Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority

Human Resources Committee Meeting Item 9

21 September 2007

Fairness and Dignity Forum

Report by the Chief Officer

Contact: Shanti Waas Tel : 023 80 644000 ext 5402

Email : [email protected]

1

Summary

1.1

This report summarises the content and the discussion held in the Fairness and Dignity Forum held at Fareham Fire Station on Thursday 21 June 2007.

2

Recommendations

2.1

That the Human Resources Committee note the contents of the Report.

2.2

That the Human Resources Committee notes the date and venue of the next meeting which is Thursday 25 October 2007 commencing from 1000 hours at Hampshire Fire and Rescue Headquarters.

3

Introduction and Background

3.1

Approximately 30 people attended the Forum including Fire Authority Members, Fire Service employees and members of the local community. Andy Kettle welcomed everyone and explained that the Forum was an opportunity to debate topical issues. Andy advised that the debate would be run according to the Fairness and Dignity Forum debating rules.

4

Guest Speaker

4.1

Andy introduced Amanda Hames, who is the Campaigns and Development Manager at Hampshire Coalition of Disabled People. Amanda talked about her background leading to her current role and gave a presentation about the Disability Equality Duty.

4.2

Amanda discussed various issues around the Disability Discrimination Act in her presentation and covered the two main aspects of the Disability Act - the General Duty and the Specific Duty. One of the duties for the public authorities is to produce a Disability Equality Scheme and Amanda complimented the Service's scheme.

5

Debate

5.1

Andy Kettle opened the debate as a challenge to the audience's belief of a `standard' Fire Service and to stimulate thought. The first debate was "The Chair believes that there is a role for people with impairments within the operational Fire and Rescue Service".

5.2

It was agreed that there are different types of impairments including the extent and intensity of a particular condition. The forum agreed that the nature and extent of an impairment could impact on the ability of a person to fulfil the role of a firefighter. Therefore there is a line on what can be acceptable in operational duties based on assessments and reasonable adjustments. There was general agreement that there was a role for people with impairments subject to assessments and that these should be open to all.

5.3

A question was raised in regards to Equal Pay. Would a person with an impairment be paid less than a person with no impairment because they do less of an operational role? It was said that pay would not be affected because reasonable adjustment is covered in the duty.

5.4

The second statement opened a debate on the perception across the workforce that "The lack diversity (people from minority and ethnic communities, women, disabled people, people who are gay and lesbian) within operational workforce is a major factor in the poor performance in the recruitment from these groups for operational roles". A question was raised by the audience "the recruitment process creates barriers to join Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service for people with hidden impairments", as applicants will pass the application stage but would usually fail at the medical stage. To answer this Andy Kettle said "an extended assessment by the Service should be made to see if the applicant can carry out the job". A member asked what action was being taken to promote the Service to people from its gay and lesbian community. Andy Kettle said that this issue is being addressed; the Service subscribes to Stonewall, who advise on equality and fairness issues for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual people. Forum members were informed that this area was difficult to monitor due to applicants not disclosing their sexual orientation on the monitoring form. Andy said that the Service will continue to promote opportunities through Stonewall and other gay and lesbian networks. Also it was said that there are barriers within society and thought processes will need to change which will not happen overnight. And the last point discussed was regarding equipment design. Statistics show that 95% of females are 5ft 5in or below in height and reasonable adjustments should be considered to attract more females.

5.5

This was an interesting debate and continued education of management is required in order that all relevant policies are effective.

6

Close of Meeting

6.1

Andy Kettle thanked Amanda Hames for her presentation and all the participants for their attendance and contribution to the discussion. The next meeting will be held on Thursday 25 October 2007 at Fire Headquarters, Eastleigh.

7

Contribution to Corporate Aims and Objectives

7.1

The Fairness and Dignity Forum, the discussion held and the issues that the Equality Team are progressing are providing a fundamental contribution to the achievement of the organisations aims and objectives.

8

Risk Analysis

8.1

The Fairness and Dignity Forum provides an opportunity for Managers, Frontline Staff and Members to openly debate equalities issues and inform the Equalities Team of the feelings and concerns towards current initiatives and ideas. Equalities is an issue highlighted as part of a broader Corporate risk and the Fairness and Dignity Forum is seen as an important measure in controlling this risk.

9

Resource Implications

9.1

There are no direct resource implications from the recommendations of the Report.

10

Equality Impact Assessment

10.1

Equality Impact Assessments are carried out on all new initiatives and ideas that may be discussed at the Fairness and Dignity Forum. It was noted at this Forum that members of the Black and Minority Ethnic communities were present and this greatly added to the contents/benefits of the debate. The Equalities Team will therefore continue to seek the involvement of Community Leaders in the Fairness and Dignity Forum.

10.2

The proposals within this report are considered compatible with the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights, the Human Rights Act 1998, and the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.

11

Consultation

11.1

Consultation has not been required for the contents of this Report however, the Fairness and Dignity Forum serves as a useful method of consulting a wider audience over development in the areas of Equalities and Diversity.

Background Information (Section 100D of Local Government Act 1972)

The following documents disclose the facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of the report:

"None"

Note: The list excludes: (1) published works; and (2) documents that disclose exempt or confidential information defined in the Act.