Reading List

This Reading List supports learning from the course and focuses on practical, UK-relevant guidance for equality, diversity and inclusion in optical practice. It is aimed at clinicians, managers and supervisors responsible for safe, fair workplaces.

Legal and professional standards

• Equality Act 2010: guidance Clear overview of protected characteristics, discrimination types and legal duties relevant to day-to-day decisions in practice.
• Employment Statutory Code of Practice (EHRC) Authoritative code used by tribunals explaining how to apply the Equality Act 2010 in employment, including recruitment, reasonable adjustments and harassment (2011).
• GOC Standards for Optical Businesses Regulator expectations for culture, governance, communication and staff support that underpin fair and safe care.
• GOC Standard 11: Protect and safeguard patients, colleagues and others Core duty to act on risks, keep factual records and raise concerns proportionately when safety or dignity is at risk.

Accessible communication

• Accessible Information Standard Requirements for identifying, recording, flagging, sharing and meeting communication needs for disabled people in NHS funded services.
• Accessible Information Standard implementation guidance Practical steps, templates and assurance measures to embed AIS in everyday workflows, including coding and staff training (June 2025).

Interpreting and translation

• Guidance for commissioners: interpreting and translation services in primary care Legal position and quality principles for arranging professional interpreters and translations in primary care pathways (September 2018).
• Language interpreting and translation: migrant health guide Practical advice on when to offer professional interpreters and how to work with them safely, including safeguarding considerations (March 2021).

Reasonable adjustments and disability

• EHRC: employing people and workplace adjustments What the duty to make reasonable adjustments requires and examples of effective changes for staff (2019).
• Reasonable adjustments for disabled workers GOV.UK overview of employer responsibilities and routes to support for adjustments.
• Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag action checklist Compliance steps for recording and sharing adjustments across the NHS using the national flag (April 2024).

Speaking up and just culture

• The national speak up policy Minimum standard for local Freedom to Speak Up policies across NHS services, including primary care and independent providers of NHS care (June 2022).
• College of Optometrists: Protecting patients, colleagues and others from harm Optical specific guidance on raising concerns, keeping records and reporting incidents without breaching confidentiality.

Recruitment and HR fairness

• Acas: following discrimination law in recruitment Practical rules for lawful adverts, structured selection and permitted questions, helping panels avoid direct and indirect discrimination (October 2024).
• NHS Employers: inclusive recruitment guidance Tools and case studies to design fair, transparent recruitment processes in NHS services (October 2020).
• Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures Statutory code setting minimum expectations for investigations, hearings and record keeping in HR processes.

Data protection and confidentiality

• ICO: information about workers' health Guidance on handling health and adjustment information lawfully under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 (March 2024).
• ICO: special category data How to identify conditions and safeguards when processing sensitive data such as health, race or religion (October 2024).

Measuring and improvement

• NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard Indicators, reporting and resources to monitor and improve race equality across NHS providers.
• NHS Workforce Disability Equality Standard: technical guidance Metrics and reporting requirements to track and act on disability equality in the workforce (2023).