Equal opportunities

This policy sets out Tempietto’s approach to promoting Equality of Opportunity with the primary aim of providing equality for all and preventing any form of discrimination.

Policy Statement
Tempietto Architects is committed to creating an inclusive working environment to maximise the potential of all staff, providing equal opportunities in all aspects of employment and avoiding unlawful discrimination at work. Tempietto Architects will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, bullying or victimisation of employees or third parties who work on Tempietto’s behalf.

Principles
The key principles of this equal opportunities policy are to:

• provide equality for all
• promote an inclusive culture
• respect and value differences of everyone
• prevent discrimination, harassment and victimisation
• promote and foster good relations across the workforce and with partners

This means being aware of the impact of our behaviour and thinking about the impact of our actions on people from the protected groups listed below.

The Law
Our policy is governed by the Equality Act 2010, which makes it unlawful to discriminate directly or indirectly, in recruitment or employment because of a protected characteristic. The protected characteristics are:

• age
• disability
• gender (or sex)
• gender reassignment
• race
• religion or belief
• sexual orientation
• pregnancy and maternity
• marriage and civil partnership

The Act applies to everyone in Great Britain.

The Equality Act 2010 defines the different types of discrimination that are unlawful:

Direct discrimination – when someone is treated less favourably than another person because of a protected characteristic.

Occupational Requirement – in limited circumstances, employers can directly discriminate against an individual for a reason related to any of the protected characteristics where there is an occupational requirement. The occupational requirement must be crucial to the post and be a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

Indirect discrimination – when the organisation has a condition, rule, criterion, policy or practice that applies to everyone but particularly disadvantages people who share a protected characteristic and it cannot be shown to be a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

Associative discrimination – where an individual is directly discriminated against or harassed for association with another individual who has a protected characteristic.

Perceptive discrimination – where an individual is directly discriminated against or harassed based on a perception by others that they have a particular protected characteristic. It applies even if the individual does not actually possess that protected characteristic.

Discrimination arising from disability – where an individual has been treated unfavourably because of something connected with their disability (so does not have to be the disability itself).

Harassment – unwanted conduct related to one of the protected characteristics that has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual.

Victimisation is when an employee is treated badly and subjected to detriment, such as being denied a training opportunity or a promotion because they made or supported a complaint or raised a grievance under the Equality Act

Reasonable Adjustments
The Equality Act also makes it unlawful to fail to make reasonable adjustments, as a result of a disability, to overcome barriers in employment or to using services. The duty to make reasonable adjustments includes the removal, adaptation or alteration of physical features, if the physical feature makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled people to make use of services. In addition, employers and employees have an obligation to think ahead and address any barriers that may impede disabled people from accessing a service.