AESP National Equality Framework for UK Organisations

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The AESP National Equality Framework has been developed to help UK organisations identify and manage the elements and what should be included in their equality policies and equality practice. AESP Members and their Standards are assessed and certified to deliver the NEF. AESP members are able to issue Accreditation and Certificates which confirm and that an organisation’s policies and practices meet the NEF requirements.

The National Equality Framework contains 8 sections; each section is split into a number of sub-headings.

1. Equality Policy
2. Equality in Employment
3. Equality of Terms and Conditions
4. Equality in Recruitment
5. Equality Responsibilities
6. Equality in Service Delivery
7. External Equality Relationships
8. Other Equality Issues

Accreditation is awarded by qualified AESP Members to Organisations that meet the National Equality Framework requirements.

The Equality Policies and Practices are the responsibility of the Organisation’s management. AESP Members are qualified to assess and form an opinion on these Equality Policies and Practices based on audits and reports. Equality Policies and Practices examined in the assessment and accreditation should present fairly, in all material respects, the Equality Policies and Practices of the Organisation at the date of the assessment.

Employers, suppliers and others who have duties under the Equality Act 2010 (the Act) provisions may have different ways of complying with the Act, this may depend on the size and locations of the organisation and the number of employees it has. While all organisations and employers have the same duties under the Act, the way that these duties are implemented and maintained may vary. Smaller organisation may have fewer written policies, and may be more limited by financial constraints.

The National Equality Framework is designed to provide a foundation of policies and practice for organisations to identify their main responsibilities and to make them aware of any gaps they may need to address. No employer is exempt from these duties because of size. It is not exhaustive and

does not cover every issue and is based on the Statutory Codes issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

An organisation can take advice on compliance with the Act from an external organisation such as the AESP Members or they can use the guidance issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the Government Equalities Office (GEO).

All UK organisations are free to use this National Equality Framework for their own internal use and they may copy and share it with Customers, Suppliers and Employees.

This National Equality Framework is provided free of charge to all UK organisations.

The Authors and AESP reserve their Copyright NEF 5.0 2013  

Association of Equality Scheme Providers (AESP)

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