Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Policy

Timothy Taylor’s is committed to promoting equal opportunities and equity in employment. Employees and any job applicants will receive fair treatment regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation (referred to herein as Protected Characteristics).

Our policy sets out our approach to equal opportunities, equity and the avoidance of discrimination at work. It applies to all aspects of employment with us, including recruitment, pay and conditions, training, appraisals, promotion, conduct at work, disciplinary and grievance procedures, and termination of employment.

Discrimination and harassment

Timothy Taylor’s and its employees must not unlawfully discriminate against or harass other people, including current and former employees, job applicants, clients, candidates, customers, suppliers and visitors. This applies in the workplace and outside the workplace (when dealing with customers, suppliers, or other work-related contacts and on work-related trips or events including social events).

The following forms of discrimination are prohibited and are unlawful:

Direct discrimination: treating someone less favourably because of a Protected Characteristic. For example, rejecting a job applicant because of their religious views or because they might be a member of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Indirect discrimination: a provision, criterion or practice that applies to everyone but adversely affects some people more than others, and is not justified.
Harassment: this includes sexual harassment and other unwanted conduct, which has the purpose or effect of violating someone's dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them.
Victimisation: retaliation against someone who has complained or has supported someone else's complaint about discrimination or harassment.
Disability discrimination: this includes direct and indirect discrimination, any unjustified, less-favourable treatment because of the effects of a disability, and failure to make reasonable adjustments to alleviate disadvantages caused by a disability.

Recruitment and selection

Recruitment, promotion and other selection exercises will be conducted on the basis of merit, against objective criteria that avoid discrimination.
Vacancies will be advertised to a diverse section of the labour market. Advertisements will avoid stereotyping or using wording that may discourage particular people from applying.
Job applicants will not be asked questions which might suggest an intention to discriminate.

Disabilities

If an employee is disabled or becomes disabled, we encourage them to tell us about their condition so that we can consider what reasonable adjustments or support may be appropriate.

Part-time and fixed-term work

Part-time and fixed-term employees should be treated the same as comparable full-time or permanent employees and enjoy no less favourable terms and conditions (on a pro-rata basis where appropriate), unless different treatment is justified.

We take a strict approach to breaches of this policy, which will be dealt with in accordance with our Disciplinary Procedure. Serious cases of deliberate discrimination may amount to gross misconduct resulting in dismissal. If an employee believes that they have suffered discrimination, they can raise the matter through our Grievance Procedure or Anti-harassment and Bullying Policy. Complaints will be treated in confidence and investigated as appropriate.

Employees must not be victimised or retaliated against for complaining about discrimination. However, making a false allegation deliberately and in bad faith will be treated as misconduct and dealt with under our Disciplinary Procedure.

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