Engagement Newsletter. Engagement Newsletter. April 2017 Edition

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1 This Month Engagement Spotlight News about our Reference Group events, contacts with local authorities and equality hour on Twitter. Common Stories Examples of some common cases we have received over the last month. Statistics A comprehensive look at the types of issues we have received are receiving from your region. Engagement Newsletter Engagement Newsletter April 2017 Edition Welcome to the April 2017 edition of the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) newsletter. The aim of this newsletter is for you to get a regular insight in to how we function and how we provide advice, guidance and support to individuals experiencing discrimination. As well as offering a window into EASS, we will also share our common issues and some of the successful outcomes from our advice and support. We would also like to welcome all our new subscribers to the newsletter. We would encourage you to share the newsletter with your networks. We are very grateful for all your hard work in ensuring people know where to receive free advice and support should they face an incident of discrimination. New to EASS? The Helpline advises and assists individuals on issues relating to equality and human rights, across England, Scotland and Wales. We also accept referrals from organisations who may not have the resources to provide in-depth advice to users of their services. EASS can be contacted through the following ways: Telephone Textphone via website Post to FREEPOST EASS Helpline FPN 6521 Webchat Available via website Facebook.com/EASSHelpline If you wish to subscribe/unsubscribe to this newsletter, please

2 Engagement and Events Through this newsletter we also aim to highlight some of the engagement work we carry out. It is important the EASS develops relationships with other organisations to help set up referral routes both in and out of the service. If you want to talk more to us about how our organisations could work more closely together then please contact EASS Reference Groups - Meetings across England, Scotland and Wales As part of our plans to engage with other organisations which may interact with individuals facing discrimination, EASS is introducing twice-yearly reference groups beginning in April. The purpose of these groups is to showcase the types of issues we are receiving and to identify ways in which EASS can work more closely with other organisations. The overall aim of the reference groups is to ensure people receive the right support at the right time through more informed referral processes. The previous EASS stakeholder reference group operated centrally for all of Britain. This time we have spoken with organisations from across Scotland and Wales which have advised us that country-specific groups would be more useful. Because of this feedback, we will initiate country-specific reference group meetings in London, Edinburgh and Cardiff. Any outcomes from these meetings that will be of relevance and interest to the newsletter readership will be reported in May s edition. Local authority engagement We have been making some good progress over the last three months talking with equality leads within local councils. EASS recognises that when people experience discrimination they are likely to contact their council either to complain or to seek advice. We also understand that councils will do their best to advise but are unlikely to have much influence to change, for example, a service provider s approach should it discriminate against one of its customers. EASS has been working to raise awareness of the service at local level and the response from a lot of councils has been very positive in promoting the helpline to local residents. We have also agreed dates with some councils for us to attend their equality network meetings so that we can make presentations about the service. We are very grateful to those who have already invited us. These network groups help us reach local organisations which may receive complaints from the public about discrimination and it is always interesting to see how the presence of EASS can assist them at this local level. For more information on EASS, or should you wish to receive our leaflet or poster, then please contact andrew.goldsby@uk.g4s.com #equalityhour EASS and Disability Rights UK Team up for Equality Hour In March, EASS hosted Equality Hour on Twitter. We were delighted to be joined by our partners from Disability Rights UK who helped us answer questions about disability rights when accessing services from the public. As the title of the event indicates, the live Q&A session lasted an hour with various questions received from individuals who felt that they had experienced discrimination. The hour on Twitter also helped us reach more people with our service as we explained the types of support we can provide. We would like to thank our partners at Disability Rights UK for supporting this online event and we look forward to doing a disability-related equality hour again later in the year. If you or your organisation would like to join us on a future equality hour which can be on any specific theme - then please make contact. We would love to have you on board!

