Promoting equality and respecting diversity

The Council has a clear policy that sets out its commitment to promoting equality and respecting diversity, by delivering fair, accessible and relevant services and equal opportunities in employment. This includes fair and equal access to services, an equal pay policy, and a safe environment without discrimination or harassment. We also seek to recognise and value the differences in the people we serve and employ.

These differences include:

  • age
  • disability
  • faith or religious belief
  • gender
  • race
  • sexual orientation

What the disability symbol means to you

When you see a job advertised displaying this symbol, you can be sure that as long as you meet the minimum requirements set out for the job, you are guaranteed an interview.

Positive About Disabled People Logo To use the symbol, an organisation must make five commitments to action:

  • to interview all applicants with a minimum criteria for a job vacancy, and consider them on their abilities.
  • to ask disabled employees at least once a year what can be done to make sure they can develop and use their abilities at work.
  • to make every effort when employees become disabled to make sure they can stay in employment.
  • to take action to ensure that key employees develop the awareness of disability needed to make the commitments work
  • to review these commitments and what has been achieved every year, and to plan ways to improve on them and let all employees know about progress and future plans

Pure Innovations

Pure Innovations are a recruitment agency specialising in helping people with learning, physical, mental health or sensory difficulties into employment.

Find out how Pure Innovations can help you by visiting: www.pureinnovations.co.uk.

Our Workforce Profile (1 April 2010 - 31 March 2011)

The Council has 2567 employees (excluding schools)

  • 13 per cent work part-time
  • 62 per cent the workforce are female
  • the average age of the workforce is 43
  • 32 per cent of the workforce come from an ethnic minority
  • 3.4 per cent of employees have said that they consider themselves to have a disability
  • 43 per cent of senior managers are women
  • 10 per cent of senior managers are from an ethnic minority
  • average training days per employee = three days

Senior managers = Top 200 managers, Business Group Management Teams and Management Board)

Download the Corporate Workforce Report 2011 [PDF] (file size 203Kb)

Partnership working

On 4 December 2006, the Council launched its new Equality Scheme and Equality Action Plan – key documents setting out what actions the Council will take over the three years to 2010 to promote equality and contribute to an inclusive Kensington and Chelsea.

People’s experience of the Royal Borough is shaped by the actions of a wide range of organisations – public, private and voluntary – and of the other people who live and work here. Creating a cohesive and inclusive community where everyone is treated fairly requires collaboration and cooperation.

The Council, the local NHS, police, businesses and voluntary and community organisations have adopted a challenging set of shared aims for promoting equality, as part of the community strategy for Kensington and Chelsea, following wide consultation with local people and organisations.

Our Equality Scheme and Action Plan sets out how the Council will contribute to the achievement of these shared aims, and address race, gender, disability, age, faith and sexual orientation. (See pages 35-37 for Our workforce reflecting the community we serve).

We are grateful to the local organisations and individuals who have given up their time to contribute to the development of the Equality Scheme and Action Plan. This is an ambitious agenda, and one which will help us to provide fair, relevant and accessible services that respond to the needs and aspirations of everyone who lives in, visits or works in the Royal Borough. The Council is striving to achieve “Excellent “ status against the Equality Framework for Local Government by 2012.