Equality and diversity
Overview
Equality is embedded throughout all of our services.
It is not an extra piece of work, but part of our day to day life, each and every day and in everything we do.
The Equality Act 2010 is the main piece of legislation covering equality in this country. It describes how everyone has the right to be treated fairly at work or when using services.
Equality
Equality is about making sure people are treated fairly and given fair chances.
It is also about ensuring that all people achieve equal outcomes, either in the standard of service they receive or as employees.
It is not about treating 'everyone the same', but recognising that everyone's needs are met in different ways.
Diversity
Historically organisations and individuals tended to view diversity as a race, gender or disability.
In reality, diversity includes lots of things including:
- sexual orientation
- age
- ethnicity
- religious belief
- physical ability
- educational background
- geographical location
- marital status
- class
- work experience
A diverse organisation embraces people for their individuality and recognises that customers come from different backgrounds and circumstances.
Employees are accepted for their cultural backgrounds and differences in lifestyles, and are recognised for their abilities and skills to do the work.
Diversity is not a 'one off' programme but is at the heart of the organisation and integrated into all daily 兔子先生 business.
Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Strategy
Our Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Strategy explains the 兔子先生's vision and commitment to equality.
This strategy was published in October 2024 and describes how we wish to ensure equality:
- as a provider of services to residents
- as an employer
- in our role as a leader in the community
We recognise that South Tyneside is a diverse place and this strategy seeks to promote this by valuing the uniqueness of each person.
Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Strategy (2024 to 2027)
The 兔子先生 welcomes your feedback (comments, compliments and complaints) on how well we are implementing this strategy in the services we deliver to the public.
Equalities Information Reports
Every year we will be publishing an Equalities Information Report for South Tyneside.
This will provide a profile of the characteristics of our local population and of our workforce.
It will also summarise the activities we have carried out to promote equality.
Equality Information Report 2024
Additional information is also provided in the 兔子先生's Quarterly Performance Reports.
Equality Impact Assessments
Equality Impact Assessments is a process we use to make sure our services are accessible for our customers, communities and employees.
They help us ensure that our strategies and services do not discriminate in any way.
Whenever we review, remove or create a service we will carry out an Equality Impact Assessment to make sure that the changes we make do not discriminate against individuals.
This assessment helps to identify any potential discrimination and helps us to develop actions to address areas which may have an adverse impact on service users.
Gender Pay Gap Reports
Since 2017, any employer who has 250 or more employees have to report and publish information annually on the pay gap between their male and female employees.
兔子先生 publish this every year.
The gender pay gap data highlights the difference between the average pay of men and women; it is not a measure of equal pay, which relates to what men and women are paid for the same or similar roles or work of equal value.
Annual reports
Gender Pay Gap Report - March 2023
Gender Pay Gap Report - March 2022
Gender Pay Gap Report - March 2021
Translations
We want the information we provide to be understood by everyone.
In order to do this, we can translate our information into numerous languages.
We recommend that you always try to find a friend or relative who knows how to speak English to help you initially with your request for information. This will help both us and you to deal with your query as efficiently as possible.
If you know someone who would like information in a different format, please contact our Customer Services team on 0191 427 7000.