Policies

King’s Arms Project is founded on the biblical values of justice, speaking out for the oppressed and ensuring that everyone is treated fairly and with dignity. We want everyone who applies to work with us, those who do work with us and those whom we serve to always feel welcome, that they were treated well and that they had the same opportunities to progress as the next person. We know that inequalities in society make this harder for some people. Injustice exists across society at large, which includes the voluntary sector. In spite of the sector seeking to have a positive impact on society, it does not always live up to these ethical principles. By removing barriers that exclude people, our organisations are more effective at changing our communities for the better. We all benefit from a more just, equitable and inclusive society.

As such we are committed to ensuring that as an employer and service provider we treat people without prejudice or discrimination. We want to ensure everyone has the same opportunities to succeed and thrive. However, inequalities in society make this harder for some people. To this end we prefer to talk about equity as opposed to equality. This is because we believe we need to treat people in ways that make sure they are not unfairly prevented from accessing resources and opportunities nor that others have an unfair advantage. Simply providing the same equal opportunities to everyone is not an effective way to create equality of outcomes. Sometimes we need to go over and above to ensure people have what they need for fair access. This is about removing inequalities to make sure everyone has the chance to realise their ambitions.  It requires a proactive approach to make reasonable adjustments that address the visible and invisible barriers people face. 

We seek to do this in a number of ways;

• Diversity means having differences within an organisation or setting. Diversity recognises we are all different in many ways. People with differing identities, backgrounds and experiences should all have equitable access to resources and decision-making. We aim for our staff team to be reflective of the society we live in and the communities we serve. We employ people from a number of different nationalities, backgrounds and expressions of faith. We also have people on our team who have lived experience of homelessess and immigration.
• It is not only about creating a diverse environment but also about ensuring a culture exists where individuals can be their full selves. Inclusion means being proactive to make sure people of different backgrounds, experiences and identities feel welcomed, respected and fully able to participate. We aim to do this by educating ourselves about different cultures, ensuring our language and practises are inclusive and providing training to give people the skills they need to access different areas of employment
• Our Policies and Procedures have been written to ensure that we appropriately protect people’s privacy, make provision for those in different stages of life e.g parents or carers and help us to ensure that we create access for those with disabilities. Our current office suite and our training premises do not have wheelchair access and we are actively seeking to rectify this. Remote working has broadened access to our team and services and we have embraced this.
• We have training sessions for staff on how to be proactive in creating opportunities for all and ensuring our daily practises do not contravene our own policies on being inclusive.

As an employer we act in accordance with The Equality Act 2010 which requires that no-one is discriminated against on the basis of; Age, Sex, Race, Disability, Pregnancy, Marital status, Sexual orientation, Gender reassignment or Religious background. However, given that our organisation is firmly rooted in the Christain faith we reserve the right to attach an Occupational Requirement that some roles require the applicant to confirm a commitment to the Christian faith. This is regularly under review and we consult with an independant Human Resources Company to ensure we never apply this unfairly or unreasonably.