Equality, Diversity and Inclusive Culture

We support a fairer and more diverse workplace, where difference is welcomed.

Equality means making sure that everyone is treated fairly and with dignity and respect. It means challenging discrimination and removing barriers, so that everyone has opportunities to achieve their desired outcomes.

Diversity is about recognising the benefits of different values, abilities, and perspectives, and celebrating people’s differences. This means promoting an environment that welcomes and values diverse backgrounds, thinking, skills and experience.

Inclusion is providing a space where everyone has equal access to opportunities and resources, and where everyone feels valued and accepted. Everyone should be able to contribute and have a voice. This may mean making reasonable adjustments to facilitate participation.

Herefordshire and Worcestershire Integrated Care System (ICS) is committed to working together towards:

Eliminating unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Act
Advancing equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not
Fostering good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not

Moral	Ensuring everyone is treated equitably, with dignity and has their fair share of resources (whether that be access to work or equitable pay) is simply the right thing to do. A positive commitment to ED&I can impact measures such as staff surveys, where staff feel able and safe to be their whole selves at work. This can lead to a more positive reputation within the community.
Quality	A more engaged and supported workforce will provide a better service. A diverse range of employees be more creative and better able to provide care and support to all of our communities. The variety of ‘lived experience’ will help us to grow and to improve through challenging the status quo and ‘how thing are done here’.
Financial	Recruitment and retention will be improved and attrition rates reduced, a more positive and inclusive culture will reduce friction between employees and enable people to stay at work, or return earlier from sickness absence - availability will improve. There are contractual obligations on some organisations to deliver in the ED&I space.
Legal	The Equality Act 2020 and the Public Sector Equality Duty place a legal requirement on the partner organisations within the ICS. A positive commitment to ED&I will help to avoid claims to employment tribunal - which can have significant costs in terms of finance as well as reputational risk.

The Visible Leaders Network (VLN) is a unique leadership network designed for Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) staff aimed at aspiring and emerging leaders and managers, and you can join the VLN if you are an NHS employee working in the Midlands region at Bands 3 - 8a level.

VLN membership is free of charge and provides a range of learning opportunities to support leadership development. This includes access to an online learning community via our NHS Futures site and regular virtual ‘Coffee and Chat’ networking support sessions offering a chance to meet VLN members and get to know each other. We have a wide range of events currently on offer specifically for VLN members. You can find out more here

This learning framework aims to provide a base for identifying the insights, knowledge, understanding and skills that the social care workforce need to help them work affirmatively, inclusively and effectively with individuals from gender and sexually diverse communities.

The framework is intended to be used by social care employers, employees, training providers, regulator, commissioners, policy makers and others to build their own knowledge of LGBTQ+ issues, to support colleagues’ understanding, and to create learning programmes which will allow teams to better support LGBTQ+ people in later life.

www.skillsforcare.org.uk/LGBTQFramework

LAP DRUK Bulletin-Newsletter- 2024