Equal Opportunities Statement

Statement of intent

1. Ashford Borough Council is an equal opportunities employer. The aim of this policy is to ensure
   that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of their
   protected characteristics such as race, sex, marital status, disability, age, sexuality, religion or
   any other factor irrelevant to an individual’s ability to do the job.
2. This policy applies to recruitment, promotion, transfer, training, and the application of
   grievance, disciplinary and other procedures of employee benefits and all other terms and
   conditions of employment.
3. It is the duty of all employees to accept their responsibility for the practical application of
   the policy but the council acknowledges that specific responsibilities fall upon management,
   supervisors and individuals professionally involved in recruitment and personnel management.
4. To ensure that this policy is consistently applied, co-ordinating responsibility will be assigned to
   the Head of HR, Communications and Technology who will monitor the operation of the policy
   for both employees and job applicants and undertake periodic audits.
5. To safeguard individual rights, under the policy any employee who believes that the council
   has applied inequitable treatment to him or her within the scope of the policy should raise the
   matter through the appropriate grievance procedure.
6. To make the policy work requires more than this formal statement. The policy will assist the
   creation of the right climate for success and it is for each employee to make his or her own
   contribution. The policy will therefore be brought to the attention of every employee and job
   applicant and will be kept under regular review.
   Ashford Borough Council wishes to be known as an Equal Opportunities Employer by the
   community as a whole and by other employers in the borough.