EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
At ELE, fairness isn’t just a buzzword. It’s the foundation of how we treat our people, clients, and everyone we work with.
This policy works alongside our Equality and Diversity policy to make sure everyone is treated with respect, from the moment they apply to join us to how they’re treated day to day.
Who This Policy Applies To
This policy applies to everyone connected to ELE: employees, apprentices, consultants, officers, contractors, interns, volunteers, job applicants, agency workers, and casual staff. It covers how we treat people across:
- Recruitment
- Pay and working conditions
- Training and professional development
- Promotions
- Appraisals
- Grievances and disciplinary matters
- Ending employment
- Providing references
- Interactions with visitors
- Relationships with clients and suppliers
- Any business contacts or associates
If you’re an employee, this policy isn’t part of your employment contract, and we may update it when needed.
You should also read this policy alongside our Equality and Diversity, Harassment and Bullying, Recruitment, and Grievance Policies.
Our Commitment to Equal Opportunities
We don’t tolerate discrimination or harassment. Everyone who works for us or applies to work with us gets fair and equal treatment. We make sure that job vacancies are accessible to everyone and that decisions about transfers or promotions are made based on skills and potential, not bias.
We also stand by anyone who speaks up. If you make a genuine complaint about discrimination or harassment, or support someone else in doing so, we’ll have your back.
Understanding Discrimination
Discrimination isn’t always obvious. Sometimes it’s direct and intentional, and sometimes it’s subtle or even unintentional. Here are the types of discrimination the law recognises, all of which we’re committed to preventing:
- Direct discrimination: Treating someone unfairly because of a protected characteristic. Example: Not hiring someone because of their race or refusing a promotion because someone is pregnant.
- Indirect discrimination: When a rule or policy applies to everyone but ends up disadvantaging certain groups. Example: Requiring all staff to work late without considering parents who might have childcare responsibilities.
- Associative discrimination: Treating someone unfairly because of their connection to someone with a protected characteristic. Example:
- Overlooking an employee for promotion because they care for a disabled relative.
- Perceived discrimination: Discriminating against someone because of a belief they have a certain characteristic, even if they don’t. Example:
- Assuming someone is gay and treating them less favourably as a result.
- Harassment: Creating a hostile, intimidating, or offensive environment linked to a protected characteristic. Example: Making sexist jokes, sharing offensive materials, or excluding someone because of their religion.
- Victimisation: Treating someone badly because they’ve made or supported a complaint about discrimination or harassment. Example: Ignoring or sidelining an employee who spoke up about unfair treatment.
Protected characteristics include:
- Age
- Race (including colour, nationality, and ethnic origin)
- Disability
- Religion or belief
- Sex
- Gender reassignment
- Pregnancy or maternity
- Sexual orientation
- Marital or civil partnership status
Our Responsibilities
It’s everyone’s job to help maintain an inclusive workplace. But managers and directors have extra responsibility to lead by example and make sure this policy is followed.
If you break this policy, whether you realise it or not, you could be held personally responsible. Discrimination laws don’t just apply to the company. They apply to individuals too.
We expect you to:
- Treat everyone with respect and fairness
- Follow the guidance in this policy
- Speak up if you see or experience something that isn’t right
If you have ideas on how we can do better with equal opportunities, speak to your manager or a director. We’re always looking to improve.
Recruitment, Promotions, and Selections
We hire and promote people based on merit. Full stop. We use objective, fair criteria for recruitment, promotions, and decisions like redundancies.
- Job ads are written to encourage a wide range of applicants.
- We avoid questions that could lead to bias, like asking about family plans or religious commitments.
- Health or disability questions are only asked when necessary, like to arrange interview accommodations or ensure a candidate can perform essential job functions.
- Equal opportunities monitoring forms are used for data gathering only and don’t influence hiring decisions.
Enforcing This Policy
If you feel you’ve been discriminated against or harassed, speak up. Talk to your manager or a director as soon as possible. If you want to take formal action, follow our Grievance Policy or Harassment and Bullying Policy.
We take complaints seriously. If someone has broken this policy, they may face disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal.
We also take false complaints seriously. If someone makes a complaint in bad faith, that’s a breach of trust and could lead to disciplinary action.
Monitoring and Reviewing
We regularly check how this policy is working by gathering data on things like recruitment, promotions, and staff demographics. When you join ELE, you agree to us collecting and using this information to help us monitor and improve our equal opportunities practices.
At ELE, fairness isn’t negotiable. We’re committed to creating a workplace where everyone has a fair shot, feels respected, and can thrive.