Equality, Diversity, and Fair Treatment: A Report on NHS Practices

This report provides an in-depth analysis of equality, diversity, and fair treatment within the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK. It begins by emphasizing the importance of these principles in fostering a productive and inclusive work environment, which can improve employee performance and co...Read More

Equality, Diversity and
Fair Treatment

Table of Contents
Table of Contents.............................................................................................................................2
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................3
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Main Body.......................................................................................................................................3
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................7

Task 2
Introduction
Equality and diversity play an important role in all the organisations so that the workers
can be treated fairly and they can be given equal opportunities to grow and develop which can
help in improving their work performance so that profitability of organisation can also be
increased. It also helps in improving the integration of worker so that a friendly working
environment can be created and coordination among workers can increase which can help in
increasing the quality of work done by them (Ravazzani, 2016). In this report NHS (National
Health Service) is taken which is an umbrella organisation for publically funded healthcare
systems in UK. In this report the policies and legislations which govern trade unions, importance
of equality and diversity at workplace etc. will be discussed. Along with this the effectiveness of
NHSin improving inclusive and diverse working environment will also be studied.
Main Body
Trade unions are the organisations which are formed by workers relating to a common
work background which is formed so that their rights and interests can be protected. These
unions help in representing the interests of workers so that the working conditions can be
improved, wages can be raised, and exploitation and unfair treatment of workers in workplace
can be prevented etc. which help in improving the conditions of workers. UNISON is one of the
UK’s largest trade unions having more than 1.3 million members and it stands for Trades Union
for public sector workers, incorporating COHSE, NALGO and NUPE. UNISON represents the
members who work in the public service and utilities so that their working conditions, pay,
worker relations etc. can be negotiated (Gordon, 2018). They also help in increasing equality and
diversity among the staff of public services as they hep in promoting equal treatment to all the
staff members having differences in their characteristics like religion, colour, beliefs etc. They
also help in the effective implementation of various laws at workplace like Equality Act, 2010 so
that workers can be given fair and equal pay and discrimination against them can be reduced in
an organisation. At NHS the diversity among staff members is recognised and respected so that
the contribution of each of the staff member in the success of NHS is valued. This help in
encouraging people having differences to work effectively in teams so that high quality services
can be delivered to customers.

There can be different types of origins of unconscious bias, prejudice and discrimination.
These can be explained in a better manner within the context of NHS as given below-
 From the employer- The employers can be biased, prejudiced and can initiate a lot of
discrimination. Therefore in NHS it is quite important that the overall discrimination is
avoided by the employers which will help a lot in ensuring that the goals and objectives
can be attained in a proper manner without facing problems and issues.
 From the employees- Different types of employees can face bias, prejudice and
discrimination. This they can face from each other and this can affect the working
relationship between them. Therefore it is quite important in NHS that this type of bias,
prejudice and discrimination can be avoided in a proper manner.
Having an inclusive and diverse working environment can help in improving the quality
of work of all the members of organisation as they feel protected and respected for their work
and are also protected from unlawful discrimination. By treating all the workers equally they can
be given equal opportunities to grow which can help in motivating them to perform better so that
quality of their work can be improved. Also it help in increasing coordination and effective
communication in organisation which is essential in completing the projects on time and in an
efficient manner so that company objectives are achieved in desired manner. In the public
service organisations like NHS it is essential that fair and equal pay for equal work done by the
workers is given so that they can help in operating the public systems in an efficient manner so
that the safety of general public can be ensured (Davis, Frolova and Callahan, 2016). It also
helps in improving the effectiveness of application of various legislations and laws in
organisations which are important to improve working opportunities for workers. Innovations
can also take place in companies by having people having different set of skills, backgrounds,
experiences, faiths and beliefs which is essential in improving the quality of products and
services which are offered in market. The brand image of an organisation can also improve as
workers are treated fairly which help in improving the talented pool of employees in the
company as highly talented people can be attracted towards the organisation. Thus it is important
to have equality and diversity in company so that benefits to both the company and its workers
can be achieved (Kato and Kodama, 2018).
There is a particular importance of ensuring that the bias, prejudice and discrimination
can be avoided. The importance can be explained in the following manner-

By removing the bias, prejudice and discrimination the companies can make sure that they are
able to create a healthier and better workplace for the different types of employees. Thus in this
way it can be said that it is quite important for the companies to avoid this type of bias, prejudice
and discrimination is avoided which will help in the attainment of goals and objectives.
Further avoiding of such type of bias and discrimination can be highly helpful in ensuring
that the employees within the organisation are able to ensure that they can behave in the right
way with equality. Also this provides them a better opportunity to be able to ensure that they are
given a right platform where they are able to showcase their talent, skills and competencies in a
better manner. This will allow the employees who are hardworking to be able to ensure that they
are able to progress further in their career. In an organisation like NHS it is highly important to
be able to reduce the bias and discrimination which will allow it to be able to ensure that the
overall bar of efficiency, effectiveness as well as productivity can be enhanced which will
NHS values all its workers which help it in promoting equality and diversity in the
company so that workers can work efficiently and help in improving the effectiveness of their
work. It also help in creating a friendly working environment in the company for its employees
so that their integration can be increased which improves the quality of their work. Concepts of
integration, multiculturalism are efficiently applied in the organisation which helps in enhancing
the quality of work of employees. Implementing such legislations and policies that can help in
increasing cohesion among diverse workers are effectively implemented in NHS so that fair
treatment of employees can be increased. This also helps in building the trust of employees as
they are treated ethically in the company so that employee retention is increased. Thus it can be
said that having a diverse and equal working environment is important in public service
organisations for their smooth and efficient functioning and also in improving their legality in the
market. Also the public service workers can get fair and equal pay for their work which helps in
improving their confidence and efficiency of work. This also helps them in utilising their skills
and talents in an efficient manner so that the objectives are achieved on time and in an efficient
manner (Margalit Stern, 2018). The public service workers can also perform their task in the
manner required so that the work gets completed effectively and improving the public services
efficiently which can help in development of the society.
The impact of legislations and policies which helped in increasing equality and diversity
in public service organisations is that it has improved the working environment of these

