Equal Opportunities Statement

Equal opportunities statement

Purpose

The Royal Scottish Forestry Society (RSFS) is an equal opportunity employer and member organisation.

RSFS is committed to equality of opportunity and to providing a service and following practices which are free from unfair and unlawful discrimination.

The personal commitment of every employee and member to this policy and application of its principles are essential to eliminate discrimination and provide equality throughout RSFS.

RSFS is committed to being a successful, caring and welcoming place for all employees and members. We want to create a supportive and inclusive environment where our employees and members can reach their full potential, without prejudice and discrimination. We are committed to a culture where respect and understanding is fostered, and the diversity of people's backgrounds and circumstances will be positively valued.

Equality of opportunity, valuing diversity and compliance with the law is to the benefit of all individuals in RSFS as it seeks to develop the skills and abilities of its people. While specific responsibility for eliminating discrimination and providing equality of opportunity lies with Board members and staff, individuals at all levels have a responsibility to treat others with dignity and respect.

Through this policy and procedure and the training and development of Board members and staff, RSFS will do all it can to promote good practice in this area in order to eliminate discrimination and harassment as far as is reasonably possible. RSFS will also continue to work towards its dedicated goal of encouraging and promoting equality and diversity within the society.

Aim

The aim of this policy is to ensure that no applicant, member of staff or society member receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation, or is disadvantaged by conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be relevant to performance. It seeks also to ensure that no person is victimised or subjected to any form of bullying or harassment.

The policy aims to achieve equality by removing any potential discrimination in the way that our employees and members are treated by fellow employees, members, or the organisation, including:

• people with disabilities
• people of different sexual orientations
• transgendered people
• people of different races
• people on the grounds of their sex
• those of faith and of no faith
• in relation to their age
• in relation to their social class or medical condition
• people who work part-time
• those who are married or in a civil partnership
• women who are pregnant, have recently given birth or are breastfeeding.

Discrimination can be either direct or indirect discrimination. Some of the above are protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 and discrimination is prohibited unless there is a legal exception under the Equality Act.

Direct discrimination

This is where someone is treated less favourably due to one (or more) protected characteristics. It can be intentional or unintentional discrimination. Occasionally the discrimination may occur due to a protected characteristic of another person, so the discrimination may be because of association.

Indirect discrimination

This is where someone is disadvantaged by an apparently neutral provision, criterion or practice (PCP) that is applied ‘across the board’ or ‘equally across a particular group’. The PCP may have the consequence (usually unintended) of causing a disadvantage, which then actually affects somebody. The PCP could be justified if it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

Victimisation

This is not the same as the common meaning of victimisation but is specifically regarding treating someone less favourably because they have complained about or given information about discrimination or harassment, either regarding themselves or someone else.

Harassment

This is part of the Equality Act but is covered in more detail in the Harassment policy.

The Equality Act 2010 applies to how employees treat fellow employees, visitors, suppliers and former employees. The Act also applies to customers/clients.

Document version control

Version number	Change or update	Author or owner	Date
1.0	First version	Executive Director	1/7/26