Table of Contents

Equality and Diversity in Adult Care, Health and Wellbeing

Protected Characteristics

Age

Disability

Gender Reassignment

Race

Religion or Belief

Sex

Sexual orientation

Marriage and Civil Partnership

Pregnancy and maternity

Social Deprivation - the 10th equalities characteristic?

Related articles

Challenging inappropriate behaviour

Why we do equalities monitoring

Bullying and Harassment

Different types of discrimination

Equality and Diversity in Adult Care, Health and Wellbeing

In Adult Care, Health and Wellbeing we are committed to meeting the diverse needs of all individuals in Cornwall. We work with our partners to protect and support vulnerable people in the County and to ensure that they live full and healthy lives.

Below, each of the nine articles of the 2010 Equalities Act are discussed with relation to their impact on social care provision, together with further information discussion bully, how to challenge inappropriate behaviour and different types of discrimination.

The following document appeared as a series of articles in Kevren, the staff newsletter for Cornwall Council’s Adult Care, Health and Wellbeing directorate, between October 2012 and May 2013. They were written by various members of the Directorate Equality Action Group, credited at the end.

  • Age
  • Disability
  • Gender Reassignment
  • Race
  • Religion or Belief
  • Sex
  • Sexual Orientation
  • Marriage or Civil Partnership
  • Pregnancy and Maternity
  • The '10th characteristic' - rurality and deprivation.

There are other articles below, concerning

  • Challenging Inappropriate behaviour
  • Why we do equalities monitoring
  • Bullying and harassment
  • Different types of discrimination
  • Think EIA

Protected Characteristics

Age

We all have an age throughout our lives, but first and foremost we are individuals with abilities and preferences which are unique to each of us.

There are many stereotypes around, for example:

  • Young people have energy and enthusiasm but no experience
  • Older people don’t like change and can’t use IT

The problem with stereotypes is that they can restrict opportunities, possibilities and development.

From 1 October 2012 the Equality Act protects us all from any unjustifiable discrimination on grounds of our age. This can be in employment – not being offered a job, being turned down for promotion or an opportunity for training.

This protection has now been extended to the provision of goods and services although, for example, free bus passes for over 60’s or 18–30 holidays can continue.

In social care this may mean that:

  • we need to ensure budgets are not decided based on criteria to do with someone’s age,
  • we don’t make assumptions about the options someone is offered based on how old they are,
  • we promote social inclusion and community involvement equally for both older and younger people.

Disability

What practical steps can we take to promote disability equality in social care? The social model of disability identifies three major barriers that confront disabled people:

  • The physical environment
  • The way organisations behave
  • Attitudes we can all have

Environmental adjustments are not just about lifts and ramps: they also include making sure there is good lighting, distinct acoustics and clear signage. Organisations can provide information in different formats so it is accessible to everyone, and we can take time to communicate and show empathy so each person is included and respected. Attitudes are perhaps the most challenging to change and we need to be aware of the effects of negative language, actions and behaviour.

Disabled people experience a higher rate of hostility and violence, both physical and verbal, and they are four times more likely to be victims of crime.

The e-learning programme ‘Disability Confident’ is available free of charge through the following link:

We know that e-learning is only a beginning, or a good refresher of knowledge, but the experiences and feelings of people in the video clips are real and give us an insight into what some of the barriers are and how we can all contribute to overcoming them.

Gender Reassignment

Under the Equality Act 2010, anyone who is planning, starting or completing a process to change his or her gender is protected from discrimination. An individual no longer needs to be under medical supervision to be protected so, for example, a woman who decides to live as a man without undergoing any medical procedures would be covered.

‘Trans’ is used to refer to people who might spend some time cross-dressing as well as transsexual people who undergo gender reassignment treatment and surgery, including genital reconstructive surgery.

‘Transgender’ is used to describe people who live part or all of their lives in their preferred gender role – they may use hormonal treatments to change their body form, but they will generally not undergo gender reassignment surgery. Transgender is also used to refer to people who cross-dress.

Trans people can be heterosexual, lesbian, gay or bisexual.

In social care we can promote someone’s equality by offering a supportive environment so a person feels confident enough to share their gender identity or history, and any social care needs they may have as a result.

More information is available from the Gender Identity Research and Education Society

Race

What is race? We all have a race, and yet understanding and definitions vary greatly.