organisations which is important in valuing human rights. It also helps in enhancing freedom to
workers in the organisation so that they can exercise their rights given to them by law. Also it
help in improving the conditions of work so that all the members can work together irrespective
of their differences. This also helps in improving the status of workers in the company as they
are valued for the work they do rather than getting discriminated on their characteristics. By
applying employee legislations in the workplace long term success of organisation can be
ensured as equality at workplace can help in improving the job satisfaction among workers
which is important in their work efficiency (Thorhallsson, 2017). It also helps in the long term
survival of organisation in market due to the increased satisfaction among workers which help in
improving their trust for organisation so that they can perform their work better. The trade unions
of the organisations which follow employee legislation also can be satisfied so that they can
continue to work effectively in company. This lowers the chance of strikes, employee aggression
etc. in the company and prevents the work from being disrupted.
There is a role of advisory services in relation to the equality, diversity and fair treatment
in public service employment. Thus this type of role in the context of NHS is explained as
follows-
 To provide relevant advice- It is quite important from the point of view of these
advisory services that the relevant advice is provided. This can be quite helpful
particularly for a company like NHS to be able to reduce the discrimination in a better
manner.
 To promote equality- For the companies it is important to follow the advice of advisory
services so that the promotion to equality can be provided by them. For NHS it is
important that the advisory services can be availed which will help a lot in ensuring that
the overall goals and objectives related to discrimination can be attained.
The development of organisational policy can be done with reference to the role of trade unions
by taking into account the following-
 Identification of organisational goals and objectives- It is important to ensure that the
overall identification of the organisational goals and objectives can be done fairly. This
ensures that NHS is able to raise the overall bar of efficiency and effectiveness.
 Reduction of bias- For the attainment of the organisational goals and objectives it is
crucial that the bias in the organisations which is faced by the employees can be reduced.

Thus in this way NHS will be able to make sure that the bias can be reduced and thus the
overall development of the organisation can be done in the right manner.
Unison can also enable increased equality in company as it represents the interests of
workers of public organisations and help in solving the matters related to unlawful
discrimination which is faced by workers in company. It also help in increasing fair treatment of
workers so that they can be paid fairly for their work and also they are not exploited in
workplace which can affect their morale and lower their confidence. Also the frustration among
workers related to the company and their work can be reduced through improved legislation and
policies which enable equality and diversity in company (Markovits, 2016). Unison can help in
prompting diverse workforce in the organisation by raising concerns and public awareness about
the discrimination which is done in organisation based on different characteristics. This improves
the effective implementation of laws and employee legislation in company so that all workers are
given fair and equal chances to contribute towards the development of company along with their
personal and professional growth. The public sector organisations also represent the ruling
government of a country which makes it essential that legal and ethical laws are followed in the
core of such businesses which can help in increasing the trust of general public in the offerings
of such organisations. It also helps in promoting social integration among people so that they can
live together in a society and help in the development of country. It also increases stability in the
society which is important in improving the attitude of people towards differences among people
so that a multicultural society can be developed (Lange, Ross and Vannicelli, 2016).
Conclusion
From the above discussion it can be concluded that equality and diversity is important in
all the spheres of society so that integration among people can be increased and workplace
environment can be improved. It also help in enhancing the work efficiency and performance of
workers as they become highly satisfied in an equal and diverse working environment where
they get the chance to use their skills efficiently without being discriminated. Further, the trade
unions and Unison can help in improving fair treatment of workers and enhancing their level of
job satisfaction through effective implementation of legislation and legal laws.

References
Books and Journals
Ravazzani, S., 2016. Understanding approaches to managing diversity in the
workplace. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal.
Gordon, P.A., 2018. Age diversity in the workplace. In Diversity and inclusion in the global
workplace (pp. 31-47). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Davis, P.J., Frolova, Y. and Callahan, W., 2016. Workplace diversity management in
Australia. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal.
Kato, T. and Kodama, N., 2018. The effect of corporate social responsibility on gender diversity
in the workplace: econometric evidence from Japan. British Journal of Industrial
Relations, 56(1), pp.99-127.
Margalit Stern, B.S., 2018. ‘No barrier to the unison of hearts’: cross-class and nation coalition
of Zionist women in the wake of statehood. Israel Affairs, 24(3), pp.542-561.
Thorhallsson, B., 2017. The role of small states in the European Union. Routledge.
Markovits, A., 2016. The politics of West German trade unions: Strategies of class and interest
representation in growth and crisis. Routledge.
Lange, P., Ross, G. and Vannicelli, M., 2016. Unions, change and crisis: French and Italian
union strategy and the political economy, 1945-1980. Routledge.