1. Purpose 

The purpose of this policy is to clarify the relationship of volunteers to our Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) policy.  

2. Scope 

2.1 As non-employees or service users, volunteers are not subject to the provisions of the Equality Act, 2010, or the same obligations and disciplinary procedures as staff in relation to EDI. However, they are expected to treat everyone fairly and without discrimination and can expect the same commitment to them from us. 

2.2 Discrimination against staff, volunteers or visitors on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation (protected characteristics) is neither legal nor acceptable. 

3. Implementation 

3.1 Recruitment, induction, training: We aim to ensure that no volunteer suffers discrimination because of any of the protected characteristics above. 

3.2.1 Our volunteer recruitment procedures are reviewed regularly to ensure that individuals are treated on the basis of their relevant merits, abilities and support needs. 

3.2.2 Role advertisements avoid stereotyping or using wording that may discourage groups with a particular protected characteristic from applying. We take steps to ensure that our vacancies are advertised to a diverse labour market. 

3.2.3 The importance of equality, diversity and inclusion is stressed during induction, is included in our code of conduct and volunteers will be notified of any related training. 

4. Disability support 

4.1 We encourage you to tell us about any reasonable adjustments we can make and support we can give to overcome any barriers which you may experience due to a disability. If we consider a particular adjustment would not be reasonable, we will explain our reasons and search for alternatives. 

5. Equalities Monitoring 

To identify groups that may be underrepresented or disadvantaged in our charity, we monitor the applicants' ethnic origin, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion and age as part of the recruitment procedure. Provision of this information is voluntary collected, stored and analysed solely for the purposes stated in this policy.