Chapter is committed to the principle and practice of equality and will ensure that all job applicants, employees, volunteers, customers and colleagues are not discriminated against on any grounds. The policy is based on current equal opportunity legislation.

This equal opportunities policy will be implemented across all aspects of Chapter’s work.

Board of Management

Chapter will aim to ensure that its Trustees are representative of the community and users which it serves. The Trustees will be responsible for ensuring that the equal opportunities policy is properly implemented, monitored and reviewed.

Staff and Volunteers

Chapter will ensure that no job applicant, employee or volunteer receives less favourable treatment than another.

Chapter is committed to undertaking open recruitment and selection procedures and wherever possible all vacancies will be advertised and fair and equitable shortlisting and interview processes will be followed. These will be monitored to ensure that procedures are working fairly.

Employees of, freelancers  and volunteers working with the organisation will be informed of the equal opportunities policy and receive training on equal opportunities issues as appropriate. Conditions of service will, where appropriate, provide for consideration of flexible working; any reasonable adjustments needed to enable disabled staff to carry out their roles; and family friendly policies. See the Staff Handbook for more details.

Chapter will also ensure that the changing and developing needs of staff and volunteers are recognised and appropriate adjustments made to working conditions and/or training provided, where necessary.

Chapter operates disciplinary, grievance or complaints procedures, details of which are given in the staff handbook. Acts of harassment or discrimination on the grounds of ethnic or national origin, religion, political belief, gender, marital or parental status, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, age or disability are disciplinary offences.

Further details on equal opportunity employment procedures can be found in the Staff Handbook.

Audience and customers

Chapter aims to make its services and programmes accessible to as wide a range of the public as possible and in order to achieve this will take steps to remove barriers which prevent potential audience, participants, members and users from having equal access to the organisation’s activities. This will include:

• Ensuring where possible that activities take place in venues and premises which are accessible to disabled people;
• Providing facilities for disabled people to enable them to participate fully in activities, e.g induction loop, subtitles and audio-described film screenings
• Ensuring that the design of marketing and publicity material takes account of the needs of disabled people both in terms of print, format, information and access;
• Encouraging and enabling people from under-represented groups to attend and participate.

Artistic programme

Artists are commissioned by invitation except where an open selection is specifically advertised. Where an open process has been initiated we will ensure that all parts of the process take account of our equal opportunities policy, from advertising through to selection.

In all cases programme choices are based on artistic merit and quality as determined by the Chapter programme team.