Equal Opportunities
Policy & Procedures
Last Revision: May 2025
INTRODUCTION
The CrossLinks Centre (‘CrossLinks’):
ACCEPTS that in society certain groups or individuals are denied equality on the grounds of race, gender, marital status, caring responsibilities, disability, gender re-assignment, age, social class, sexual orientation and religion/belief or other factors irrelevant to the purpose in view.
WELCOMES the statutory requirements laid down in the Equalities Act 2010, and is committed to complying with the Equalities Act 2010 and with such other Acts and statutory requirements, which further equality of opportunity for all, and which apply to CrossLinks’ charitable activities.
RECOGNISES that it has moral and social responsibilities that go beyond the provisions of the above-mentioned Acts and Regulations, and that it should support and contribute to the wider process of change through all aspects of its work and practices in order to eliminate discrimination and promote equality and diversity.
IS COMMITTED to taking positive steps to ensure that:
✓ all people are treated with dignity and respect, valuing the diversity of all;
✓ equality of opportunity and diversity is promoted;
✓ services are accessible, appropriate and delivered fairly to all;
✓ the mix of its Trustees and volunteers reflects as far as possible the broad mix of the population of its local community;
✓ traditionally disadvantaged sections of the community are encouraged to participate in policy decisions about, and the management of the services provided.
POLICY
This policy applies to all Trustees, volunteers, users and the general public.
Commitment
Equality and diversity are central to the work of CrossLinks. CrossLinks will:
✓ treat all people with dignity and respect, valuing the diversity of all;
✓ promote equality of opportunity and diversity;
✓ eliminate all forms of discrimination on grounds of race, gender, marital status, caring responsibilities, disability, gender re-assignment, age, social class, sexual orientation, religion/ belief, offending background or any other factor irrelevant to the purpose in view;
✓ eliminate social exclusion, inequality, discrimination and disadvantage.
For this policy to be successful, it is essential that all Trustees and volunteers are committed to and involved in its delivery. CrossLinks’ goal is to work towards a just society free from discrimination, harassment and prejudice. CrossLinks will embed this goal in all its policies, procedures, day-to-day practices and external relationships.
Aims
CrossLinks aims to:
✓ provide services that are accessible according to need;
✓ promote equality of opportunity and diversity in volunteering and development;
✓ create relationships and partnerships with all parts of our community.
CrossLinks will seek to realise its standards by:
✓ sustaining, regularly evaluating and continually improving its services to ensure equality and diversity principles and best practice are embedded in our performance in order to meet the needs of individuals and groups;
✓ working together with the community to provide accessible and relevant service provision that responds to service users’ needs;
✓ ensuring Trustees and volunteers are representative of the community served and selection procedures are fair and robust;
✓ responding to volunteers’ needs and encouraging their development to increase their contribution to effective service delivery;
✓ recognising and valuing the differences and individual contributions that all people make to CrossLinks;
✓ challenging discrimination;
✓ providing fair resource allocation;
✓ being accountable.
Why this policy?
CrossLinks recognises, respects and values diversity in its Trustees, volunteers and service users. CrossLinks has adopted this policy because it is a people-led organisation which seeks always to ensure it meets the needs of the community through fair and appropriate selection and development of the people who volunteer.
PROCEDURES
Responsibility for Implementation
This policy covers the behaviour of all people volunteering with CrossLinks or using its services, and sets out the way they can expect to be treated by CrossLinks.
The overall responsibility for ensuring adherence to and implementation of this policy lies with the Trustees.
Method of Implementation
CrossLinks will implement this policy by:
✓ ensuring that Trustees and volunteers are made aware of, understand, agree with, and are willing to implement this policy – all Trustees will be given a copy of this policy as part of their induction;
✓ encouraging Trustees and volunteers to participate in anti-discriminatory training, and making time and resources available for such training;
✓ monitoring the services, publicity and events provided by CrossLinks to ensure they are accessible to all sections of the population and do not discriminate, and taking active steps to ensure that participation is representative.
Monitoring and Reviewing
CrossLinks has declared its commitment to establishing, developing, implementing and reviewing a policy of equality of opportunity, and acknowledges that effective record keeping, monitoring, and acting on information gathered are essential in order to measure effectiveness and to plan progress. Therefore, the Trustees will review this policy annually.