Under the Equality Act 2010 we are all protected from discrimination on grounds of our colour, race, nationality and national or ethnic origins, whether that discrimination is:

  • direct (being treated less favourably because of our colour etc); or
  • indirect (when a rule or policy which applies to everyone is actually unfair to a particular group).

In social care our person-centred value base helps us to respect and empathise with each individual, although we still need to be careful to avoid stereotyping. We also need to be aware of how past experiences of discrimination in someone’s life may have affected their self-esteem or capacity to trust. In Cornwall, many people from minority ethnic groups live as individuals or perhaps as a family in a community where they may be separated from their extended networks. Their identity may not be expressed through any representative group or advocate, so we need to be even more proactive and mindful.

For example, we can be sensitive about someone’s preferred language, dietary needs, dress code, religious beliefs and customs, hair and skin care, hygiene requirements or norms about segregation of the sexes. We may need to check someone’s preferred name or whether it is appropriate to remove (or cover) our shoes for example.

Remember: always ask and never assume.

Religion or Belief

Once again the protection which we all have from discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 includes respect for each other’s religion or philosophical belief. This equally protects people who do not have a religion or belief, so it’s very broad and inclusive.

In social care we don’t need to be experts about different religions or beliefs but we do need to recognise that these can be very important in people’s lives. This is why it is so essential to explore with people what their needs, customs and traditions might be. Areas to be aware of or ask about could include:

  • Dress
  • Diet and food preparation
  • Times of day set aside for meditation or prayer
  • Times of the year or seasons for fasting or festivals (Ramadan, Diwali, Passover and Christmas would be examples)
  • Social etiquette and relationships which are or are not acceptable.

The BBC multi-faith calendar is an excellent source of information about the world’s religions and any special seasons or holy days which may be coming up

Remember – in Cornwall there are people of many faith groups already living and worshipping. These include Baha’is, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jews, Muslims and Pagans. Cornwall Faith Forum seeks to provide a place where people of faith can share their experiences and gain understanding, and there is a project to build a multi-faith centre in Cornwall called ‘Dor Kemmyn’ (Cornish for ‘common ground’). More information at:

Sex

The Equal Pay and Sex Discrimination Acts were incorporated into the Equality Act 2010. Sex is a protected characteristic under the Act so women and men all have legal protection from direct and indirect discrimination. This protection covers:

  • Recruitment and selection.
  • Determining pay.
  • Training and development.
  • Selection for promotion.
  • Discipline and grievances.
  • Countering bullying and harassment.

We should all also have equal access to goods, facilities and services. In employment there can sometimes be a justifiable reason for advertising for and appointing a man or woman to a particular post. This is permitted only when there is a ‘genuine occupational requirement’ – to maintain the privacy or decency of an individual, for example.

In social care we need to ensure that we are not excluding anyone from a service unless there is an objective justification. Some health screening programmes, for example, are targeted at either men or women when the condition is gender specific. The NHS is committed to eliminating mixed-sex wards and we need to ensure that each person who receives care is treated with dignity, so they are not embarrassed or humiliated. For example in a care setting single-sex bathroom and toilet facilities should be available, and people able to choose the gender of the carer offering them intimate and personal care. As employees in the public sector (or carrying out work on behalf of the public sector) we have a duty to:

  • eliminate unlawful discrimination;
  • advance equality of opportunity; and
  • foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.

Sexual orientation

We are all attracted to someone at sometime in our lives and we all have a sexual orientation. This may be lesbian, gay, bisexual or heterosexual. A small percentage of people are asexual. We are all protected from discrimination on the grounds of our sexual orientation, whatever that might be. Because there has been a long history of homosexuality being illegal (in England & Wales until 1967 and in Northern Ireland until 1982), or socially unacceptable, it is still common for people to be reticent about disclosing their preference, or ‘come out’, until a relationship of trust with another person has been established.

This may be a particular challenge for older people, so in social care we need to be even more aware and sensitive to issues which may arise as a result. Being professionally competent means:

Remember – each one of us has our own sexual orientation as well as an age, culture, race or belief system – we are complex in our diversity and each one of us is wonderfully unique.

Marriage and Civil Partnership

Marriage and civil partnership are one of the protected characteristics under the Equalities Act 2010. In the Marriage Act 1949, part of the definition of ‘marriage’ is that it must be between one man and one woman.

A ‘civil partnership’ is a legal union between two people of the same sex. This is, to all intents and purposes, a right of marriage for gay and lesbian couples.

