Governance and Policy

The Equality Act 2010 legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace, in education and in wider society on the grounds of the following nine protected characteristics:

• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Marriage or civil partnership
• Pregnancy or maternity
• Race
• Religion or belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation

The Act protects people from the following types of discrimination:

• Direct discrimination - when someone is treated less favourably than another due to a protected characteristic they have. For example, an employer refusing to provide voice activated software for an employee who has developed carpal tunnel syndrome. Not implementing this to overcome the disadvantage could be an unlawful failure to make a reasonable adjustment which would constitute discrimination.
• Indirect discrimination - occurs when: 1. a practice, provision or criterion is applied to all, and: 2. it puts a group with a protected characteristic at a disadvantage when compared with another group 3. an individual is put at a disadvantage 4. an employer cannot show it to be a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. An example of indirect discrimination could be a uniform policy that requires all individuals to dress in the same way without modification. This may mean that some people cannot wear an item of clothing they regard as part of their faith. This would be indirect discrimination unless the employer could show that the uniform requirement was justified.
• Associative discrimination - when an individual is treated less favourably because they associate with someone who has a protected characteristic. For example, treating someone less favourably because they spend their spare time socialising with people of a certain religious group despite not sharing the same religious beliefs. A further example could be an employer disciplining an employee for taking time off work to care for their disabled mother and not disciplining other workers who have had similar amounts of time off work.
• Perceptive discrimination - when treating an individual less favourably because it is perceived that they have a protected characteristic, whether they do so or not. For example, not recruiting someone because it is assumed they have a certain religious belief when they do not.
• Harassment - unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic, which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual.
• Victimisation - when a person is treated less favourably because they have made or supported a complaint or have raised a grievance under the Equality Act 2010. Victimisation also applies if it’s believed that an individual has made a complaint, when they have not.

Public authorities have a duty, through the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), to consider how their policies or decisions affect people who are protected under the Equality Act 2010. In carrying out their functions, public authorities must have due regard to the need to achieve the objectives set out under the Equality Act 2010 which are to:

• Eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act 2010.
   
• Advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.
   
• Foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

The University’s PSED reports can be found on the Public Sector Equality Duty webpage.

• Neurodiversity Equality Policy
• Protection of Vulnerable Groups Policy
• Homeworking Policy
• Careers Service
• CCTV Policy
• Redundancy Support *
• Travel Plan
• Guiding Principles of Sustainable Business Travel
• Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) for Social Media Policy
• Pre-Election Policy
• Research Publications Policy 
• Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy

Aberdeen University Student Association operates an Equality Committee. To find out more about this Committee please contact:

Vice President Welfare & Equal Opportunities
Aberdeen University Student's Association
www.ausa.org.uk
f: 01224 27 2977
e: welfare@abdn.ac.uk

Disability

To find how disabled students can be supported during their time at the University please click here

The University is fully committed to supporting disabled job applicants, disabled employees and employees who become disabled in the course of their employment. Our legal responsibilities are important to us, however, the moral and business case for creating an inclusive work and study environment form the basis of the strategic and operational priorities. 

Disabled applicants and employees are supported in a number of ways:

• Guaranteed Interview Scheme

Disabled applicants can opt into the Guaranteed Interview Scheme if they wish. The Scheme is voluntary and offers an interview to applicants who meet the "Essential Criteria" in the Person Specification.

For further information on the Guaranteed Interview Scheme email Lisa Sutherland-George, Senior HR Partner (Resourcing) or telephone on 01224 273751.

• Adjustments

The University will make reasonable adjustments to allow a disabled employee to undertake their duties. This could, for example, be a change to the employee's workstation, working hours, working methods or duties.
 

• Source of Support

Disabled employees can seek advice and support from:

• HR Adviser
• Equality and Diversity Adviser
• University Safety Adviser
• Trade Union
• Occupational Health Service
• University Counselling Service

You may also find these external links to equality organisations of interest:

• Aberdeen City Council
• Equality and Human Rights Commission
• EHRC Gender Segregation at Events and Meetings guidance
• Equality Challenge Unit
• Ethnic Minority Forum (EMF)
• Grampian Racial Equality Council (GREC)
• Multi Ethnic Aberdeen (MEAL)
• Stonewall Scotland
• Scottish Interfaith Council
• Terrence Higgins Trust