Our approach to recruitment and selection is forward thinking and rigorous. We actively encourage applications from all sections of the communities we serve.
We do our utmost to ensure that there is no unlawful discrimination in the recruitment, retention, training and development of staff on the basis of age, disability, gender, race, religion and belief, sexual orientation, on the basis of having or not having dependants, or any other irrelevant grounds.
Our recruitment practices are built upon equity and fairness. We employ the best person for the job based on merit, regardless of their personal profile. Everyone involved in recruitment decisions will have been trained in equality and diversity issues and has a responsibility to uphold the reputation of the Council.
All job applicants are asked to complete monitoring data about themselves. This is not made available to Recruitment Panels but is used to help us check that we are employing people in a fair and non-discriminatory way, throughout the recruitment process.
Blackpool is an accredited member of the Two-Ticks Disability Symbol, which is recognition by the Employment Service that we are meeting the five commitments on the recruitment, employment, retention and career development of disabled people.
Stonewall is a professional campaigning and lobbying group on LGB equality issues who works with a range of agencies to address the needs of LGB people in the wider community.
Stonewall's Diversity Champions programme is Britain's good practice forum for sexual orientation where employers can work with Stonewall, and each other, to promote diversity in the workplace. Blackpool Council is proud to be a member of the Diversity Champions programme and we hope we will send a strong signal to our LGB staff, providing reassurance that their contribution will be valued and their sexual orientation respected in a positive working environment. We wish to have a workplace culture which allows our employees to be valued for themselves, and give 100% and also hope that our customers/service users will see our firm commitment to equality.
Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index lists the top 100 employers in Britain for LGB people based on an application covering how well employers put their equality policies into practice and Blackpool Council is delighted to have been awarded 68th place on the 2009 index.
All in all, 317 organisations applied for a place, with the final 100 consisting of public and private sector organisations, including larger companies such as Lloyds TSB, Goldman Sachs, IBM and BT. Blackpool Council was one of only 14 other local authorities who appeared on this years index.
The index ranks organisations according to criteria including implementation of effective equality policies, practical demonstration of good practice in recruitment and how they engage with staff, customers and service users that are lesbian, gay and bisexual. It was developed in order to challenge the UK’s leading organisations to improve their workplaces for lesbian, gay and bisexual staff.
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