Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

Equality in the workplace means equal job opportunities and fairness for the team and job applicants.

The Equality Act (2010) makes it unlawful to discriminate against anyone on the grounds of 9 different protected characteristics, these are:

• age

• disability

• gender or sex

• gender reassignment

• marriage or civil partnership

• pregnancy and maternity

• race (including colour, nationality, ethnic and national origin)

• religion or philosophical belief

• sexual orientation

Discrimination can be direct or indirect. 

Direct Discrimination

You are treated unfairly because you have a protected characteristic (e.g. you are not offered a promotion because you are a woman and the role goes to a less qualified man).

You can also be treated unfairly because someone you know or are associated with has a protected characteristic (discrimination by association) (e.g. you have a friend who is gender neutral, your colleagues find out and start treating you differently).

You can also be treated unfairly because someone thinks you have a protected characteristic even if you don't (discrimination by perception) (e.g. you are perceived as being homosexual even though you aren't and you are treated differently because of this).

Indirect Discrimination

Happens when rules or arrangements that apply to all are less fair to certain protected characteristics. (e.g. a job advert specifies 10 years experience in a role, which excludes young people from applying and therefore could be age discrimination). For indirect discrimination to apply, you have to prove that:

• its unfair to you and to others with the same protected characteristic

• its unfair compared to those who don't have the protected characteristic

We are committed to doing all we can to help anyone who feels they are being discriminated against. If you feel you have been the victim of discrimination you can use our informal or formal grievance procedures

Diversity is the range of people we have in our team and valuing those differences between every team member, regardless of any protected characteristic.

An inclusive workplace essentially means every team member feels valued at work and safe to be their authentic self.

We're committed to equal opportunities employment and any recruitment decisions will be based on merit, qualifications and abilities. Our employment related decisions will never be influenced by your age, disability, gender, marital or family status, sexual orientation, race, colour, ethnicity or nationality and we promote equal pay for equal work. Training, experience and promotional opportunities are available to all.

We're committed to creating a working environment free from discrimination and that promotes dignity and respect for all. 

Every manager has a responsibility to support and promote equality, diversity and inclusion. They must lead by example in their behaviours towards their team and customers and encourage open discussion with their team to resolve any problems.

Each employee has a responsibility to treat their team with respect and dignity and to report any concerns about discrimination as swiftly as possible. You can be held personally liable for any act of unlawful discrimination.

Any complaint about discrimination will be taken seriously and thoroughly investigated.

It is unlawful to treat someone differently because they have raised a concern about discrimination (victimisation) and anyone doing so will be dealt with under our disciplinary process.