3 Common Issues Roundup HIV and Tattoo s Over the last month, EASS has received a large volume of calls from individuals with HIV. These complaints occur when an individual discloses that he/she has HIV and is then refused a tattoo or piercing on health and safety grounds. HIV is one of the four listed conditions that is automatically protected by the Equality Act along with Cancer, MS and if an individual is registered as blind or partially sighted. When a refusal to provide a service is because of HIV, this may be discrimination. What can make these issues quite complex is when the tattoo artist relies on health and safety grounds for the refusal to provide the service due to the potential risk of cross infection. Arguably, the tattoo artist should already be operating in a safe and sterile environment so each incident of refusal would need to be considered on its own merits. If all health and safety risks have been removed then it is more likely that a refusal because of HIV is unlawful. Religion and Belief Wearing Religious symbols and articles of faith at work CJEU Ruling A recent ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union has determined that it is lawful for employers to impose strict dress codes for employees, even where that dress code may prevent some employees wearing items related to their religion, such as head-scarves or other forms of head-covering. However, it would still be up to an individual employer to prove, if necessary, that its dress code was legitimate and proportionate in any specific set of circumstances. This ruling reflects the current legal position in the UK which has been in place for a number of years. In December 2016 the Equality and Human Rights Commission produced guidance on the wearing of religious articles or clothing at work. After this CJEU ruling, the Commission will be updating that guidance. For now, if you are contacted by an individual who experiences similar issues, or even issues around dress codes at work more generally, please recommend them to contact us for advice. EASS focusses initially on advising individuals on their rights under the Equality Act 2010 and providing general advice on the Human Rights Act. In this newsletter we are sharing some of the common and interesting issues we have noticed during March. These cases are mentioned purely for illustrative purposes and any comment is not to be read as a statement or opinion that the incident is unlawful. On a daily basis The most common issue EASS receives complaints about concerns employers disciplining individuals for taking time off work for medical appointments or for incurring sick days linked to their disability. This always raises the question as to whether the action taken by the employer amounts to discrimination arising from disability? This conduct occurs when an individual is treated unfavourably due to something arising in consequence of their disability. For example, an individual has time off for depression and this triggers an absence policy leading to an investigation. If it can be shown that the employers actions were not fair and necessary then the decision to take action by the employer may be discriminatory. In some cases, the employer may have also failed to make reasonable adjustments especially if these adjustments would have helped the individual return to work. Reaction to our Taking out the Trash story from last month s newsletter We are very pleased to report a positive response from various local councils on this story. Having read about the difficulties the blind individual had with recycling, some councils have taken steps to review their waste management policies to avoid incidents occurring locally. You can read this story in our March 2017 newsletter.

4 Statistics Each month we aim to bring you a statistical snapshot of the types of issues we receive through the helpline. This data is provided purely for illustrative purposes only and is not to be used as any direct evidence of activity or particular issues. The statistics are drawn from various reports which may vary dependent on the data collected for a particular issue. For example, for us to be able to to highlight contacts by region, we rely on an individual caller providing at least the first part of their postcode. The postcode is not captured if we are ed or should an individual choose to remain anonymous. Contacts with EASS by region. This data reflects volume by percentage for the major areas across England, Scotland and Wales and has been drawn from postcodes provided to EASS by callers. This is the same data we shared in the last edition and we have kept the same chart this month to aid comparison of regions. It shows us that we have healthy awareness of the service in London and the South East but more work can be done to promote use of the EASS in North East England, Scotland and Wales. Data from Oct 2016 Feb 2017 Scotland Statistics by Region Using the same data, we have now been able to separate the types of issues occurring within these regions. The following data gives the percentage of contacts for Oct 2016 Feb 2017 for protected characteristics and part of the Equality Act within each region. Borders Central Scotland Dumfries & Galloway

5 Fife Grampian Highlands and Islands Lothian Strathclyde Tayside On April 6 th EASS will be holding our first Scottish specific reference group meeting in Edinburgh. The aim of these meetings will be to increase engagement with organisations in Scotland and improve the level of awareness of the service. Our vision for Scotland is to ensure contact volumes are proportionate with the population spread across Great Britain.

6 Wales Statistics by Region Mid Wales North Wales South Wales South West Wales To replicate our work in Wales, in late April we will also be hosting a reference group meeting for key organisations in Wales. By increasing engagement in Wales we will be able to ensure we are being used by the diverse communities across the country.

7 England Statistics by Region East Midlands East of England London South East England

8 North East England North West England South West England West Midlands Yorkshire and Humber