Workplace diversity Policy
1. Introduction
Diversity has to do with more than race or ethnicity. Diverse workplaces are composed of employees with varying characteristics including, but not limited to, religious and political beliefs, gender, ethnicity, education, socioeconomic background, sexual orientation and geographic location.
The Workplace Diversity Policy is designed to support the Company’s ongoing commitment to recognising, promoting and supporting diversity within the work environment.
2. Purpose and objectives
We are committed to providing an inclusive workplace culture where all our staff are valued and recognised for their unique qualities, ideas and perspectives. We acknowledge the skills and perspectives that people may bring to the workplace by gender, race, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status or other difference.
We are committed to providing a working environment that values diversity and inclusion which supports all employees to reach their full potential. Our commitment is demonstrated through workplace diversity and inclusion strategies, policies and initiatives. These include:
3. Relevant Supporting Legislations
Racial Discrimination Act 1975
The Racial Discrimination Act 1975 gives effect to Australia's obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Its major objectives are to
The Act protects people from racial discrimination in many areas of public life, including employment, education, getting or using services, renting or buying a house or unit, and accessing public places.
It is unlawful to discriminate when advertising jobs, during recruitment and selection processes, when making decisions about training, transfer and promotion opportunities, and in the terms, conditions and termination of employment.
Examples of racial discrimination in employment could include:
Sex Discrimination Act 1984
The Sex Discrimination Act 1984 gives effect to Australia’s obligations in order to
Sex discrimination in employment occurs when someone is treated less favourably than a person of the opposite sex would be treated in the same or similar circumstances. It can occur when employers or managers hold assumptions about what sort of work women are capable – or not capable – of performing.
Examples of sex discrimination could include:
Disability Discrimination Act 1992
Disability discrimination is when a person with a disability is treated less favourably than a person without the disability in the same or similar circumstances. The Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) makes it against the law to treat people unfairly because of a disability.
The Act makes it unlawful to discriminate against people with disabilities in employment, including:
Under the Disability Discrimination Act (1992), employers are obligated to make adjustments to accommodate an individual’s disability, unless that adjustment would result in unjustifiable hardship. Many employers accept that workplace flexibility is an attraction and retention strategy.
Age Discrimination Act 2004
Age discrimination occurs when a person is treated less favourably, or not given the same opportunities as others in a similar situation, because he or she is considered to be too old or too young.
The Act makes it unlawful to discriminate on the basis of age when advertising jobs; during recruitment and selection processes; when making decisions about training, transfer and promotion opportunities; and in the terms, conditions and termination of employment.
Stereotypes about young people and mature workers can greatly influence decisions made during recruitment and in the workplace.
Examples of age discrimination could include:
Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986
Discrimination on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction, social origin, age, medical record, criminal record, marital or relationship status, impairment, mental, intellectual or psychiatric disability, physical disability, nationality, sexual orientation, and trade union activity. Also covers Discrimination in employment or occupation.
Work Health and Safety Act 2011
The Act in Victoria is the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004. The objects of the Act are:
Fair Work Act 2009
The Fair Work Act 2009 (Act) is the primary piece of legislation governing Australia’s workplaces. The rules and obligations for employees and employers which are outlined within the Fair Work Act 2009 are known as the national workplace relations system. The purpose of this system is to provide a balanced framework for productive workplace relations that promote national economic prosperity and social inclusion for all Australians. This essentially means that it is in place for the good of all and does not come with any subjective or biased perspectives.
The Act:
Employer Roles and Responsibility
As an employer, he/she must provide a safe and healthy workplace for employees. This includes:
While the duty of care of employers under the 2004 Occupational Health and Safety Act are more or less the same as what they were under the 1985 Act, the definition of health has been amended. The new definition is as follows: "health" includes psychological health. This means that the employer must address workplace hazards such as bullying, stress and fatigue.
Managers and supervisors roles and responsibility
As a manager or supervisor, the responsibilities include ensuring the health and safety of the workers. As someone responsible for instructing and supervising others at work, supervisor/manager have authority from employer to take action on their behalf to meet legal requirements for health and safety.
This includes the responsibility of:
Taking all reasonable care to prevent injuries or illnesses occurring at work
Take every step to make sure workers are aware of the organisation's health and safety policies and follow them. Do everything within your authority to remove or reduce the risk of injury and illness.
Attempt to resolve any health and safety issues as soon as possible
If it is unable to resolve an issue, manager/supervision should speak to higher authority about the problem. In the meantime, if there's an ongoing risk to workers, take all possible steps to reduce it while the situation is being resolved.
Do everything reasonable to help an injured worker to return to work
Firstly, if a worker is injured supervisor/manager should help them to get appropriate medical treatment. If the incident resulted in or could have resulted in serious injury or death, notify WorkSafe immediately and must also record the details of the injury or illness in the workplace's Register of Injuries.
Employee Roles and Responsibility
The duties employees (workers) have under the Occupational Health and Safety 2004 Act. The one difference is that workers, like employers and other parties, can now be charged under the new offence of 'reckless endangerment'. For more information on this, see the page on Reckless Endangerment in this section
Workers must:
The Act also specifies that in determining whether a worker failed to take reasonable care, 'regard must be had to what the employee knew about the relevant circumstances'.
Grievance Procedures
Grievance is any type of problem, concern or complaint related to an employee’s work or the work environment. A personal grievance can be about any act, behaviour, omission, situation or decision impacting on an employee, that the employee thinks is unfair or unjustified.
A grievance can relate to almost any aspect of employment, for example:
Purpose
The aim of these guidelines is to achieve consistent treatment in the handling of personal grievances in the workplace and provide a procedure to follow in the event a personal grievance arises.
Scope
The procedures outlined in this Policy aim to achieve consistent treatment in the handling of personal grievances in the workplace and provide a procedure to follow in the event a personal grievance arises.
Dealing with Grievances
The company recognises that an employee may not perform to the best of their ability if they feel they are being treated unfairly or are feeling aggrieved.
Accordingly, the company will endeavour to provide a fair and just working environment, by aiming to ensure that employees have access to processes for the resolution of genuine personal grievances related to the workplace.
As such, the company will use its reasonable endeavours to:
Staff Grievance Procedure
If the employee feels comfortable in doing so, they should attempt to address the issue directly with the person(s) involved in the grievance. The employee may find the other person was not aware of their grievance and the matter can be resolved directly.
If the employee does not feel comfortable talking to the person(s) involved, or they have tried to and it was ineffective in resolving the grievance, or if there is no other person involved in the grievance, the employee should report the grievance in the first instance to their line-manager.
A range of informal actions can often resolve the grievances. Such actions will depend on the individual circumstances of the grievance. Possible actions include, but are not limited to:
The step involves a formal investigation of the grievance and a decision about appropriate actions and outcomes. In the first instance, this will be undertaken by the HR Manager. The investigation generally involves collecting information about the grievance and then making a finding based on the available information. Once a finding is made, the HR Manager will make recommendations about the grievance.
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