Saturday 23 July 2011

New health authorities need to advance equality says Equality and Human Rights Commission



The Equality and Human Rights Commission said on the 11th July 2011 that new health commissioning bodies should learn from the mistakes of their predecessors and take steps to meet their obligations under equality legislation to make a real difference to health outcomes.


The Commission undertook a study assessing the performance of a sample of Strategic Health Authorities and Primary Care Trusts in England with regard to the race, gender and disability equality duties. It found that many bodies were not taking sufficient action to address the diverse needs of people in Britain and to protect the rights of disadvantaged groups.


The Commission concluded that without a major re-think by new health bodies on how they tackle discrimination and advance equality some groups will continue to experience poorer health.


For example:
Men
are less likely to report health conditions than women, leading to worse implications for their health;
Infant mortality is higher than average among Black Caribbean and Pakistani groups;
Muslim people tend to report worse health than average; and
Women report higher incidences of mental health conditions.


The Commission’s recommendations include a requirement that health authorities collect data to ensure they have the right evidence base on which to make decisions, and provide guidance to the people making decisions about commissioning.

Until April 2011, health bodies in England were subject to equality duties regarding race, disability and gender. This meant that public authorities had to take steps to tackle discrimination and promote equality amongst the people they serve. The duties were replaced by the public sector equality duty in April 2011 which covers a wider range of groups such as age, religion or belief and sexual orientation.

Andrea Murray, Director of Policy at the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said:

“The introduction of the new equality duty and the reorganisation of the NHS is a good time for health bodies to re-think their approach to equality. Our research shows that many health organisations see equality as a box ticking exercise, and few were able to show they have used the duties to make a real difference to the health outcomes of particular groups.

“Acting upon the equality duty will help health organisations to develop effective services that meet patients’ needs, improve the health of the population and tackle disadvantage faced by particular groups.”

Additional information:

In April 2011 the existing equality duty was replaced a new duty. The new duty covers the protected characteristics of age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientat.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is a statutory body established under the Equality Act 2006, which took over the responsibilities of Commission for Racial Equality, Disability Rights Commission and Equal Opportunities Commission. It is the independent advocate for equality and human rights in Britain. It aims to reduce inequality, eliminate discrimination, strengthen good relations between people, and promote and protect human rights. The Commission enforces equality legislation on age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation or transgender status, and encourages compliance with the Human Rights Act. It also gives advice and guidance to businesses, the voluntary and public sectors, and to individuals.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission

If you are looking for training services for your Hospital Trust, please contact jml Training and Consultancy HERE

News reports about The Equality and Human Rights Commission




The Equality and Human Rights Commission announced on the 2nd June 2011 the appointment of Mark Hammond as chief executive.

According to their press release "Mark Hammond joins the Commission after an extensive career in local and central government. He was previously chief executive of West Sussex County Council, a post he held from 2004 to 2010. He first joined West Sussex in 2000 as director of environment and development.


From 1985, Mark held a wide range of posts in the Civil Service including private secretary to the permanent secretary at the Department of the Environment; part of the UK team which negotiated the United Nations climate change convention; and the energy, environment and telecoms brief at the British Embassy in Washington.



Commenting, Equality and Human Rights Commission chair Trevor Philips said:


"Mark's appointment as permanent chief executive is a crucial step in the next phase of the Commission's life. We can already count many achievements to our name, including ground breaking legal cases and investigations, but we need to build on those successes - most of all in charting an inclusive path to economic prosperity.


"We've made much progress in modernising the organisation over the last 18 months, and we are now about to start consulting on a new strategic plan to deliver the Commission's vision of improving life for the whole of society. Mark will be leading the work to create an efficient, effective and creative organisation which can deliver that vision.


"His extensive experience of delivering large scale organisational change will be vital to us as we look to build on the progress made by his predecessors Helen Hughes and Neil Kinghan. The board is delighted that he will be leading the organisation into this new challenge."


Mark has also been appointed by the Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities as a commissioner and accounting officer.


Lynne Featherstone, Minister for Equalities added:


"It is vital that we have a strong, effective and independent equalities and human rights body. I congratulate Mark on his appointment and am confident that he will work towards delivering this.”

