Gender reassignment advise

Gender reassignment

The Equality Act 2010 makes it unlawful to discriminate against or treat someone unfairly because of gender reassignment.

Overview

The Act's protected characteristic of gender reassignment currently has a specific meaning:

• it covers someone who proposes to go through, is going through or has gone through a process, or part of a process, to change his or her gender from man to woman or woman to man. A person making this change is described in the Act as a 'transsexual' person
• gender reassignment does not have to involve any medical supervision. For example, a person who chooses to reassign his or her gender and lives permanently as the opposite sex without having any hormonal or surgical therapy is protected
• genders outside of man (which includes woman transitioning to man) and woman (which includes man transitioning to woman) are not explicitly protected under UK law. They are the non-binary identities - for example, those who might identify as neither man nor woman. But, someone with a non-binary identity could be protected if they are discriminated against because they are thought to be considering, thought to be going through or thought to have gone through gender reassignment from man to woman or woman to man, regardless of whether this perception is correct or not.

To understand examples of gender reassignment discrimination in the workplace, how they can be effectively dealt with, how to reduce the chance of future discrimination, and best practice for employers and colleagues to also support employees with non-binary identities, click this link ACAS web site for more info

Run, Hide, Tell: Firearms and Weapons Attack

Published on 15 Sep 2017In the UK the Police Service and partners work very hard to keep us safe from the threat of guncrime. Firearms and weapons attacks are thankfully extremely rare, but we must always know to do stay safe. What would you do if you came under fire or heard gunshots at work or in public

Click to watch stay safe video from National Police Chiefs' Council NPCC

'Brutal' new rotas causing stress

Changes to Thames Valley Police officers' rotas have caused higher levels of stress, a survey has found, as reported on bbc.co.uk news 

TVP Federation carried out the survey after a new system was introduced, and 76% of the 1,172 officers who completed it said their work/life balance had deteriorated.

One said the new shift patterns were "brutal" and his family had described him as a "walking zombie".

The force said it "absolutely acknowledged" a rise in stress levels.

The new model has seen officers in frontline teams moved to investigation hubs.

The feedback says changes have resulted in high workloads, long hours, large amounts of overtime and less time between shifts.

Federation chairman Craig O'Leary said officers were "struggling to keep their heads above water".

He added: "They don't want the overtime, they want to see their families. They want to feel like they're well rested.

"I have very real concerns for our members. For their health, their wellbeing and their families."

---

What else did the survey find?

• 65% of officers said their workload had increased

• 85% said they had not seen any improvement in the service for communities

• Two thirds said they were more likely to leave

• Two thirds described their mental state as "fair or poor"

---

A recently retired member of Thames Valley Police told BBC South Today: "The shift pattern we work now is incredibly hard, described by myself and colleagues as brutal.

"There is no social life, my family describe me as a walking zombie when I'm not at work, and even at work the cumulative effect of that sort of fatigue is constant brain fog."

Assistant Chief Constable Nikki Ross described it as the "most significant change, in terms of scale, that the force has delivered in recent years".

She added: "There is a period of adjustment for the organisation and for individuals and we do not take this lightly.

"We absolutely acknowledge that there has been a rise in stress levels on the frontline and are continuing to ensure that appropriate support is available, at the same time as analysing the sources of this pressure to enable us to take appropriate action."

UNISON public service data blog

Using data to tell the story of our changing public services

Are we running out of nurses? How many libraries in your area have shut down? Has your local police force grown or shrunk?

Many of the important questions about our public services can be answered by looking at data. On the public service data blog we’ll be tracking down the relevant spreadsheets, diving into the numbers and explaining what we find.

If you’re a UNISON activist campaigning around an issue, the public service data blog will arm you with the numbers you need to make your case and make change happen.

Got a topic you want us to explore? Get in touch. Because there’s power in numbers.

Check out this web site for info https://www.unison.org.uk/news/ps-data/

BBC reports that Disability assessors 'lack right skills'

Disability assessors 'lack right skills'

A report from a UN committee has criticised the UK government for its treatment of disabled people, saying it needs to do much more to protect the rights of the disabled.

The UK is required to regularly report to the UN on how it is honouring the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.

Anastasia Tempest, who lives in York, has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair.

She told 5 live’s Tony Livesey: "Social care managers are not equipped, and lack skill, in knowing how to assess people with disabilities."

