Module 4 of 15 · 40 minutes
Standard 4: Equality and diversity
By the end of this module you will be able to
- Name the nine protected characteristics and the four forms of prohibited conduct
- Explain the duty to make reasonable adjustments and give care examples
- Recognise unconscious bias and its effect on care decisions
- Challenge discriminatory practice safely and effectively
Amara Equality and diversity. In most places I have worked this was a poster on a wall and a form you signed.
Nadia Then let us do the version that changes what happens on a shift. Start with the law, because it is short. The Equality Act 2010 protects nine characteristics. Age. Disability. Gender reassignment. Marriage and civil partnership. Pregnancy and maternity. Race. Religion or belief. Sex. Sexual orientation.
Amara Nine. And in a care home you would meet all of them.
Nadia All nine, and frequently several in the same person, which is the part the training posters never show.
Amara The Act bans four things, is that right? I can never keep them apart.
Nadia Then let me give you one care example of each and they will stick. Direct discrimination is treating somebody worse because of a characteristic. Refusing to allocate a carer to a resident because of the carer's race.
Amara That one is obvious. What is indirect?
Nadia A rule that applies to everybody but disadvantages a group without good reason. Here is the one I see constantly. All personal care between seven and nine in the morning. Several Muslim residents pray at those times, so they consistently miss breakfast.
Amara But nobody designed that to exclude anyone. It is just the rota.
Nadia Correct, and it is still indirect discrimination. Intention is not part of the test. That is the single most useful thing in this module.
Amara And the other two?
Nadia Harassment is unwanted conduct related to a characteristic that violates dignity or creates a hostile environment, and again the test is the effect, not the intention. Victimisation is punishing somebody for complaining, or for backing up somebody else's complaint.
Amara You said disability works differently.
Nadia It does. For disability the Act goes further than telling you not to discriminate. It puts a positive duty on you to make reasonable adjustments. And for service providers that duty is anticipatory.
Amara Meaning I have to have thought about it before the person arrives.
Nadia Before they arrive. Which in practice is deeply unglamorous. A hearing loop that is switched on and actually works. Easy read. Large print. Longer appointment slots for somebody who needs processing time. A quiet room for an autistic person who cannot cope with the lounge.
Amara Is there a specific rule, or is it just be reasonable?
Nadia In England there is a specific one, the Accessible Information Standard. It requires you to identify, record, flag, share and meet communication needs. Five verbs, and every one of them is active. Noticing does not appear on that list.
Amara Can I ask you something uncomfortable? In your experience, how much discrimination in care is actual hostility?
Nadia Very little. Almost all of it is assumption.
Amara Give me examples.
Nadia Assuming the older woman with the Yorkshire accent would not want halal food, and never asking. Assuming the man with a learning disability cannot choose his own clothes. Assuming the confident son is the decision maker because his mother is quiet. Assuming a same sex partner is a friend, and sending every update to a brother who has not visited in six years.
Amara That last one is bleak.
Nadia It happens weekly. And the fix is not moral, it is procedural, which is good news. Ask instead of infer. Write down the answer. Check again when things change. Bias lives on unasked questions.
Amara Final thing. I hear something discriminatory from a colleague who has been there twenty years. Realistically, I am not going to start a confrontation in the middle of a lounge.
Nadia You do not have to. New workers freeze here because the only two options seem to be silence or a row. There is a middle route. Name the behaviour, not the person, in the moment, in plain words. I do not think we should be saying that in front of residents.
Amara That is it?
Nadia That is it. It is not an accusation, so it is very hard to turn into a row, and it makes clear the behaviour was noticed. If it continues, it goes to your manager. If it is your manager, it goes through whistleblowing. And if a person you support is being harmed by it, it stops being an HR matter altogether. It is safeguarding, and it goes down that route.
The written material
The Equality Act 2010 in the language of the shift
The Equality Act 2010 protects nine characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. In a care setting you will meet every one of them, often several in the same person.
The Act prohibits four things. Direct discrimination is treating someone worse because of a protected characteristic. Indirect discrimination is a rule that applies to everyone but disadvantages a group without good reason. Harassment is unwanted conduct related to a characteristic that violates dignity or creates a hostile environment. Victimisation is treating someone badly because they complained or supported a complaint.
- Direct: refusing to allocate a male carer to a resident because of the carer's race
- Indirect: a fixed 8am bath round that in practice excludes residents who fast or pray at set times
- Harassment: repeated jokes about a colleague's accent, even if nobody intends offence
- Victimisation: cutting a worker's hours after she supported a colleague's grievance
Reasonable adjustments
For disability, the Act goes further than prohibition. It creates a positive duty to make reasonable adjustments so that a disabled person is not put at a substantial disadvantage. This is anticipatory for service providers, which means you are expected to have thought about it before a particular disabled person turns up.
In practice this is unglamorous and concrete. A hearing loop that is switched on and works. Written information in easy read or large print. Longer appointment slots for someone who needs processing time. A quiet room for an autistic person who cannot tolerate a busy lounge. Care plans that are accessible to the person they describe.
Bias that nobody admits to
Most discrimination in care is not hostility. It is assumption. Assuming an older woman with a Yorkshire accent will not want halal food and not asking. Assuming a man with a learning disability cannot decide what to wear. Assuming a resident's adult son is her decision maker because he is confident and she is quiet. Assuming a same sex partner is a friend and directing all the updates to a brother who has not visited in six years.
The correction is procedural rather than moral. Ask rather than infer. Record the answer. Check it again when circumstances change. Bias survives on unasked questions.
Challenging discrimination without making it worse
Junior staff often see discriminatory practice and freeze, because the alternatives seem to be silence or open confrontation. There is a middle route that works: name the behaviour, not the person, in the moment and in plain words; then escalate through the proper channel if it continues.
'I do not think we should be saying that in front of residents' is enough in the moment. It is not an accusation of racism, so it is hard to escalate into a row, and it makes clear that the behaviour was noticed. If nothing changes, it goes to your manager, and if the concern is about your manager, it goes through whistleblowing.
Knowledge check
The knowledge check and your certificate need a free account, so that your progress and results can be saved as evidence.
The learning itself stays free and open. You are reading all of it right now without an account.