Links
Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR)
www.equalityhumanrights.com
/en/Pages/default.aspx
The Equality and Human Rights Commission champions equality and human rights for all, working to eliminate discriminations, reduce inequality, protect human rights and to build good relations, ensuring that everyone has a fair chance to participate in society.
Acas
www.acas.org.uk.
Acas aims to improve organanisations and working life through better employment relations, providing up-to-date information, independent advice, and work with employers and employees to solve problems and improve performance.
RNIB
www.rnib.org.uk
UK's leading charity offering information, support and advice to over two million people with sight problems.
RNID
www.rnid.org.uk
Representing 9 million people in the UK who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Centre for Accessible Environments
www.cae.org.uk
The Centre is a technical information and training resource for the construction industry, providers of goods and services, the care professions and disabled people.
Royal Association for the Deaf
www.royaldeaf.org.uk
The Royal Association for the Deaf (RAD) promotes the welfare and interests of Deaf people (by which we mean deaf people whos first or preferred language is sign language.
The Equality Act
On the 30th October 2003, the Government announced its intention to establish a single Equality and Human Rights (EHRC). This followed the consultation Equality and Diversity: Making it Happen, which was the most significant review of equality institutions in Great Britain for a quarter of a century.
The single Commission replaces the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) and the Disability Rights Commission (DRC).
The Equality Act and the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 places a duty on all public authorities to produce a Disability Equality Scheme and a Gender Equality Scheme with an Action Plan and recommenhds equality training for staff.
The emergence of the Equality Act and the Commission is not an isolated piece of legislation. The government has a number of key strands of policy that are either directly related to equalities or has equalities as a cross cutting theme.
By 2010 only 20% of the UK working population will be white, male, non disabled and under 45.
Expectations of fair treatment have increased. People are willing to complain or move jobs if they are not happy. Increasingly people are looking to work for an organisation that is ethically sound and fair in its practices and procedures.
Diversity covers visible and non-visible differences, harnessing these differences creates a productive environment where people are valued and their talents are fully utilised.
Disability Discrimination Act
The DDA aims to end discrimination for disabled people in the areas of employment, service provision, education and renting of property.
There are over 10 million disabled people in the UK with a spending power of over £80 billion. Adjusting the way an organisation provides or sells its product or service could enable them to reach this 20% of the market place.
Making adjustments for disabled people also helps and welcomes many other customers.
Having disabled people in the recruitment pool offers more choice.
Employers have found that disabled employees stay in the job for longer and have a strong committment to work, as well as good punctuality records and low absentee rates.
Keeping an employee who becomes ill or disabled at work generally costs less than having to recruit and train someone new.
The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 places a duty on all public authorities to produce a Disability Equality Scheme and Action Plan, and recommends disability equality training for staff.