Meanwhile The Commission has launched the first of three phases of consultation to develop their next strategic plan.

The plan will cover our plans and priorities from April 2012 to March 2015 and is due to be laid before Parliament in April 2012.

They have designed a strategic planning process at the heart of which is consulting and involving all those interested in their work from start to finish.

If your organisation is looking for Diversity and Equalities Training services JML Training and Consultancy would like to help with an "in house" course. For further information contact jml Training Here

Friday 22 July 2011

Further Education Colleges score under 50% in Equality on line




According to a report at Diversitylink.co.uk on the 11th July 59% of Further Education Colleges scored less than 50% in a recent Equality analysis of their websites.

This is the main finding of a report out at the end of June, aimed at encouraging UK Further Education College HE staff to improve their websites.

‘Further Education Colleges: Recruitment Equality for the 21st Century?’ is the second report published this year by Anne Tynan. This report was commissioned and sponsored by R21Education, the leading job board for Further Education colleges.

Although the report highlights examples of Excellence – 14% of colleges scored above 60% - there are also areas for concern. A staggering 91% of colleges did not provide easily available information on their websites about building/venue accessibility.

One of the author’s main conclusions is that organisations need to adapt more of a marketing mentality if they are to be successful in embedding and disseminating Equality and Diversity ideas, practices and information.

The report has been welcomed by the European Commission’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Team, as it is an example of a small business putting CSR into practice. It has also received an enthusiastic reception from the US Task Force on Health Care Careers for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Community; it will be used as a resource by the Task Force access subcommittee.

If the HR departments of FE colleges are to promote Equality of Opportunity in Employment, they need to develop more of a marketing mentality.

This is the main finding of a report out this week, aimed at encouraging UK Further Education College HE staff to improve their websites.

View the report Here


If you are requiring Diversity Training for your College or University, you need to contact jml Training and Consultancy. Their trainers have many years experince providing "in house" Diversity training.


Find out more Here:




Thursday 21 July 2011

Job seekers are not prepared for interviews – coaching would help


A report in HR Review earlier this week focused on the fact that the majority of job seekers were ill equipped for an interview. This followed on from the REC’s Institute of Recruitment Professionals recently highlighting some of the feedback from recruiters confirming this fact.


There are some quite amazing stories which include:


Mobile phone use: One candidate left his mobile on and it rang and he had a chat with a friend in the middle of the interview, another asked for a minute to check his emails!


What to wear: Many candidates are too casual in what they wear for an interview.


Know what is in your CV: Candidates do not always remember the information they have submitted in their CV’s.


Drinking before the interview: Another amazing revelation was that some candidates were turning up drunk, or suffering the after effects of the night before.


Preparation for the interview: Many candidates know nothing or hardly anything about the organization they want to work for.


It is vitally important that a candidate for a job interview or entrance interview for higher education – University – College has some interview coaching. jml Training and Consultancy provide an “Interview Coaching“ service

jml Training can help a candidate develop the poise and confidence to present their skills, experience and personality in the best light.

The two hour one to one coaching session will be designed specifically to help them iron out any current interview concerns and enable them to make a strong impression at an interview.

For more information go to http://www.jml-training.com/coaching/

Monday 18 July 2011

CIPD announce finalists of People Management Awards 2011

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development -(CIPD) has just issued a press release saying that - This year's finalists for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development People Management Awards have been announced after one of the toughest judging processes to date. Four new categories and the Michael Kelly Outstanding Student Award have increased awareness and secured participation from a wide mix of public and private sector organisations.


The Awards acknowledge the valuable contribution that HR makes, particularly in difficult economic times, to the overall organisation's success and sustainability. A winner for each category will be chosen from the shortlist by our senior panel of judges on 7 September. The official announcement of the winners will take place at the Awards dinner on 11 October, to be celebrated in London at The Brewery.

Last year's winner, Nampak Plastics Europe Limited, had succeeded in increasing employee engagement levels through strong leadership - this year's winner will also need to have demonstrated unparalleled innovation and outstanding practice in the management and development of people.

Jackie Orme, CIPD Chief Executive, who will be helping to judge the Awards, says: "I would like to say thank you to the organisations taking part, for their drive and determination in pushing the boundaries of good practice management and development of people.

