Shannon W Unit 3: Citizenship, diversity and the public services P5,P6,M3,D2
Policies and procedures within services:
Equal Opportunities-The concept of equal opportunities was to make minorities and women equal
to their white-male counterparts because everyone should be given an equal chance of getting a job
and being promoted in the public services based on their abilities and not something like ethnicity or
gender etc. It should also create a workplace where all of the employees know that they will get the
same access to the various opportunities and where advancement is based on skill. A senior member
of the service is responsible for this. Across the public services, equal opportunities works because
women are paid equal to men that are doing the same job however, the rate of pay changes
depending on their rank in the service. There aren’t any negatives for equal opportunities however,
it may not be one of the strongest policies because it can be easily overruled by some employers.
The public services also want to ensure that the public can access their service and I believe that the
majority of the time it does work.
Grievance procedures-The grievance procedure are concerns, complaints or problems that
employees raise with their employer. Under the Employment Act 2002, all public services must have
a grievance procedure, so people can resolve problems through a tribunal. The positives for the
grievance procedure are; you won’t lose any money that you are entitled to and it gives you an
opportunity to speak up about your problems at work. The negatives for the grievance procedure
are; it can be a long and stressful procedure because to can take several weeks to months, and the
person complaining can be seen as a troublemaker, which won’t necessarily give you a good
reputation for your boss.
Bullying and harassment at work- Bullying and harassment at work overall has an extremely
negative impact on anyone who experiences it. Everyone should be treated with dignity and respect
when at work. It can make an individual anxious and worried to come to work; this will affect their
overall work effort. There are various forms of bullying that can include; physical, cyber, mental, or
even sexual. The positive for the bullying and harassment policy is that it is designed to prevent
bullying within a workplace by informing people how to treat others with dignity and respect.
Other anti-discrimination policies- There were a few policies that were followed by some of the
public services and they have been removed. They are called anti-discrimination policies. These
policies include; The removal of height restrictions for the police, the Armed Forces now welcome
applications from both men and women regardless of their sexual orientation and finally, from 2011,
the Ministry of Defense is considering lifting restrictions on women serving on British submarines.
The positive for creating these policies is that it prevents discrimination when selecting candidates
during recruitment for some of the services. For example, if someone who was below the height
limit, which was 5’9 at the time, or they are a female and they can pass the same training, then there
is no reason why they shouldn’t be allowed to join their chosen public service. On the other hand,
due to women being allowed to join the submariners, they have had to redesign and reconstruct one
of the existing submarines so women can have separate sleeping areas. Overall, it was a much fairer
decision to lift the restrictions on women joining the submariners. This also goes for all of the other
armed forces such as S.A.S, The Parachute Regiment and Marines.
Policies and procedures within services:
Equal Opportunities-The concept of equal opportunities was to make minorities and women equal
to their white-male counterparts because everyone should be given an equal chance of getting a job
and being promoted in the public services based on their abilities and not something like ethnicity or
gender etc. It should also create a workplace where all of the employees know that they will get the
same access to the various opportunities and where advancement is based on skill. A senior member
of the service is responsible for this. Across the public services, equal opportunities works because
women are paid equal to men that are doing the same job however, the rate of pay changes
depending on their rank in the service. There aren’t any negatives for equal opportunities however,
it may not be one of the strongest policies because it can be easily overruled by some employers.
The public services also want to ensure that the public can access their service and I believe that the
majority of the time it does work.
Grievance procedures-The grievance procedure are concerns, complaints or problems that
employees raise with their employer. Under the Employment Act 2002, all public services must have
a grievance procedure, so people can resolve problems through a tribunal. The positives for the
grievance procedure are; you won’t lose any money that you are entitled to and it gives you an
opportunity to speak up about your problems at work. The negatives for the grievance procedure
are; it can be a long and stressful procedure because to can take several weeks to months, and the
person complaining can be seen as a troublemaker, which won’t necessarily give you a good
reputation for your boss.
Bullying and harassment at work- Bullying and harassment at work overall has an extremely
negative impact on anyone who experiences it. Everyone should be treated with dignity and respect
when at work. It can make an individual anxious and worried to come to work; this will affect their
overall work effort. There are various forms of bullying that can include; physical, cyber, mental, or
even sexual. The positive for the bullying and harassment policy is that it is designed to prevent
bullying within a workplace by informing people how to treat others with dignity and respect.
Other anti-discrimination policies- There were a few policies that were followed by some of the
public services and they have been removed. They are called anti-discrimination policies. These
policies include; The removal of height restrictions for the police, the Armed Forces now welcome
applications from both men and women regardless of their sexual orientation and finally, from 2011,
the Ministry of Defense is considering lifting restrictions on women serving on British submarines.
The positive for creating these policies is that it prevents discrimination when selecting candidates
during recruitment for some of the services. For example, if someone who was below the height
limit, which was 5’9 at the time, or they are a female and they can pass the same training, then there
is no reason why they shouldn’t be allowed to join their chosen public service. On the other hand,
due to women being allowed to join the submariners, they have had to redesign and reconstruct one
of the existing submarines so women can have separate sleeping areas. Overall, it was a much fairer
decision to lift the restrictions on women joining the submariners. This also goes for all of the other
armed forces such as S.A.S, The Parachute Regiment and Marines.
