote wellbeing and independence and reflect the diverse needs of our residents and future residents. We do this by understanding our current and future residents’ needs, aspirations, expectations and opinions through collecting demographic information, in line with General Data Protection Regulations, and using resident insight and engagement to develop a deeper understanding. We support people to continue to live effectively in their homes where we can and promote community cohesion through community activities. We make sure we consider people’s needs by communicating in a way that suits their preferences and tailoring the information we provide in an accessible format. This includes ensuring that everyone is given the necessary support to apply for our almshouses and services.

3.3        UStSC aims to deal promptly and effectively with all aspects of discrimination, harassment, hate related crime and domestic violence, as they impact on our residents, communities and employees in our almshouses. Residents are encouraged to report hate crime to the Charity and this will be dealt with by our Anti-social Behaviour Policy. We take a tough stance on hate crime and follow a victim led approach. We provide support to those affected when necessary. We take a multi-agency approach to reporting hate crime through in the local authority that we work in and work in partnership with other organisations to tackle wider issues.

As an organisation, we aim to embed these commitments in our every-day work within our almshouses. This is the responsibility of our trustees, executive team, employees and others who represent UStSC.

 

4.0 Community Investment

4.1        The vision of the Charity is a united and thriving Southwark with strong, inclusive and equal communities. The Community Investment (CI) programme helps to realise that vision by fostering a strong, well-served and equal community through grant making and related activities.

United St Saviour’s recognises that there is not a level playing field in relation to accessing grants, and that there are inherent power imbalances in being a funder, so we are explicit that the promotion of equality, diversity and inclusion is as much about how we fund, who we fund and what we fund.

4.2        How we fund:

We have adopted the Institute of Voluntary Action Research (IVAR) ‘Trusted and Open’ grant-making principles which aim to make funders more relational, understanding, and responsive.  We apply these principles to make us a better funder, and to specifically increase access and uptake of grants by under-represented groups and those with direct experience of social and economic exclusion.

These are: don’t waste time, don’t ask unnecessary questions, accept risk, act with urgency, be open, enable flexibility, communicate with purpose, be proportionate.

We are exploring how we can involve people with lived experience of the issues we seek to address in our grant-making strategy, decision-making or processes.  Through this process we will remunerate people for their input, as appropriate, in line with our EDI principles.

4.3        Who we fund:

We proactively seek to engage and support under-represented and diverse groups by doing the following:

  • Providing additional support and ringfenced funding for groups who have historically been excluded and/or who are led by people with lived experience of social-economic challenges.
  • Removed barriers to access by making applications simple and accessible, and by encouraging groups to get in touch before applying so we can provide additional support
  • Proactive outreach and engagement, using different communication channels and using connections of others embedded into various communities.
  • Flexible payments and grants which are appropriate for, and supportive of, smaller and specialist groups. This includes payment in advance, core and unrestricted funding.
  • A preparedness to take risks in order to reach and support diverse and smaller groups. This includes flexibility in due diligence/assessments to include rather than exclude.
  • Flexibility and minimal demands for reporting – in recognition that this is challenging for groups with unpaid staff or limited capacity.

4.4        What we fund:

Our grant-making priorities support our vision of a fair and equal Southwark. They are determined by Trustees on the basis of discussions, research and analysis of local community.  Because local needs change over time, priorities and aims are reviewed every 3 years – unless particular circumstances arise which demand more frequent review.

Our current priorities are underpinned by diversity, equality and inclusion principles:

  • Levelling the playing field: we want all residents to have the same life opportunities and chances
  • Positive Ageing: we want older Southwark residents to experience a great quality of life
  • Strong, resilient communities: we want to see communities that are inclusive, strong and supportive of each other

 

5.0 Research and Influence

5.1        We believe that our mission of fostering strong, well served and equal communities through our Community Investment initiatives and enhancing the quality of life of our almshouse residents are supported and enriched by our research and influence activities. We will use the research findings to inform our grant-making and service provision to ensure that our almshouse environments and the broader Southwark community we serve are accessible and inclusive.

5.2        We are committed to attracting the best researchers with a diversity of perspectives and expertise to collaborate with us. We aim to work with funders and partners who share our vision of ensuring equity, diversity and inclusion is at the heart of our research initiatives. We will ensure that recruitment for research participation is transparent and visible to all and that information regarding projects is communicated in a way that suits their preferences and is presented in an accessible format. We will endeavour to recruit research participants who represent the diversity in our almshouses and Southwark communities and aim to remunerate participants for their time unless financial limitations prevent this.

