It is the College's policy to treat all its personnel in the same way, regardless of their sex, sexual orientation, age, race, ethnic origin or disability. Further, the organisation monitors the composition of its personnel and introduce positive action if it appears that this policy is not fully effective.

The College welcomes diversity amongst its members and visitors recognising the particular contributions to the achievement of the College's mission that can be made by individuals from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences.

In relation to students the College aims to provide education of excellent quality at undergraduate and postgraduate level for able students, whatever their background. In pursuit of this aim, the College is committed to using its best endeavours to ensure that all of its activities are governed by principles of equality of opportunity, and that all students are helped to achieve their full academic potential. This statement applies to recruitment and admissions, to the curriculum, teaching and assessment, to welfare and support services, and to staff development and training.

In relation to employees, the policy and practices of the College require that all are afforded equal opportunities within employment and that entry into employment with the College and progression within employment will be determined only by personal merit and the application of criteria which are related to the duties of each particular post and the relevant salary structure. In all cases, ability to perform the job is the primary consideration. Subject to statutory provisions, no applicant or member of staff will be treated less favourably than another because of his or her sex, marital status, sexual orientation, racial group, or disability.

The College will also avoid, in the fields of employment, education and provision of goods, facilities, services and premises the use of ostensibly neutral criteria which have disproportionate adverse impact on members of a particular racial group, sex, or marital status, unless such use is objectively justifiable.

This policy statement is supported by the College's own code of practice for equal opportunities; by the Collegiate University's code of practice for equal opportunities; and by the College's policies and codes of practice on race relations and on disability discrimination.

Code of Practice

The College is an equal opportunity employer. Equal opportunity is about good employment practices and efficient use of personnel. Each member of the College's personnel has personal responsibility for the implementation of the policy. Any instance of doubt about the application of the policy, or other questions, should be addressed to the Bursar, as should any requests for special training.

The College will not discriminate on grounds of sex, marital status, , , colour, nationality, disability or other grounds of discrimination not prohibited by legislation such as sexual orientation, age, etc.

The policy applies to the advertisement of jobs, recruitment and appointment to them, training, conditions of work, pay and to every other aspect of employment. Staff involved in recruitment in particular should request training if they have any doubt about the application of this policy.

Employees should note that the imposition of a condition or requirement which has an adverse impact on someone, because his or her sex, race or marital status is more likely to be affected by it, will also be unlawful unless it can be justified on grounds of business need. (By way of example a height requirement of 5' 10" will eliminate some men, but proportionately more women, and so be unlawful.) In all such situations the Bursar should be consulted.

Employees who are disabled or become disabled in the course of their employment should inform the College. They may also wish to advise the College of any "reasonable adjustments" to their employment or working conditions which they consider to be necessary or which they consider would assist them in the performance of their duties. Careful consideration will be given to any proposals of this nature and, where reasonable and reasonably practicable such adjustments will be made. There may however be circumstances where it will not be reasonable or reasonably practicable for the company to accommodate those proposals and where less favourable treatment may be justified in accordance with the statutory provisions.

Any member of staff may use the grievance procedure to complain about discriminatory conduct. If the matter relates to sexual or racial harassment or harassment on the basis of disability then the grievance may be raised directly with their manager/supervisor, or the Bursar. The company is concerned to ensure that staff feel able to raise such grievances and no individual will be penalised for raising such a grievance unless it is untrue and made in bad faith.

Discipline

Any employee who harasses any other employee on the grounds of race, sex or disability will be subject to the organisation's disciplinary procedure. In serious cases, such behaviour will be deemed to constitute gross misconduct and, as such, will result in summary dismissal in the absence of mitigating circumstances.

Monitoring

The College has an Equality Committee, structured as follows:

Terms of Reference:

The Equality Committee is a committee of Lincoln College. It is responsible for the development, implementation, monitoring, prioritisation and review of policies, procedures and practice to support the College's Equal Opportunities Policy in relation to employees (Fellows and staff) students, visitors and others closely associated with the College.

Meetings:

The Equality Committee meets termly and reports to the Governing Body annually in the Michaelmas Term as to the effectiveness of the College's equal opportunities policies and procedures. The Governing Body will also receive the minutes of the Equality Committee each term.

Membership:

The Committee is convened by the Bursar and chaired by him/her. The members of the Committee will be: Senior Tutor, the Dean, the Chaplain, the Presidents of the JCR and MCR (or their representatives), Trade Union representative and other staff and students reflecting the diversity of backgrounds and experiences of College members.

Positive Action
Should inequalities become apparent, as a result of the College's monitoring procedures, positive action will be taken to redress the imbalance, including such measures as:
- advertising jobs in ethnic or female interest publications, as appropriate
- introducing assertiveness training
- introducing English language training
- encouraging under-represented groups to apply for suitable training posts
- making contact with disabled people via the local Job Centre.