Equal Opportunities And Diversity Policy

1)  We recognise that discrimination is unacceptable and although equality of opportunity has been a long standing feature of our employment practices and procedure, we have made the decision to adopt a formal equal opportunities policy to ensure we comply with current legislation, in particular the Equality Act 2010. Breaches of the policy will lead to disciplinary proceedings and, if appropriate, disciplinary action.

2)  The aim of the policy is to ensure no job applicant, employee, worker, contractor or associate of the company is discriminated against either directly or indirectly on the grounds of race, colour, ethic or national origin, religion, belief, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, age or disability.

3)  We will ensure that the policy is circulated to any agencies responsible for our recruitment and a copy of the policy will be made available for all employees and made known to all applicants for employment.

4)  The policy will be communicated to all private contractors reminding them of their responsibilities towards the equality of opportunity.

5)  The policy will be implemented in accordance with the appropriate statutory requirements and full account will be taken of all available guidance and in particular any relevant Codes of Practice.

6)  We will maintain a neutral working environment in which no employee or worker feels under threat or intimidated.

Recruitment and Selection

1)  The recruitment and selection process is crucially important to any equal opportunities policy. We will endeavour through appropriate training to ensure that employees making selection and recruitment decisions will not discriminate, whether consciously or unconsciously, in making these decisions.

2)  Promotion and advancement will be made on merit and all decisions relating to this will be made within the overall framework and principles of this policy.

3)  Job descriptions, where used, will be revised to ensure that they are in line with our equal opportunities policy. Job requirements will be reflected accurately in any personal specifications.

4) We will adopt a consistent, non‐discriminatory approach to the advertising of vacancies.

5)  We will not confine our recruitment to areas or media sources which provide only, or mainly, applicants of a particular group.

6)  All applicants who apply for jobs with us will receive fair treatment and will be considered solely on their ability to do the job.

7)  All employees involved in the recruitment process will periodically review their selection criteria to ensure that they are related to the job requirements and do not unlawfully discriminate.

8)  Short listing and interviewing will be carried out by more than one person where possible.

9)  Interview questions will be related to the requirements of the job and will not be of a discriminatory nature.

10)  We will not disqualify any applicant because he/she is unable to complete an application form unassisted unless personal completion of the form is a valid test of the standard of English required for the safe and effective performance of the job.

11)  We will not disqualify any applicant on the grounds of pregnancy or maternity.

12)  Selection decisions will not be influenced by any perceived prejudices of other staff.

12) Equality Opportunities forms will be used during our recruitment process. This information will be used to compile a statistical report showing the relevant protected characteristics of all applicants, those who are short‐listed and those who are eventually offered employment. This will enable us to demonstrate that the people to whom employment is offered are a true representation of those who apply.

The forms will also be used to monitor existing staff, measuring if we are representative of the community in which our company is placed.

Training and Promotion

1) Senior staff will receive training in the application of this policy to ensure that they are aware of its contents and provisions.

2)  All promotion will be in line with this policy.

3)  All employees will receive Equal Opportunities training during their induction with the company. This will inform employees of current legislation and the company’s procedures surrounding Equality and Diversity.

Pregnancy, Maternity and Paternity

1)  As an organisation we are committed to follow our obligations under the current Maternity regulations as laid down by law at the current time. The policy will be implemented in accordance with the appropriate statutory requirements and full account will be taken of all available guidance and in particular any relevant Codes of Practice.

2)  The organisation is committed to providing an environment where staff members are supported and treated fairly and with dignity and respect during pregnancy and maternity and while breastfeeding.

3)  Paternity Leave is provided for up to two weeks with occupational paternity pay provided they have, or are expected to have, responsibility for the child’s upbringing.

Monitoring

1)  We will maintain and review the employment records of all employees in order to monitor the progress of this policy.

2)  Monitoring may involve:‐

a. the collection and classification of information regarding the race in terms of ethnic/national origin, the sex and disability of all current employees

b. the examination by ethic/national origin, sex and disability of the distribution of employees and the success rate of the applicants

c.recording recruitment, training and promotional records of all employees, the decision reached and the reason for those decisions

3) The results of any monitoring procedure will be reviewed at regular intervals to assess the effectiveness of the implementation of this policy. Consideration will be given, if necessary, to adjusting this policy to afford greater equality of opportunities to all applicants and staff.