Crohn's & Colitis UK

Who we are

About us:

Crohn’s and Colitis are a hidden – and growing – health crisis.  Right now, an estimated 500,000 people in the UK are living with a lifelong disease that many people have never heard of, and the real number could be almost double that.

But too few people understand what the conditions are – from GPs struggling to identify Crohn’s and Colitis to members of the public who are simply unaware of this lifelong disease. Because of the stigma and misunderstanding surrounding these diseases, thousands of people are suffering in silence.

We’re changing this.  We’re working to improve diagnosis and treatment, and to fund research into a cure; to raise awareness and to give people hope, comfort and confidence to live freer, fuller lives.

We’re the UK’s leading charity for Crohn’s and Colitis but we need people like you to help us. Joining an existing conversation is one thing. But how much more powerful is it to be the one who speaks up first?

Our culture and values

AMBITIOUS

We are relentless in striving for improvement. Every day, we aim to make the greatest impact possible on the lives of people with Crohn’s and Colitis. We’re experts in our field and work hard to make a difference.

COMPASSIONATE

We are rooted in empathy and kindness. We’re there for everyone living with Crohn’s or Colitis and when people turn to us for information and support, we listen.

STRONGER TOGETHER

We are always looking for new ways to collaborate and develop together. We’re a community, we work together to help people support themselves, and we learn from everyone we work with.

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

Policy Statement

Crohn’s & Colitis UK are committed to considering equality, diversity and inclusion in all aspects of our work. This policy addresses our work in relation to protected characteristics as defined by the Equality Act.

We comply with the Equality Act across all areas of our organisation and work to promote and advance equality, diversity and inclusion in all our work. Crohn’s & Colitis UK is committed to going beyond the minimum legal requirements in the Equality Act and we work towards best and exemplary practice.

We aim to support and represent everyone affected by Crohn’s and Colitis regardless of ethnicity, age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion or belief. We want to work with the whole Crohn’s and Colitis community to improve and inform the direction of our work and projects, support better decision making, ensure that we are reflecting the experiences of everyone with Crohn’s and Colitis and improve the accessibility of our information and services.

We believe that ensuring that we have a diverse workforce, including our staff and volunteers, is an organisational strength which enables us to consider different views, experiences and perspectives and helps us to better shape and deliver our work. We will ensure that we are welcoming and inclusive of our workforce.

In particular, our evidence suggests the charity does not engage and work enough with people from ethnic minority backgrounds. Nor is our workforce reflective of the people we serve. We need to do better and we will be proactive in understanding and addressing their needs and priorities. We are determined to be an actively anti-racist organisation.

Positive Action

We take measures to encourage and support people from diverse groups, or with different needs, to take part in charity activities and to access our services.

As an employer and service provider, we take positive action where we feel or have evidence that people with a certain protected characteristic are at a disadvantage, have different needs that are not being met, or are under-represented.

The aim of these measures is to meet the needs of different groups, encourage them to ensure they are well represented, and to enable participation.

Equal opportunities

Crohn’s & Colitis UK is committed to equal opportunities in employment, volunteering, communications, campaigns and service delivery. We use positive changes coupled with appropriate action if required to make sure that nobody who works with the organisation, or uses its services, receives less favourable treatment or is disadvantaged by any of the protected characteristics.

We will also not discriminate, or allow discrimination, according to trade union membership, political beliefs, socio-economic status, responsibility or caring duties for any dependants, residency status, part-time or fixed-term contract status, or any other reason that cannot be shown to be warranted.

We will work to ensure that we do not discriminate either directly or indirectly because of a protected characteristic. We will actively investigate any concerns about any forms of discrimination (including perceived discrimination), harassment or victimisation of anyone with a protected characteristic.

Reasonable adjustments

The Charity has a duty to make reasonable adjustments to facilitate the employment of disabled people. These may include making reasonable adjustments to our recruitment processes or to support disabled people working for us.

We will also make reasonable adjustments where possible to enable disabled people to access our services, activities and events.

As a charity we always need to consider whether such adjustments are within the financial means of the charity