Being inclusive should be at the forefront of every decision that is made within a organisation and training should always back this up.

Some questions to think about

Would your employees know the ways different cultural backgrounds can influence the work environment for individuals?

Does your staff feel confident talking about disability, race, sexual orientation etc?

If not, all of this can be provided with the correct training so that staff have the right knowledge and helps them to learn the sensitivity that surrounds equality and diversity within the workplace.

What is professional development?

Professional development is the process that aims to improve the capabilities of staff through training opportunities, so that people are sensitive to the needs of everyone within their work environment and are able to accommodate to those needs.

Within professional development, the Equality Act 2010 states all protected characteristics, this includes:

• Age
• Gender
• Gender Reassignment
• Race
• Disability
• Sexual Orientation
• Pregnancy and Maternity
• Religion and Belief

By offering training you will attract and maintain high quality staff that are inclusive to all and share the same beliefs as the company.

Professional development should include skill-based training, that can be taken either in person or online, what ever way works best for you and your team. Training should also provide courses that cover the required skills for employment

Creating a professional development plan with equality and diversity:

A step-by-step process to creating an action plan while thinking about equality and diversity

Step 1: Review current policies and goals in place within the company

Step 2: Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the company, including in the company goals

Step 3: Acknowledge any changes that need to be made to accommodate the needs of each individual within the company

Step 4: Spend about half an hour with each individual going through what changes can be made for them. This could also be done as a group depending on the topic of discussion

Step 5: Create a development plan with each employee, this can include, a list of current projects and future ones; strengths and weaknesses; what’s not going well; areas of change; any resources or help needed; any training that may be needed and the timeline to do them in; individual’s values, limitations and preferences; goals and steps to take to reach them

Step 6: Monitor the plan over time and take the time to improve it if needed

Step 7: Set a date to review and implement agreed upon goals and targets

By creating an action plan, you will be able to build and maintain the morale of employees and be aware of any challenges they might face.

These plans also offer each individual to share their experiences and ideas on ways to create change and improvement within the workplace.

What is direct and indirect discrimination?

Direct discrimination can look like, not employing someone because you think they are gay, regardless of if they are or not – showing discrimination of sexual orientation

Indirect discrimination applies to all the protected characteristics apart from pregnancy and maternity. Indirect discrimination can look like a requirement for a certain height that is not needed for the job to be carried out, showing discrimination against women as generally shorter than men.

How can you tackle and prevent direct and indirect discrimination?

Make it a priority that the workplace is lead with equality at the centre of all decisions made at work.

The first step you can take is to educate all workers on what direct and indirect discrimination is, how to spot it and how to face it. You can do this by offering training to your staff team which you can find HERE

Encourage your employees to confront any discriminatory behaviour in a calm, confident manner and speak to those that can take further action.

Make sure that all policies within your workplace are up to date and your staff is aware of these policies, including any changes that may be made to them.

Job Carving, what is it?

Disability inclusion is incredibly important and job carving can help with just that. Job Carving is the process of redesigning, making adaptions to an existing job or creating a new role to suit the needs of an individual employee with a disability.

Understanding and recognising the needs of others without labelling people unnecessarily is something that every workplace should practise. You can take steps to do this within your workplace by:

• Creating an environment where mental health is spoken about openly and listening when needed or respecting the boundaries of someone who doesn’t feel comfortable doing so. Asking questions such as, “How are you feeling today?” “How was your day?” goes a long way
• Listening to the needs of others and making any adjustments needed to ensure that each employee is working the best they can do in the most comfortable way possible
• Recognising the diversity within the workplace and encouraging the differences of everyone so that each individual can feel fully like themselves at work
• Showing patience towards everyone, some of your employees may struggle more than others to share their ideas and you might not even know it. For example, some people who stammer develop coping mechanisms to hide it

Code of practise for international employees

The Code applies to the appointment of all health and social care personnel supplied internationally to the UK.

• All health and social care employers should respond appropriately to applications from international health and social care personnel who are making an individual application
• All international candidates should have a valid visa before entering the UK to work
• Employers should record the work progression of international workers
• International workers must be offered the same training as everyone else within the workplace
• They should be required to take the same steps as other employees and supervised and offered any help that may be needed
• Any worker entering the UK to work in the healthcare sector must undergo a background check
• Information needed for the job role must be provided effectively

The UK Code of Practice reflects the WHO Code of Practice, which promotes voluntary principles and practices in the ethical recruitment of international health and social care workers.

If you’re looking to make more of an impact, provide an inclusive recruitment process and workplace, find out more HERE