Three Stone Chambers (“Chambers”) observes a policy of equal opportunity. All mini pupils, pupils, tenants and staff are selected on merit alone, irrespective of age, pregnancy and maternity, marriage and civil partnership, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.
We are willing to make reasonable adjustments for disabled candidates.
Applicants will not be asked on the Pupillage Application Form whether reasonable adjustments need to be made for any stage of the recruitment process.
A separate Reasonable Adjustments Form will be made available on Chambers’ website for candidates who identify themselves as being subject to a disability. This form will be aimed at establishing if any candidates need reasonable adjustments in relation to the application for pupillage process, from completing the form through to interview.
Any candidate who identifies as being subject to a disability will:
a. Complete the Reasonable Adjustments Form, which explains more about the application process and asks the candidate to set out what reasonable adjustments they may require.
b. In most cases, it is envisaged that the Reasonable Adjustments Form will be returned with the Pupillage Application Form. However, where a candidate requests an adjustment at a stage prior to that (e.g. in relation to completion of the Pupillage Application Form) they can return the Reasonable Adjustments Form independently of the Pupillage Application Form. Any queries or difficulties will be dealt with by the Pupillage Administrator.
c. The Pupillage Administrator will perform a check against the Equality and Diversity Monitoring Questionnaires, when they come in, that any candidates requesting adjustments have been sent, and have returned, a copy of the Reasonable Adjustments Form.
d. Upon receipt of the returned Reasonable Adjustments Form, the Pupillage Administrator will forward it to the Equality and Diversity Officers.
e. The Equality and Diversity Officers will then consider the request for adjustments and, to the extent that they consider those adjustments to be reasonable, ensure that they are put in place in time.
f. If necessary, the Equality and Diversity Officers will consult with the Management Committee, as to the feasibility and financing of implementation of reasonable adjustments.
Members of the interview panel(s) will not be informed of any disability or reasonable adjustments that have been made.
Applicants are also asked to complete an Equality and Diversity Monitoring Questionnaire (in accordance with the Bar Standards Board’s Equality and Diversity Code) in which they will be asked if they consider themselves disabled within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010 and, if so, whether they require reasonable adjustments in relation to their application for pupillage. This is a separate document to the Pupillage Application Form. It is used for monitoring purposes only and is not considered by members of the interview panel(s) in the course of the pupillage or mini pupillage application process.
March 2023