5.3        To offer equality, prevent discrimination and support under-represented groups we will monitor diversity. We will gather and securely hold equality and diversity related data on our grant holders, residents, employees and trustees. Data helps us measure our progress and can identify areas for future improvement and inform decisions on where to direct our resources and services. It helps create a culture of valuing diversity and inclusion.

 

6.0 Governance and Accountability

6.1        We seek to include and be accountable to our communities through our governance. We aim to have a diverse and inclusive Board. We will appoint an equity, diversity and inclusion champion on the Board, who will work with the executive management team to regularly analyse our progress towards delivering this policy and identifying opportunities for continuous improvement.

6.2        Trustees are not required to have specific qualifications except where relevant to a role. In advertising vacancies and when recruiting trustees, we will take positive action to make sure we attract under-represented groups. We commit to demonstrating an inclusive boardroom culture through trustee behaviours and governance practices. Trustees sign a code of conduct, and must comply with our policies, and they can be removed by the Board if they breach them. We make sure that all trustees are fully aware of their responsibilities under this policy and for demonstrating leadership through inclusive decision-making where all voices are equally heard. Board and committee meetings take place at the most convenient times agreed collectively by members, with options for those not able to be there in person. Reasonable expenses can be paid to support everyone’s participation.

 

7.0 People and Operations

7.1        We believe there is strength in diversity and that a diverse staff team will enable us to deliver better services and advance our purpose. We aim to build an inclusive and supportive workplace where every-one can bring their whole self to work and succeed in being their best. We have standards and procedures to ensure open staff recruitment which attracts diverse candidates and gives everyone a fair chance regardless of background. We are proactive in attracting, supporting and retaining candidates from under-represented groups. We do not ask for specific qualifications unless they clearly link to a role’s requirements.

7.2        We are committed to an inclusive and healthy working environment and culture, and to people having a positive balance in their lives. Diversity, equity and inclusion are central to our standards for staff conduct. Our staff handbook covers equality in employment and policies on sickness, maternity, paternity, parental, adoption, and dependants’ leave, flexible working and our grievance and disciplinary procedures. We have specific HR policies for employees on how to raise issues of harassment, bullying and other serious concerns including Dignity at Work and Grievance, Whistleblowing. We have trained mental health first aiders in our staff team to support colleagues and will provide mental health training for our frontline staff, especially those working with older people.

7.3        We recognise that the key to succeeding long into the future will be our people. We will ensure that UStSC’s employees advocate our values and behaviours and have the skills, knowledge and courage to challenge and address issues where colleagues are not acting in line with these. Our employees will receive mandatory induction and continuing training on this policy and other aspects of diversity, equity and inclusion so that they can mainstream UStSC’s commitment to EDI in their everyday work. We will continue to explore how we can keep this up-to-date, relevant and engaging.

 

8.0 Communications, Marketing and Engagement

8.1        UStSC’s communications and marketing are designed to ensure we reach diverse audiences. We aim to make information available in accessible formats. We encourage all grant and housing applicants to tell us if they have any communication needs and we will support them to complete forms as required.

8.2        We recognise that given the relatively small size of our team, and the nature of our work, our trustees and employees will not always fully reflect communities in our area. So, we will take positive action to make sure we engage and listen to the opinions and experiences of people and communities who are under-represented and who are affected by prejudice, discrimination and unconscious bias.

 

9.0 Finance and Assets

9.1        The majority of UStSC’s income is derived from rental income from our commercial investment properties and share dividends from our investment portfolio. We have committed to moving towards a responsible investment approach across our range of investments. Our aim is to take account of environmental, social and governance issues (ESG) relating to our choice of commercial leaseholders and portfolio holdings. Our investment managers are expected to be able to report on relevant diversity, equity and inclusion issues as part of their ESG expertise. We will not choose to lease a property to an organisation that is inconsistent with our own principles, and we will actively engage with any existing leaseholders where their practices do not align with our values.

9.2        Where possible, UStSC seeks to apply this policy when we buy services from third parties to manage or maintain our buildings. We will carry out due diligence whenever we select suppliers and contractors for our investment and housing assets, to ensure that their own employment and operating practices meet our high expectations.

 

10.0 Responsibility for Implementing this Policy

10.1        Ultimate responsibility for this policy rests with UStSC’s Board of Trustees. The Board delegates responsibility for implementation to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the Executive Team. However, everyone who works for the organisation, whether paid or unpaid, has an individual responsibility to work within and promote the policy.

10.2        Where it appears that there may be a breach of the policy, the CEO and the Chair of the Board/trustee representative will investigate and take appropriate action. Complaints may be made externally through UStSC’s published complaints process or whistleblowing policy or internally through the procedures set out in the staff handbook.

10.3        The Board will review the policy itself every three years.