EQUALITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION POLICY

1. Statement of Intent

1.1 The British Wheel of Yoga Limited (referred to throughout as BWY) is fully committed to the principles of equality of opportunity. It is responsible for ensuring that no member, volunteer, job applicant or employee is unlawfully discriminated against due to age, sex, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief or sexual orientation (together the protected characteristics as set out in the Equality Act 2010).

1.2 BWY will ensure that there is open access for all those who wish to participate in the practice of yoga and that they are treated fairly, in accordance with the law and reflecting the ethos and philosophy of Yoga. This policy is approved by Trustees of BWY.

2. Purpose of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy

2.1 BWY recognises that inequalities and discrimination still exist in society and that these may limit opportunities to participate equally and fully in the practice of yoga at all levels.

2.2 BWY promotes inclusion and will take steps to mitigate against inequality and prevent discrimination (intentional or unintentional), or other unfair treatment of its members, volunteers, employees and participants.

3. Legal Requirements

3.1 BWY is required by law not to discriminate against its members, volunteers, employees and practitioners taught by BWY teachers, and recognises its legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and any later amendments to such legislation or subsequent equality related legislation that may be relevant.

4. Discrimination, Harassment, Victimisation and Bullying

4.1 BWY recognises the following as being unacceptable. It regards any form of discrimination, harassment, victimisation or bullying as gross misconduct and any member, volunteer or employee found to be engaging in such behaviour will be subject to the appropriate disciplinary action.

4.2 Discrimination

4.2.1 Direct Discrimination is treating someone less favourably than you would treat others for reasons relating to a protected characteristic.

4.2.2 Indirect Discrimination is applying a provision, criterion or practice which, on the face of it, applies equally to all but which, in practice can disadvantage individuals with a particular protected characteristic. Such requirements or conditions should only be applied if they can be objectively justified.

4.3 Harassment is any form of unwanted or unwelcome behaviour that violates people’s dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.

4.4 Victimisation is treating someone less favourably because he or she has in good faith used the organisation’s complaints procedure, exercised his or her legal rights, or has supported colleagues who have done so. BWY will fully support and protect anyone who exercises his or her legal rights and/or supports anyone who has done so. 4.5 Bullying is the misuse of power or position to criticise persistently or to humiliate and undermine an individual’s confidence.

5. Reasonable Adjustments

5.1 BWY recognises that it has a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled persons. It will consider all requests for adjustments and where possible will accommodate reasonable requests and will work with disabled members, volunteers and employees to implement any adjustments that will enable them to participate more fully.

6. Implementation

6.1 BWY’s Board of Trustees along with the Head of Governance are responsible for ensuring that the existence of this policy is communicated to and understood by all members, volunteers, employees and participants and that all breaches are dealt with appropriately.

6.2 The Board of Trustees have overall responsibility for the implementation of this policy.

6.3 The Head of Governance has the responsibility for achieving any equality related action plans that arise from this policy.

6.4 All members, volunteers and employees have responsibilities to respect, act in accordance with, and thereby support and promote the spirit and intentions of this policy.

7. Positive Action

7.1 BWY will take positive action to address any under-representation in its membership, workforce, or those wishing to participate in the practice of yoga.

8. Monitoring and Evaluation

8.1 BWY will set up monitoring systems and evaluate the policy, practices, procedures, operations and recruitment/selection of students, volunteers and staff on an ongoing basis.

8.2 Monitoring and evaluation information will be used to identify any areas of underrepresentation. The information will be used to guide programme development and promotional work.

9. Complaints Procedure

9.1 To safeguard individual rights under the policy, a member, volunteer or employee who believes that they have suffered inequitable treatment within the scope of the policy may raise the matter through BWY Head of Governance.

9.2 Appropriate disciplinary action will be taken against any member, volunteer or employee who violates BWY’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy.

9.3 BWY, its members, volunteers and employees have the responsibility of maintaining the integrity of any complaints or disciplinary procedure. This in turn will increase the level of confidence in the procedures.

9.4 All BWY members, volunteers and employees will have access to the procedures referenced in this Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy.

10. Communication

10.1 A copy of this policy will be made available to all members, volunteers and employees of BWY.

10.2 BWY Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy will be available:

• On the website – www.bwy.org.uk
• At any staff / volunteer induction training

11. Contact Us

11.1 If you have any queries about the contents of this policy, please contact [email protected]