Equal Opportunities 

POLICY

The Company is fully committed to its Equal Opportunities Policy and will endeavour to ensure that no employee or job applicant receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of sex, ethnic origin, race, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, religion, or any grounds of discrimination not prohibited by legislation, or is disadvantaged by conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be justifiable. The aim of the policy is to eliminate prejudice or bias in recruitment, training, career development and other employment matters so that individuals are treated only on the basis of their abilities and merits and according to the requirements of the job.

Monitoring Employees and job applicants are required to supply information on their sex, ethnic origin, marital status and any disability. The Company guarantees that this information is used solely for the purpose of monitoring the effectiveness of the Equal Opportunities Policy.

PROCEDURE

Employees

It is the duty of all employees to accept their personal responsibility for the practical application of the Policy.

Discipline

Any employee who harasses another employee on the grounds of sex, race, or disability will be subject to the Company’s disciplinary procedure and such harassment may be treated as gross misconduct (see also the Dignity at Work policy).


Recruitment and Selection

All staff engaged in the recruitment and selection procedures have specific responsibilities and must be aware of:

1. The main points of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975; the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Code of Practice for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Promotion of Equality of Opportunity in Employment and the Disability Discrimination Act 1996 which is particularly concerned with the unlawful discrimination of disabled people.

2. Their personal liability at law.

3. The Company’s policy of ensuring that no employee or job applicant is rejected solely on the grounds of sex, race, age or disability.