She said she was asked "quite ridiculous" questions in her assessment, including "who does your eyeshadow?" and "do you put your own earrings in?"

A government spokesman said: “We’re disappointed that this report does not accurately reflect the evidence we gave to the UN, and fails to recognise all the progress we’ve made to empower disabled people."

He said the UK spent a record £50bn a year to support disabled people and those with health conditions - the second highest amount in the G7. 

The UK was committed to furthering rights for all disabled people, he said, adding that almost 600,000 had moved into work over four years.

Click here to read story

Hopes rise Javid will reach reorganisation decisions

29 August, 2017 By David Paine

Communities secretary Sajid Javid will deliver his verdict on unitary proposals in Buckinghamshire, Dorset and Oxfordshire “as soon as practicable”, the Department for Communities & Local Government has told LGC. Announcements had been expected soon after the general election, but were put on hold after the Conservatives failed to secure a majority. Since then the new parliamentary arithmetic has made it harder for ministers to force contentious reorganisation proposals through. 

Local government sources close to the discussions have told LGC they believe the Future Dorset plans – which would create two unitaries from nine councils - stand the best chance of being approved, due in part to there being the greatest amount of consensus among the councils involved. In early June, prior to the election, LGC reported that DCLG had recommended to the prime minister that Dorset’s reorganisation bid be approved and were awaiting a decision from Number 10. However, an intervention by sceptical Christchurch MP Christopher Chope (Con) was said to have led to a decision being delayed. Rebecca Knox (Con), Dorset CC’s leader, said: “We hope to get an announcement this autumn, following parliamentary recess.”

There is less optimism in Buckinghamshire that a decision on competing proposals for either a single county unitary or two unitaries is imminent.

Martin Tett (Con), leader of Buckinghamshire CC, said: “We continue to believe a positive decision in favour of a county unitary would significantly advance some of the key strategic initiatives, such as the Oxford to Cambridge corridor and the expansion of Heathrow, but this uncertainty is undermining the success of these areas.”

A DCLG spokesperson said: “The secretary of state is carefully considering the proposals submitted by Buckinghamshire, Dorset and Oxfordshire, and will announce an initial decision on how he is minded to proceed as soon as practicable.”

The comments come as two district councils in Devon have been told to file their application to merge by October or risk ministers running out of time to approve it in this parliament, in line with a 2019 deadline for government to sanction reorganisation bids set out in the the Cities & Local Government Act 2016.

South Hams DC and West Devon BC, which already share managements and services, propose to merge from April 2019 to help to close projected budget gaps by 2020 of £800,000 and £1.1m respectively.

Merging would save an extra £500,000 a year and form a council would coverinf 789 square miles, making it the second largest district by size in England,  a report for both councils stated. However, the report added there was ”no current appetite locally for a unitary council in Devon (and the unitary agenda is not currently being pushed by central government)”. 

A Devon CC spokesman said the council would ”watch and listen to the discussions with interest”.  

However, the report warned both districts must proceed rapidly: “If the councils do not submit their proposal to the secretary of state in October 2017 (to allow time for ministerial consideration and for making the relevant regulations by July 2018), then the DCLG has advised it is very unlikely that there will be sufficient parliamentary time for consideration of any single-council proposals during this parliament because of the government’s Brexit commitments.”

A DCLG spokesman said: “Parliamentary time is a factor in the timetable for any potential council mergers.”

Forest Heath DC and St Edmundsbury BC are expected to apply this autumn to merge as West Suffolk, while Suffolk Coastal and Waveney DCs have already expressed their intention to unite as East Suffolk. Taunton Deane BC and West Somerset DC have also applied to merge but Bridgwater and West Somerset MP Ian Liddell-Grainger (Con) is a vocal opponent of the plans.

John Fuller (Con), District Councils’ Network chair, told LGC: “It seems that the secretary of state will require unanimity [for mergers and unitary proposals] not just from the councils involved but local MPs. Councils cannot assume they alone will be the only decision-makers as the views of local MPs will also carry great weight.”

World Mental Health Day 2017

World Mental Health Day is observed on 10 October every year, with the overall objective of raising awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilizing efforts in support of mental health.

The Day provides an opportunity for all stakeholders working on mental health issues to talk about their work, and what more needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide.

Keep checking back for updates, or Click Here for more info. Or read the my GAP July 2017 Newsletter.