As one of the largest employers in the area, Bath and North East Somerset Council is a champion of good equal opportunity principles and practice. We recognise that discrimination can exist in many forms and through our Equal Opportunities Policy we make sure that our employees and the people we serve are not discriminated against or receive less favourable treatment on the basis of their: age, disability, financial or economic status, gender, civil partnership or marital status, HIV status, homelessness or lack of a fixed address, political view or trade union activity, race, colour, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, unrelated and spent criminal convictions.

Our Equal Opportunities Policy has the full support of the recognised trade unions, and all our employees are responsible for its implementation, whatever their job. We will work to make sure that all employees receive training to help them identify and eliminate discrimination wherever it occurs.

The Council supports worker challenge groups for Black & Minority Ethnic staff, Disabled staff and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender staff.

Positive about Disabled people

The Disability Discrimination Act imposes a duty on employers to implement employment practices which assess people on the basis of their skills, aptitudes and abilities

The DDA also requires employers to:

• employ good management practices to avoid discrimination in the implementation of the Act
• consider the practicality of taking measures to reduce any obstacle which places the disabled person at a substantial disadvantage compared to those without a disability
• make 'reasonable adjustments' for a disabled person where necessary, unless he or she can justify not providing this adjustment.

Bath and North East Somerset Council has been awarded the ‘2 Ticks’ scheme by JobCentre Plus, as we have agreed to take action to meet five commitments regarding the employment, training and career development of disabled people.

The main requirement is that the council will interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum (ie the essential) criteria for a job vacancy and consider them on their skills and experience, regardless of the nature of their impairment.

Therefore, If you identify as a disabled person and meet the minimum criteria set out in the person specification, we will guarantee that you are invited to interview. Please note: This is a guarantee of an interview, but not necessarily of a job

If we appoint you and you are disabled, we will try to provide facilities, where appropriate, to help you undertake the job. We encourage you to identify any needs to help us meet our duties under the Disability Discrimination Act.

Recruitment Leaflet November 06