The guides cover the current legislative requirements for trusts as employers and service providers on age, religion or belief, sexual orientation and trans gender. They also inlcude tools, templates and good practice.
Below are summaries of the three guides that have been published so far. We will update this page again, as soon as the remaining guide is published.
Key points - DH guide on religion or belief
Key points - DH trans gender guide
Key points - DH sexual orientation guide
Background on the guides
The DH has developed the guidance with input from NHS Employers and other expert groups, to support trusts when reviewing their equality and diversity strategies, schemes, policies and procedures.
Trusts should read the new guides in conjunction with existing DH guidance on human rights, gender and disability.
For further information on current requirements for the NHS, see our web pages on the diversity strands and our Navigating Equality and Diversity document, which summarises the main guidance and key actions for trusts.
Summaries of the guides
This guide is designed to assist NHS organisations implement and comply with the requirements of legislation on religion or belief. The Department of Health developed the guidance with support from NHS Employers.
NHS organisations have a duty, as public authorities, to comply with the three key pieces of legislation on religion or belief and employers need to review their policy and practice in this area.
Since December 2003, when the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations came into force, it became unlawful to discriminate against workers because of religion or similar belief.
The Equality Act 2006 defines religion or belief as 'any religion or religious or philosophical belief', making it unlawful to discriminate in the area of goods, facilities and services on the grounds of religion or belief.
The Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006, which came into force on 1 October 2007, protects people against harm because of beliefs and prohibits stirring up hatred against persons on religious grounds.
Key areas
NHS organisations should look at whether they have the flexibility to accommodate a wide range of religious observances, in relation to recruitment and selection practice but also in their general working arrangements.
They should particularly consider areas that can lead to potential misunderstanding such as dietary needs, contraception, abortion, suicide and palliative care.
Key points from the guidance include:
- dialogue needs to be at the centre of any approach
flexibility is encouraged to accommodate religious observance
- dress code issues should be considered at the first stage of recruitment
- it is good practice for NHS organisations to collect information on the profiles of staff from different religions or beliefs
- cultural and religious beliefs impact upon, and influence, attitudes to healthcare and decision making.
- NHS organisations are encouraged to review their work around religion or belief and cross-reference it with this detailed guidance document.
This guide, titled Trans - a practical guide for the NHS, gives trusts an understanding of the needs of trans people, to ensure they are cared for equally within the NHS and treated equally in the NHS as a workplace.
NHS organisations, as public authorities, must comply with the gender equality duty, which means they must factor the needs of transsexual people into the development of gender equality schemes and be proactive in meeting their needs.
The implications for the NHS can be categorised as follows:
- Awareness raising - NHS staff are likely to encounter relatively few trans people or their relatives so there is a need to ensure that those staff (including GPs and GP practice staff) are advised on how to address people appropriately, understand their sensitivities and fears, and handle records appropriately
- Confidentiality - privacy and confidentiality are important for everyone. Trans people often have additional concerns about how they will be perceived, treated and recorded by the NHS. Staff need to be aware of the importance of not disclosing personal information unnecessarily, maintaining records correctly and gaining consent where required.
- Consultation and promotion - NHS organisations need to ensure that trans people (and their representative organisations) are included in consultation exercises and considered in public health campaigns.
- Equality schemes - NHS organisations should review their gender equality or Single Equality Schemes and check that they have fully involved trans people and taken account of trans issues as outlined in the guidance.
This guide covers the requirements of the legislation relating to sexual orientation. It looks at how organisations can assess their policies, practices and services from lesbian, gay and bi-sexual perspective.
The Department of Health developed the guide with input from the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Advisory Group (SOGIAG) and NHS Employers.
Since 2003, as a result of the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations, it has been unlawful -- to discriminate on the grounds of sexual orientation in employment and in 2007 this was extended to include the provision of goods, facilities and services. Civil partnerships have also been introduced, giving same sex couples equal rights with married couples across many areas.
Key areas
As both employers and service providers, NHS organisations have new responsibilities to ensure that they are treating their staff and patients fairly and equitably, regardless of whether they are lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB), or heterosexual.
Unlike equality legislation around race, gender and disability, there is no positive duty placed on organisations, or requirement to monitor by sexual orientation, or to undertake equality impact assessments. There is however, an expectation that organisations will extend their existing equality work on these other ‘strands’ to include sexual orientation - typically via development of their single equality schemes.
The guidance explores the many ways in which LGB people can experience discrimination, harassment, bullying and victimisation in the workplace, and some of the specific healthcare needs that they can have as patients and clients.
It provides a comprehensive set of suggestions and recommendations on, for example:
- engaging and consulting with the LGB community about the configuration of healthcare services
- ensuring employment practices are fair and equitable
- supporting, encouraging and training staff to be aware of, and cater for, the specific needs of LGB patients
- how to avoid stereotyping and the issue of ‘multiple identities’
Numerous examples of good practice from a range of NHS trusts, plus worksheets and templates to help organisations assess and implement policies, practices and procedures, are provided.