Volleyball England supports the principle of equal opportunities for all participants, members, representatives and employees whilst working for, or on behalf of the Volleyball England. It opposes all forms of unlawful and unfair discrimination on the grounds of age, colour, race nationality, religion, ethnic or national origin, gender, marital status, sexuality, HIV status, or unrelated criminal convictions, or disability.

The aim of this policy is to:

• Ensure that all present and potential members / employees of Volleyball England receive fair treatment
• Ensure that there is open access for all those who wish to participate in the sport and that they are treated fairly.

Volleyball England will:

1. Promote equality of opportunity to its members/employees. It will monitor the implementation of this policy and keep members/employees informed of its impact.

2. Ensure that the policy is effectively communicated and that proper training and guidance is given to ensure that all members and employees fully understand their responsibilities as set out both in the policy and the legislation. In this it will take account of the:

• Race Relations Act 1976
• Sex Discrimination Act 1975,1986 & 1999
• Equal Pay Act 1970
• Disability Discrimination Act 1995
• Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
• Human Rights Act 2000

3. All members/employees have a responsibility to observe this policy and to ensure that equality of opportunity is continuously provided for, in all Volleyball England's activities.

4. Reserve the right to discipline any of its members/employees who practice any form of discrimination on the grounds of a person’s age, colour, race nationality, religion, ethnic or national origin, gender, marital status, sexuality (in respect of gay men and lesbians) HIV status, or unrelated criminal convictions, or disability.

TYPES OF DISCRIMINATION

Discrimination can take the following forms:

Direct discrimination is defined as treating a person less favourably than others are or would be treated in the same or similar circumstances.

Indirect discrimination occurs when a requirement or condition is applied which, whether intentional or not, adversely affects a considerably larger proportion of people of one race, sex or marital status than another and cannot be justified on grounds other than race, sex or marital status.

Volleyball England regards discrimination, as described above, as gross misconduct, and any employee, participant or volunteer who discriminates against any other person will be liable to appropriate disciplinary action.

HARASSMENT OR INTIMIDATION

Volleyball England will not tolerate harassment or Intimidation of an Individual. Where a complaint of such harassment or intimidation is lodged it will be dealt with promptly in accordance with the harassment policy and procedures.

Harassment can be described as inappropriate actions, behaviour, comments or physical contact that is objectionable or causes offence to the recipient. It may be of a sexual or racial nature or it may be directed towards people because of their age, sexuality or some other characteristic.

TRAINING AND COMMUNICATION

Volleyball England undertakes to provide training and information for employees and members to ensure that they understand their position in law, Volleyball England's equal opportunity policies and their responsibilities under the policy.

All external vacancy advertisements will incorporate the statement that "Volleyball England is an equal opportunities employer".

MONITORING

Volleyball England will regularly monitor and evaluate the policy, practices, procedures and operations on an ongoing basis and will keep employees and members informed of their impact. The extent and scope of such monitoring will reflect the particular local circumstances.

GRIEVANCE AND DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES

To safeguard individuals rights under the policy, anyone, employee or member who believes that he / she has suffered inequitable treatment within the scope of the policy may raise the matter through the usual Volleyball England grievance procedure.

Individual actions not compatible with this policy should be reported immediately to a Volleyball England representative at that event or a member of staff at the National Office who will investigate the matter fully in accordance with Volleyball England's grievance and disciplinary procedures.

Disciplinary rules and procedures must make specific reference to the action and behaviours under this policy. Instances where it has been demonstrated that an individual has acted in a discriminatory way will be regarded as serious misconduct liable to disciplinary action, which may include summary dismissal or exclusion from the Association.

Volleyball England is concerned that individuals should feel able to raise any grievance and no one will be penalised for doing so unless the complaint is untrue and not made in good faith.

Working in collaboration with home country sports councils, CCPR and equity organisations, UK Sport has developed the Equality Standard for sport. The Equality Standard will ensure equality is integrated into all aspects of sports bodies' operations and services to members, athletes, staff and volunteers.

Volleyball England was one of the first national governing bodies of sport to achieve the foundation level of the equality standard and in 2007 achieved preliminary level of the equality standard, demonstrating a commitment to equality and diversity and ensuring that policies and procedures are in place.

Volleyball England has a desire, a duty of care and is committed to ensuring that we provide services fairly and without discrimination to all who want to participate in the sport of volleyball.

We pride ourselves in that we are an open and accessible sport and that there are no barriers to participation across the organisation, from players and volunteers to staff and Board members. In our strategy to service our Core Market, we will continue to focus on making volleyball available to all individuals and groups who are currently not fully involved in our sport. A key aim of the Volleyball England Board is to extend the diversity from our Board (with a 50/50 gender balance) into our working groups and to all areas of the organisation. Volleyball England will take all appropriate actions to ensure a minimum of 30% of each gender on its Board. 

As the National Governing Body, for a mixed gender sport, we recognise diversity and we value everyone’s individual differences. We strive to maintain and continuously improve our working practices to benefit all those who participate or would like to participate in our sport. Anyone who has the desire to be involved in the sport of volleyball should be encouraged to take up the opportunity and be nurtured to reach their full potential.

This is currently under review. Our new Action Plan will be here soon.

The Equality Act 2010 is the legal framework for fairness and requires us to protect people from unfair treatment and to promote equality and good relations between diverse groups of people. It replaces the different ‘strands’ of equality with nine protected characteristics. It alsocrepeals most previous equalities related legislation (although this Act does not apply in Northern Ireland). 

The characteristics protected under the Act are:

• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Pregnancy and maternity
• Race
• Religion or belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation

The Equality Act 2010 is about treating people fairly, with dignity and respect.  We believe that a consideration of equality, diversity and inclusion is ethically the right thing to do and essential to achieving ouResourcer mission, vision and values as we  deliver on our plans for the future of volleyball.

Most of the provisions came into force in October 2010. Further provisions came into force in April 2011.

A copy of the Equality Act 2010 can be found at legislation.gov.uk