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Bowers Electricals Ltd is an equal opportunity employer. The Company is committed to being a successful, caring, and welcoming place for all employees. We want to create a supportive and inclusive environment where our employees can reach their full potential, without prejudice and discrimination. We are committed to a culture where respect and understanding is fostered, and the diversity of people’s backgrounds and circumstances will be positively valued.
Equality of opportunity, valuing diversity and compliance with the law is to the benefit of all individuals in our Company as it seeks to develop the skills and abilities of its people. While specific responsibility for eliminating discrimination and providing equality of opportunity lies with managers and supervisors, individuals at all levels have a responsibility to treat others with dignity and respect.
Through this policy and procedure and the training and development of managers and staff, the organization will do all it can to promote good practice in this area in order to eliminate discrimination and harassment as far as is reasonably possible. The Company will also continue to work towards its dedicated goal of encouraging and promoting equality and diversity within the workforce.
The policy aims to achieve equality by removing any potential discrimination in the way that our employees are treated by fellow employees or the Company, including:
Discrimination can be either direct or indirect discrimination. Some of the above are protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 and discrimination is prohibited unless there is a legal exception under the Equality Act.
This is where someone is treated less favourably due to one (or more) protected characteristics. It can be intentional or unintentional discrimination. Occasionally the discrimination may occur due to a protected characteristic of another person, so the discrimination may be because of association. An example is an advert for a job that requires ‘men only’ or ‘under 30s only’.
This is where someone is disadvantaged by an apparently neutral provision, criterion, or practice (PCP)that is applied ‘across the board’ or ‘equally across a particular group’. The PCP may have the consequence (usually unintended) of causing a disadvantage, which then actually affects somebody. For example, a PCP relating to clothing or headwear could be applied ‘equally’ but may cause someone with a protected characteristic to be disadvantaged. The PCP could be justified if it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.
This is not the same as the common meaning of victimization but is specifically regarding treating someone less favourably because they have complained about or given information about discrimination or harassment, either regarding themselves or someone else.
This is part of the Equality Act 2010 and applies to how employees treat fellow employees, visitors, suppliers, and former employees. The Act also applies to customers/clients.
The Company is committed to equality of opportunity and to providing a service and following practices which are free from unfair and unlawful discrimination.
This policy aims to ensure that no applicant or member of staff receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation, or is disadvantaged by conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be relevant to performance. It seeks also to ensure that no person is victimized or subjected to any form of bullying or harassment.
The personal commitment of every employee to this policy and the application of its principles are essential to eliminate discrimination and provide equality throughout the Company. All employees are to understand and be aware of the contents of this policy, adhere to its requirements and raise to management any known or suspected breaches of this policy.
Managers and supervisors need to ensure this policy is implemented within their areas of responsibility and that all staff are aware of their requirements.
There will be monitoring and reviews of the effectiveness of the equal opportunities policy, including a review of job applicants and the benefits/career progression of existing employees. Comments and suggestions on the policy can be directed to the Managing Director.
Bowers Electricals does not tolerate any unlawful discrimination, victimization, or harassmenttowards its employees. The Company promotes a workplace with a positive ethos towards equality of opportunity, dignity, and respect.
Employees are encouraged to raise concerns and complaints that challenge any workplaceincidents of discrimination, victimization, bullying or harassment. The Company treats all concerns andcomplaints made under this policy seriously and will deal with them in an efficient and timelymanner, as confidentially as possible.
No unfavourable treatment will occur as a consequence of employees raising concerns or complaints under this policy. The rules around victimization protect employees that bring proceedings in connection with the Equality Act 2010.
Employees may take informal or formal action. The decision between informal or formal action is entirely the choice of the employee.
If an employee thinks they have been treated unfairly and wants further advice, they can speak to a manager or director, or to third party bodies and advisers such as ACAS or the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
The following voluntary steps are available to employees, entirely at the discretion of the employee:
Both these steps are entirely voluntary and employees that do not feel comfortable with this type of action are under no obligation to take either step.
The Company does not recommend informal action in circumstances involving serious allegations of inequality, discrimination, bullying, victimization and/or harassment.
In the main the Company’s grievance procedure will be utilized should formal action be necessary however it is noted that due to the potential sensitivity of discrimination cases then some flexibility will be considered.
Employees should make complaints to their line manager in the first instance. If that is not appropriate, or the complaint is against their line manager the employee should raise complaints to either a director or manager not involved in the case. As far as practical the anonymity of the complainant should be protected.
The Company recommends that the complaints be put in writing, identifying the person(s) concerned and what has happened and when. The Company will appreciate details of any specific incidents. Employees are encouraged to provide any times and dates and names of any witnesses or other people involved to assist with the investigation.
Upon receipt of a formal complaint, the investigating manager will take action to investigate the complaint. The actions that will be taken very much depend on the nature of the allegation but can include conciliation between those involved if the employee agrees to this, initiating an investigation and/or suspending the person concerned pending investigation.
Serious allegations will likely lead the investigating manager to consider suspending the person concerned to keep them away from the workplace during the course of an investigation and to ensure there is no further contact with the employee for the duration of the investigation. The act of suspending the person(s) concerned not in itself a disciplinary sanction and does not prejudge the allegations that have been raised against them.
The Company investigation process in respect of complaints raised under this policy is robust and objective. The investigating manager will conduct their investigation into the allegations of discrimination, bullying, victimization and/or harassment confidentially, subject to the need to discuss the situation with those involved and any witnesses so as to establish the situation.
After the investigation has been completed and all those involved interviewed, the investigating manager will complete an investigation report setting out their conclusions.
The investigation report may require the Company to undertake disciplinary action against the alleged perpetrator, stop the harassment or otherwise take steps to correct the discriminatory behaviour and prevent it from taking place again. The report may recommend training or re training to ensure appropriate conduct is reiterated.
Substantiated acts of discrimination, harassment, bullying, or victimization are considered by the Company to be acts of gross misconduct. Please refer to the Company’s Disciplinary Policy for more details.
The investigation report may conclude that no discrimination, harassment, bullying, or victimisation occurred and that no further action is required. The report may also conclude that the employee’s allegation was false or malicious and may suggest disciplinary proceedings take place in relation to the conduct of the employee who made the complaint.