Diversity and equality

Wandsworth Council is an Equal Opportunity Employer

This means:
• that the Council is committed to ensuring that every employee is treated fairly: in day to day work, promotion and training.
• that every job applicant is given an equal chance when they are considered for jobs.
• that the Council aims for its workforce to reflect the composition of the local community.
• that the Council will not accept discrimination in respect of different ethnic groups, women, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age and people with disabilities in its workplaces.

What action is being taken?

The Council is already doing a number of things to make equal opportunity a reality.

They include:
• monitoring the way jobs are being advertised and filled by examining procedures regularly to make sure that people are selected, promoted and treated on their individual merits and abilities.
• standard recruitment procedures across all departments.
• delivering training courses in skills and personal development to improve opportunities and to help managers and employees gain the skills and knowledge to be able to meet effectively the needs of the community.
• running courses for managers and staff on cultural awareness, equality and diversity.
• delivering a programme of action with regard to the Race Equality Scheme and the Equality Standard. It is known as the Corporate Equality Plan.
• all job advertisements carry an equal opportunities declaration.
• offering job share, term-time employment and flexible hours of working where appropriate.
• ensuring the Council’s workplaces are accessible for people with disabilities.
• using encouragement wording on all posts graded PO5 and above.
• ongoing review of existing policies and procedures to meet with new legislation.
• carrying the ‘two ticks’ disability symbol on all job advertisements (both paper media and website) which means:-
- interviewing all applicants with a disability who meet the minimum criteria and considering them on their abilities;
- making every effort when employees become disabled to make sure they stay in employment;
- putting mechanisms in place to discuss with employees with a disability how to develop and use their abilities;
- making disability awareness training available to all employees;
- reviewing commitments annually to progress future plans.

More information can be found by clicking here.