"The introduction of four new Awards has helped to broaden the scope of the Awards process and allow for greater recognition of expert HR practices across many more fields of work. This year's standalone Awards ceremony marks a new era for CIPD, I am proud of the success of our People Management Awards and I look forward to reviewing the inspiring work of the organisations taking part."

The finalists are:

Building HR capability
Amey, Burberry, City University London, D Young & Co LLP, Estee Lauder Companies, VSO

Change management
Broadway Homelessness & Support, Daisy Group plc, Everything Everywhere Ltd, Kier, Building Maintenance, NHS Leeds, West Midlands Fire Service


Employee engagement
Centrica Storage Limited, DB Regio Tyne & Wear Ltd, Hastings Direct, McDonald's Restaurants, Screwfix, Wm Morrison Supermarket PLC,

Excellence through technology
BSkyB, Cabot Financial (Europe) Ltd, Globoforce, Infosys Technologies Ltd, The University of Sheffield, Unilever

Health & well-being
American Express, Amnesty International UK, City University London, Office Depot UK Ltd
Police Service of Northern Ireland, Yorkshire Ambulance Service

Michael Kelly Outstanding Student Award
Jo Wright - Britvic Soft Drinks PLC, Anna Hobson - Bury Council, Megan Douglas - Lipsy,
Jo-Anne Tillie - John Lewis Partnership, Jessica Haglington - Rolls-Royce plc, Rebecca Watson - Total HR Limited

Organisational learning
McDonald's Restaurants, Mitchells & Butlers Plc, Olympic Delivery Authority, The Savoy, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Trident Housing, Wm Morrison Supermarket PLC

Performance and reward
Aviva UK Limited, Bhs, BSkyB, Centrica Energy, HSBC Merchant Services, Institution of Civil Engineers

SME HR business initiative of the year
Housing Solutions, People Puzzles Ltd, vineHR

Talent attraction and management
British Gas, InterContinental Hotels Group, Norton Rose LLP, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, Santander Plc, Warwickshire County Council and Warwickshire Children & Voluntary Youth Services

BT is the headline sponsor for the CIPD People Management Awards. Category sponsors include JMP, Simplyhealth and Hays.

The Award recognises organisations that have managed positive changes through the effective implementation of innovative practice and is a joint venture between the CIPD and People Management magazine. Source CIPD


If your company is wanting to improve its performance by having it's staff trained and coached then this is the time to arrange your autumn training.


Training does not cost a lot when you look at the rewards it brings to your organisation with staff engaging better and performing well.


jml Training has an excellent selection of "in house" training courses. We train at your premises or at a given venue (we do not offer "open training courses")



Look at some of the courses we have on offer:

Appraisal Skills

Assertiveness Skills - Developing an Assertive Behaviour Style

Bullying in the Workplace

Coaching and Mentoring Programme (ILM Accredited)

Coaching Skills for Managers

Coaching for Women

Confident Communication for Women

Crisis Management

Cross Cultural Competency Training

Cross Cultural Teamwork

Customer Service

Dealing with Difficult People

Delivering Effective Diversity Awareness Training

Delivering the Equalities Agenda

Developing a Learning Culture in an Organisation

Developing Confident Presentation Skills - Presenting with Confidence

Developing Effective Communication Skills

Developing the Workplace Coach for Managers & Team Leaders

Diversity Management

Effective Communication Skills

Effective Meeting Skills

Equality Act 2010

Equal Opportunities

Influencing and Negotiation

Interview Coaching

Interviewing Skills

Investing in High Performing Managers

Leading and Managing Change Successfully

Leadership and Team Building

Make your Planners the Spatial Planning 'Ringmasters'

Managing Difficult People

Managing Diversity in the Workplace - Making Diversity Happen

Managing Projects Successfully

Management Skills for Women

Media and Public Speaking Training

Media Skills

Partnership Working

Performance Management

Presentation skills and Public Speaking

Project Management

Promoting Equal Opportunities in Service Provision

Self-awareness Diversity

Stress Management

Strategic Thinking - Working in a Strategic Environment

Successful Project Management

Time Management

Training for Trainers

Training and Coaching Skills

For More information Click Here or email us or call +44 (0)1494 488 787