EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES POLICY 

Statement of Intent

 The Regent Centre ACKNOWLEDGES  that in our society, groups and individuals are discriminated against on many grounds, including their race, colour, gender, marital status, disability, sexuality, age, religious beliefs, class, politics, appearance, unrelated criminal convictions, HIV status.

                                    The purpose of our Equal Opportunities Policy is to set out, clearly and fully, the positive action The Regent Centre intends to take to combat direct and indirect discrimination in employment policy and practice, management policies and practice, programming and development policies and practice, and operational and other service practices, and it relationship with other bodies.

ACCEPTS                  That it has moral, social and legal responsibilities to ensure that no individual should receive less favourable treatment on the above grounds.

                                    That the Regent Centre, should support and contribute to the wider process of change through all aspects of its work and practices in order to eliminate discrimination and promote equality of opportunity.

IMPLEMENTATION

1 All Regent Centre staff, volunteers, user groups and Board Members will be briefed on the Equal Opportunities Policy, and must subscribe to applying it in practice at the venue.

2. The Policy will be an integral part of the terms of employment of staff and volunteers, and its implementation will be a condition of service. The details of the policy will be included in staff, volunteer and Board member induction.

3. The Board of Trustees, through the General Manager, are responsible for promoting and implementing the policy, and reviewing it regularly.

4. The Regent Centre will work towards implementation of its Equal Opportunities statement through actively promoting its Code of Conduct and Code of Practice.

CODE OF CONDUCT

1. At all times, people with be treated with dignity and respect, regardless of  race, colour, gender, marital status, disability, sexuality, age, religious beliefs, class, politics, appearance, unrelated criminal convictions, HIV status.

2. No one will be harassed, abused or intimidated on any grounds, and incidents of harassment will be taken seriously.

i)                    In a case involving staff or volunteers, disciplinary action will be taken.

ii)                   In the case of performers, audience members, workshop participants or other users of the facilities, the individual(s) will be challenged, and if necessary ejected from the building or assistance sought from a relevant authority. The Theatre is not responsible for refunding ticket monies, fees or other monies lost to the individual(s) in this instance. Any complaint arising from these circumstances may be pursued through the Centre’s feedback processes.

CODE OF PRACTICE 

Services: The demographics of the Borough and an awareness of community needs will advise and inform programming decisions relating to public performances,  workshop or arts projects and hire of facilities. Equal Opportunities issues will inform any services provided directly to schools, young people, workshop participants and students. Behaviour by participants in Regent Centre activities which is contrary to this Equal Opportunities Policy will be challenged.

Marketing: Promotion and marketing of events will take account of the Borough’s demographic make-up, and targeted marketing schemes aiming to increase attendance by under-represented groups will be undertaken where appropriate, and subject to availability of funds. The four monthly diary will be made available in tape and large print format.

Access: The Regent Centre will continue to offer concessionary prices to unwaged patrons wherever possible, and will continue to seek improvement to removing physical barriers to accessing services within available funding.

RECRUITMENT & SELECTION 

1. The Regent Centre’s aim will be to recruit the best person for the job or opportunity, irrespective of  race, colour, gender, marital status, disability, sexuality, age, religious beliefs, class, politics, appearance, unrelated criminal convictions (except where legislation or good practice determine otherwise), HIV status.

2. Consideration of applications for all posts will be subject to measuring applicants against person or job specifications.

3. Application forms, shortlisting and interview procedures will be designed to ensure that only information relevant to measuring applicants against job or person specifications will be requested, recorded and used in the selection process.

4. When vacancies occur, they will be advertised in an accepted industry publication, where appropriate, as well as in a freely available local newspaper.

5. Each job vacancy will be considered in relation to job-sharing, and a decision made on whether it would be possible to apply job-sharing to that post.

EMPLOYMENT PRACTICE AT WORK

1. The induction process will include information, and initial training on the Regent Centre’s equal opportunities policy.

2. The General Manager will ensure that all staff have received adequate training in equal opportunities issues, including the standard of behaviour expected at work in relation to colleagues and customers.

3. Verbal or physical harassment in the workplace will be considered serious or gross misconduct (depending on the circumstances of the incident). In a case involving staff, disciplinary action will be taken in accordance with the procedures outlined in their conditions of service.