Equality and diversity
Equality of Opportunity
At Mansfield and Ashfield District Council’s we value diversity and recognise the importance of having a workforce that reflects the local community. We believe that people who apply for a job with us or who already work for us have the right to equal opportunity and respect regardless of their age, impairment, ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, nationality or religion, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity.
We will ensure that our employment practices and services are free from discrimination and prejudice. To help us achieve this we:
- Monitor the profile of our organisation and compare against the Local Labour Market Profile
- Identify any trends in this information or areas that are underrepresented and take the necessary action to address these
- Publish the relevant data on a regular basis.
Disability Confident Employer
Both Authorities have migrated over from the Two Ticks Disability Symbol to the Disability Confident accreditation scheme. This Government scheme run by the Department for Work and Pensions encourages businesses to recruit and retain disabled people and people with health conditions for their skills and talent. The scheme has three levels; Committed, Employer and leader and both Mansfield and Ashfield Councils have migrated over to the Employer level.
The Core actions for the scheme at the Employer level include are focussed on getting the right people for your business;
- Actively looking to attract and recruit disabled people
- Providing a fully inclusive and accessible recruitment process
- Offering an interview to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the job
- Flexible when assessing people so disabled job applicants have the best opportunity to demonstrate that they can do the job
- Making reasonable adjustments as required
- Encouraging our suppliers and partner firms to be Disability Confident
- Ensuring that employees have sufficient disability equality awareness
Mindful Employer Charter
Both Authorities have signed the Mindful Employer Charter run by Workways, part of the Devon Partnership NHS Trust. This demonstrates we are an employer that is positive about Mental Health.
The Charter is focussed on aspirations to promote Mental Health within the Organisation.
As an employer we recognise that:
- People who have mental health issues may have experienced discrimination in recruitment and selection procedures. This may discourage them from seeking employment
- Whilst some people will acknowledge their experience of mental health issues in a frank and open way, others fear that stigma will jeopardise their chances of getting a job.
- Given appropriate support, the vast majority of people who have experienced metal ill health continue to work successfully as do many with ongoing issues
As an employer we aim to:
- Show a positive and enabling attitude to employees and job applicants with mental health issues. This will include positive statements in local recruitment literature
- Ensure that all staff involved in recruitment and selection are briefed on mental health issues and the Equality Act 2010, and given appropriate interview skills
- Make it clear in any recruitment or occupational health check that people who have experienced mental health issues will not be discriminated against and that disclosure of a mental health problem will enable both employee and employer to assess and provide the right level of support and adjustment
- Not make assumptions that a person with a mental health issue will be more vulnerable to workplace stress or take more time off than any other employee or job applicant
- Provide non-judgemental and proactive support to individual staff who experience mental health issues
- Ensure all line managers have information and training about managing mental health in the workplace.
For more information on Equality and Diversity;
Charter Marks