All the key elements that come with marriage apply to civil partnerships. The law accords civil partners equitable treatment for important financial matters, like inheritance, pensions, life assurance and, where children are involved, maintenance.

It also provides next-of-kin rights for couples, for instance, with regard to health or tenancies. Immigration and nationality rules are extended to civil partners.

One important difference is that marriage as a word has some religious connotations, even if a civil ceremony is conducted. Marriages can be conducted by Church of England clergy without any civil preliminaries being required. Civil partnerships are only conducted by Registrars.

At the time of developing this legislation the Government said that it wanted civil partnerships to provide, as far as they could, the same responsibilities and rights as those that apply to marriage.

In a social care setting, the legislation assumes that our next of kin is the person we are either married to, or in a civil partnership with. So the rights and responsibilities that a husband/wife has should naturally fall to the civil partner in the same way. So if Mr J was living in a care setting and unable to express himself, his civil partner would be asked about his care needs and preferences (unless an advance directive was present covering those things).

Pregnancy and maternity

Pregnancy is the condition of expecting a baby.

Maternity refers to the period after the birth, and is linked to maternity leave in a work context.

Originally, maternity rights were designed around health and safety principles, for the protection of the mother and her unborn or newborn baby.

The protected period starts when a woman becomes pregnant. It continues for 26 weeks after the birth of the baby, or in a work context, until the end of her maternity leave, or she returns to work (whichever is sooner).

Outside the protected period, unfavourable treatment of a woman because of her pregnancy would be considered as sex discrimination rather than pregnancy and maternity discrimination.

Work-related examples

Pregnancy discrimination:

  • Refusal to appoint or promote.
  • Overloading work in the run-up to maternity leave, or long hours of work.
  • Treating pregnancy-related sickness as a disciplinary matter.

Maternity discrimination:

  • Reorganisation during maternity leave with no consultation.
  • Hours of work or mobility requirements which are incompatible with childcare needs.
  • Denial of flexible working.

Outside of work, protection against maternity discrimination includes treating a woman unfavourably because she is breastfeeding in a public place.

Social care examples

  • Failing to take into account childcare or breastfeeding requirements.
  • Failing to maintain a care plan to accommodate changing needs during pregnancy.

Social Deprivation - the 10th equalities characteristic?

Disadvantage and inequalities can affect us all, and Cornwall Council, together with all public authorities, takes these into account when making policy decisions.

However the ‘socio-economic duty’ was not implemented with the other nine characteristics on 1 October 2010, when the new Equality Act came into force, so there is no ‘public sector equality duty’ to eliminate discrimination on these grounds.

This poses an interesting question for people working in the adult care field. The Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), shows that while rural areas across England, and Cornwall as a whole, are not classed as deprived, there are areas within the county where there are very high levels of deprivation. This has as much impact on how we offer and deliver our services as the other nine protected characteristics – if not more so!

There are 33 areas in Cornwall (typically 1,000-3,000 people, ie village sized) which fall into the ‘most deprived’ category in the Government’s IMD data.

The top five are: Camborne South ward North Central (Pengegon); Penzance Treneere; Redruth North ward West Central; Camborne West ward West Central; Illogan Highway South. Other deprived areas occur right across Cornwall – there’s probably one near you. See www.cornwall.gov.uk/deprivationmap for full details.

What is social deprivation?

Social deprivation can take many forms; people’s income and other factors (such as belonging to a minority group, high unemployment, rising house prices and recession) can have a real impact on how people are able to interact with society and also how they access our services if they need them. Combine this with a very large and rural county and the impact becomes greater, particularly if someone lives in an area with poor public transport links or does not own a car.

What do I have to do about it?

When considering what would help people who use our services, think about the impact that a decision may have. For example, how will their income be affected, how will they will access the help they need, do they own a car or can they access reliable transport? If you signpost people to information about a service, do not assume that person has access to the internet or social media.

For staff who complete Equality Impact Assessments, rurality and deprivation are important considerations. Think about the effect your decision may have on people’s income, how someone may access services, their needs and their quality of life.

The “public duty” may not have been implemented (ie we are not obliged by law to consider social deprivation in the way that we are with gender, race, disability and the rest) but it is still an important factor for all our service users and the county we live in.

Related articles

Challenging inappropriate behaviour

One of the things that many people find difficult is to challenge the words or actions of another. We may be in conversation with someone, or working alongside them, and they say or do something that we find mildly offensive.