Growth of equal opportunities in the public sector organisations - Essay Example

Introduction The United Kingdom has progressed in provision of equal opportunities in the workplace. This has been seen by establishment of commissions, enforcement of policies and implementation of equal opportunities for members of the public sector. All these ideas and developments will be examined in the subsequent section of the essay. Equal opportunities should be reflected in any of the following sectors; Service delivery Allocation of resources Accessibility of services Use of services Final results in an organisation Legislations enforcing equal opportunities There are three main Acts that affect the way employees receive fair treatment in the workplace. The first piece of legislation is the Sex Discrimination act. This act seeks to protect the rights of women in the workplace especially public organisations. Women should not be denied the right to access an employment opportunity or an opportunity to develop in their work place based on their gender. This means that those stereotypes who believed that women cannot perform certain tasks have been put to task. The other two pieces of legislation that have been put in place are the Disability discrimination and Race Relations. These two acts provide that during employment issues of disability and race should be put aside when making decisions concerning employment. Therefore employers practicing this will be guilty of an offence. Equal Opportunities Commission for the Civil Service This commission was established for streamlining of employment opportunities in the Civil Service. Its purpose is to ensure that there are no cases of discrimination based on gender. It holds the firm believe that both women and men should be given the same treatment. It also believes that any employer should practice fairness when they are employing or recruiting members. Policies in District Councils There are a number of District Councils that have enforced policies that affect equal opportunities in the work place. (Cornwall County Council, 2007)One such group is the Mid Bedfordshire district council. The main idea behind the policy is to ensure that all people in the council have access to equal opportunities during service delivery and employment. It does not tolerate any unfair discrimination based several issues including gender, race, marital status, disability and sexual disability. This applies to all the people who interact with the organisation. In employment, the council ensures that it will respect the differences that are present in society and should be able to reflect these differences in its staff members. This implies that recruitment should not have any elements of discrimination. These means that managers or members in position of power should not use their positions for It also believes that there should be training and development in the sector to ensure that all workers are aware of their rights and no one should infringe them on the basis that they have the power to do so. It has therefore empowered its employees in this regard and given them the tools to fight for themselves. Lastly, this council believes in the efficient communication and monitoring of policies to ensure that the equal opportunities policy is adhered to on the ground. After monitoring the situation on the ground, the council conveys the information to members of its team. Similarly, the Leicestershire County council holds similar views. It believes that members of the public and members of staff who come in contact with the council should be made to feel valued and should not experience any discrimination. (Leicestershire County council, 2007) Policies in the police force The Warwickshire Police has made a Scheme that relates to gender. It is called the Gender Equality Scheme. This scheme was started this year and will continue into the next three years. It aims at protecting all members of the workplace against gender discrimination. The Scheme was a combination of ideas got from members of the Police Force staff, members of the public and some Advisory Boards that work independently. Some of the contents of the Scheme include provision of training concerning gender equality, streamlining the employment sector; conducting statistics regarding the issue, availing information for all members of the force to access and conducting a review to investigate whether the scheme has been effective. (Warwickshire Police, 2007) Equality in the fire brigade The fire brigade is also sensitive to the fact that discrimination can occur and in relation to this it has come up with a policy on Equality. This policy advocates for equal treatment of individuals at the workplace and stipulates that no person shall be disregarded on the basis of trade union activity, marital status, social class, sexual orientation, having dependants, political affiliation, religious belief, disability, sex, colour, race and age. The department has reinforced this view by ensuring that all recruitment procedures are recorded and made available so that thes4 chances of discrimination are eliminated. The fire brigade also keeps records of how people are promoted or how they progress in the organisation so that biases can be eliminated. This policy is not only in relation to members of staff, but it also includes how members of the Public are treated. The brigade realises that its employees will need to come in contact with a variety of people from various backgrounds or orientations during service provision and had ensured that no one is unfairly treated during contacts with the public. Conclusion Public organizations make plenty of contacts with people from all walks of life. It is therefore necessary to ensure that policies have been put in place to increase efficiency of service delivery. This has been seen in the police department, district councils and the fire brigade. Reference Cornwall County Council (2007): Equal Opportunity policy statement; retrieved from http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/index.cfmarticleid=15393, accessed on 22nd December Leicestershire County council (2007): Equality Policy Statement; retrieved from http://www.leics.gov.uk/index.htm, accessed on 22nd December Warwickshire Police (2007): Gender Equality Scheme; retrieved from http://www.warwickshire.police.uk/library/Diversitypublications/GES/GESscheme.pdf, accessed on 22nd December Read More