Equal Opportunities

Managing equality of opportunity and promoting diversity

Purpose
To inform of Elizabeth Michael's (EM) responsibilities for equal opportunities and our commitment to promoting diversity at work and in the wider community. To ensure that EM can attract, retain and build superior relationships with employees, candidates, clients and other stakeholders in our community regardless of individual differences, promoting social and economic inclusivity.

Scope
This policy applies to all job applicants, employees, contractors / consultants and any other employee or person acting on behalf of EM who is concerned with the employment or engagement, or potential employment or engagement of people. As and when EM sub contracts work to another recruitment consultancy it will be a requirement of the supplier to operate within the terms of this policy.
The primary focus of this policy is the employment relationship. The nature of EM's business demands that the best practice described extends to the recruitment and selection process of permanent and temporary agency staff and our impacts in the wider community.

Policy Statement
It is crucially important to value all people as individuals and to concentrate on personal abilities and strengths in order to gain organisational benefit from diversity. EM strives to employ a workforce that is representative of the community in which we operate.

Equal opportunity describes the position where all people have equality of access to opportunity. Groups who experience discrimination are identified and receive protection in law. All employers and employees are obliged to comply with the law.

Diversity describes the approach whereby the focus is on developing a culture that is accepting of individual difference, regardless of whether or not the individuals concerned are covered by equal opportunities legislation.

It is the philosophy of EM that our business goals are best achieved by a committed team working together in an environment of trust and mutual respect. This is our business DNA that permeates through all our employment policies and behaviours, embodied in "The Elizabeth Michael Way".

Specifically

1. EM embraces diversity and will seek to promote the benefits of diversity in all of our business activities. We will seek to develop a business culture that reflects that belief. We will seek to widen the media in which we recruit to ensure as diverse an employee and candidate base as possible. We will strive to make sure that our clients meet their own diversity targets.
2. EM is committed to diversity and will promote diversity for all employees, workers and applicants and shall adhere to such a policy at all times. We will review on an on-going basis all aspects of recruitment to avoid unlawful or undesirable discrimination. EM will treat everyone equally irrespective of sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, age, disability, colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, political beliefs or membership or non-membership of a Trade Union or spent convictions, and places an obligation upon all staff to respect and act in accordance with the policy. EM is committed to providing training for its entire staff in equal opportunities practice.
3. EM shall not discriminate unlawfully when deciding which candidate/temporary worker is submitted for a vacancy or assignment, or in any terms of employment or terms of engagement for temporary workers. EM will ensure that each candidate is assessed only in accordance with the candidate's merits, qualifications and abilities to perform the relevant duties required by the particular vacancy.
4. EM will not accept instructions from clients that indicate an intention to discriminate unlawfully.

We at Elizabeth Michael (EM) aim to embrace diversity; we seek to be as diverse as the community we serve and are proud of the cultural diversity of our work force. As a socially aware company we seek to develop a business culture that enables this objective.

Communication
The Equality and Diversity Policy is available to all stakeholders, both in hard copy and on the Elizabeth Michael web site. If alternative formats of the Policy are required, please contact the HR Consultant.
Elizabeth Michael will, from time to time, supplement policy with codes of practice or guidelines on behaviour and these will be disseminated to the relevant members of staff.
Further policy is available dealing with the different strands of potential discrimination.

Implementation
The HR Consultant will review on an on-going basis all aspects of our recruitment process to develop our company policies in line with the ever-changing society in which we do business as to avoid unlawful or undesirable discrimination. In order to improve our workforce our diversity policy is implemented throughout all areas of our organization.
We will provide appropriate training to our direct employees and collect and check data provided in order to monitor the performance of this policy.
Any complaint will be taken seriously and dealt with in a timely and sensitive manner, in accordance with the appropriate grievance and disciplinary procedure.

Responsibility
EM requires all stakeholders to recognize individual rights and to respect these rights in their everyday dealings with other stakeholders.
EM's Managing Director has ultimate responsibility for this policy and has charged the Company's HR consultant with duties specifically related to Equality and Diversity.
All employees, candidates, temporary staff, clients and other stakeholders have a duty to support and uphold the principles contained in this Equality and Diversity Policy and supporting policies. The commitment of all stakeholders is required to make the policy a success.