Council Stays In Top 100 Employers For Equality

January 15, 2015 by Joanna Harrison

Council stays in top 100 employers for equality

Wednesday 14th January 2015

Southend-on-Sea Borough Council is still one of Britain’s best 100 employers to respect workplace issues for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual staff.

This is the sixth year in succession that the Council has won a prestigious place among the top 100 employers in the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index.

The national campaign group, Stonewall announced today that the Council is 67th which is result is 15 places higher than last year, and the Council is 9th among local authorities who took part in this year’s Index.

To achieve this, the Council submitted a detailed self-assessment, backed up by evidence, and invited staff to complete a questionnaire, sharing details about their work experiences.

The Workplace Equality Index, which includes employers from both the private and public sector, is published by every year by Stonewall - the UK’s leading organisation campaigning for equality and justice for lesbians, gay men and bisexual people.

Stonewall measures a wide range of criteria covering policy and practice, including having a non-discrimination policy promoted to all staff and supporting a lesbian, gay and bisexual employee network group.

Council Leader, Councillor Ron Woodley said: “We’re very pleased that we are again ranked among the top 100 employers, and have also climbed an impressive 15 places. This is positive and clear evidence showing that we are continually improving our efforts to ensure equality for all our workforce.

“We pride ourselves that we respect the employment rights of all staff.”

The Equality Index is an important tool as it supports the Council’s vision of ‘creating a Better Southend’ by placing equality and diversity at the heart of everything it does.

Full details of the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index can be found at:http://www.stonewall.org.uk/at_work/workplace_equality_index_2015/default.asp