Glaucoma UK

Who we are

Glaucoma UK is a membership charity passionate about making sure that people living with glaucoma have a say in how and where their care and treatment are delivered. We provide a host of support services to help people at all stages of their glaucoma journey, but we’re also here for the professionals too – providing support and resources and helping them keep in touch with what matters most to people with glaucoma.

Our culture and values

•  People with glaucoma can trust us to do our best for them
•  We show compassion to everyone who needs our help
•  We strive for inclusivity in all aspects of our work
•  We have integrity in everything we say and do
•  We collaborate with others to make an even bigger difference
•  We empower people to live and work well

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)

Who is covered by this policy?

All employees, workers, agency workers, volunteers, job applicants, beneficiaries, contractors and anyone else who comes into contact with Glaucoma UK. 

What is the purpose of this policy?

Glaucoma UK values people as individuals with diverse opinions, cultures, lifestyles and circumstances. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that all individuals who come into contact with Glaucoma UK are treated fairly and equally and that no unlawful discrimination, intentional, unintentional, direct or indirect, overt or latent exists.

The policy will be implemented in accordance with the appropriate statutory requirements and full account will be taken of all available guidance and in particular any relevant Codes of Practice.

This policy should be read in conjunction with the Bullying and Harassment Policy.

Definitions

The terms equality, inclusion and diversity are understood as follows in this policy:

Equality in the workplace means equal job opportunities and fairness for employees and job applicants. This means equal opportunities to join project groups, access to appropriate training and development opportunities, involvement in consultations and so on.

Diversity is the range of people at Glaucoma UK. For example, this might mean people of different ages, religions and ethnicities, people with disabilities and people of specific gender or with no gender identity. It also means valuing those differences such as people’s background, education, where they are from, what languages they speak, their accent and their personal experiences.

Inclusion in the workplace means everyone feels valued at work. It lets all employees feel safe to come up with different ideas, raise issues and express their views. Glaucoma UK will take into account personal circumstances, beliefs and values along with any conditions that need to be accounted for to make employees feel included and welcome.

The term ‘protected characteristics’ used in this policy refers to those outlined in the Equality Act 2010, namely: race, sex, marital or civil partnership status, maternity and pregnancy, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender reassignment and religion or belief.

Responsibilities

While specific responsibility for eliminating discrimination and providing equality of opportunity lies with managers and supervisors, individuals at all levels have a responsibility to treat others with dignity and respect. The personal commitment of every employee and volunteer to this policy and application of its principles are essential to eliminate discrimination and provide equality throughout Glaucoma UK.

Management has the primary responsibility for successfully meeting the objectives of this policy by:

• not discriminating in the course of engagement against employees, workers or job applicants;

• not inducing or attempting to induce others to practise unlawful discrimination;

• bringing to the attention of the Glaucoma UK workforce that they may be subject to action under the disciplinary procedure, or other appropriate action, for unlawful discrimination of any kind.

Employees and volunteers can contribute by:

• not discriminating against fellow employees, workers, customers, clients, suppliers or members of the public with whom they come into contact during the course of their duties;

• not inducing or attempting to induce others to practise unlawful discrimination;

• reporting any discriminatory action to their manager or supervisor.

All individuals have an obligation to report any act of discrimination known to them. If an employee or volunteer considers that they are a victim of unlawful discrimination they may raise the issue through the Grievance Procedure.

Recruitment and selection

Management will ensure that recruitment, selection, training, development and promotion procedures result in no job applicant, employee, or worker receiving less favourable treatment because of a protected characteristic. 

To remove the potential for conscious or unconscious bias, job applications will be anonymised and those involved in the recruitment process will only receive relevant personal details for candidates selected for interview.

In accordance with our overarching equal treatment ethos, we will also ensure that no one is treated less favourably on account of their trade union membership or non-membership, or on the basis of being a part-time worker or fixed-term employee. 

Glaucoma UK’s objective is to ensure that individuals are selected, promoted, and otherwise treated solely on the basis of their relevant aptitudes, skills and abilities.

We will ensure that the policy is circulated to any agencies responsible for our recruitment.