BOWOOD'S EMPLOYMENT POLICIES

We wish to secure the best people for our needs, whatever their backgrounds, through accessing the widest possible labour market. The selection methods we use for recruitment and promotion are related to the requirements of the job. We do not seek irrelevant qualifications, experience or skills. Applicants are short-listed/selected solely on the basis of their assessed capability for the role.

• The Company has zero tolerance for any form of discrimination, bullying, victimisation, or harassment whether from visitors, customers, suppliers, clients, or employees.
• Appropriate disciplinary action, including dismissal, will be taken against any employee who is found to be in breach of the Equality, Inclusion and Diversity Policy.
• The Company will communicate the Equality, Inclusion and Diversity Policy to all employees and ensure procedures for resolving grievances are easy to understand.
• All employees have a responsibility to ensure business objectives and employee relations are conducted within the Equality, Inclusion and Diversity Policy.
• Recruitment, selection, training, promotion decisions and performance reviews are based on objective, job-related criteria.
• All employees involved in the recruitment process are appropriately trained to minimise the risk of discrimination in selection decisions.
• The policy is reviewed regularly to ensure it is in line with equal opportunities legislation and the needs of the business.
• This policy applies when employees are at work and social-related events.

Discrimination means treating a person unfairly because of who they are or because they possess certain characteristics. If you have been treated differently from other people only because of who you are or because you possess certain characteristics, you may have been discriminated against.

Bullying may be characterised as “offensive, malicious, intimidating or insulting behaviour”. Bullying can take the form of physical, verbal and non-verbal conduct. It can be an “abuse or misuse of power through means that undermine, humiliate, denigrate or injure the recipient”. Power does not always mean being in a position of authority but can also include both personal strength and the power to coerce through fear or intimidation.

Legitimate, reasonable and constructive criticism of an employee’s performance or behaviour, or reasonable instructions given to employees in the course of their employment, will not amount to bullying on their own.

Harassment is “unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic, which violates an individual’s dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual”. A single incident can amount to harassment.

Harassment is not only unacceptable language or behaviour which causes the recipient to be embarrassed, offended or threatened. Someone may complain about particular behaviour they find offensive even though it was not directed at them. Neither does the person complaining need to possess a particular protected characteristic. It may also be behaviour directed at someone who associates with a person who has a protected characteristic or because they are believed to possess a protected characteristic (even if they don’t).

Unlawful harassment may involve conduct of a sexual nature (sexual harassment), or it may be related to 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. Harassment is unacceptable even if it does not fall within any of these categories.

Victimisation is being treated unfairly because you made or supported a complaint to do with a protected characteristic, or someone thinks you did.

The business and all our employees are stakeholders in the success of this policy. We expect our teams to make a positive contribution towards maintaining an environment of equality, diversity and inclusion throughout the organisation.

It is everyone’s duty to treat people with respect; appreciating their feelings and considering their well-being in everything that we/they say and do. What may be acceptable to one person may upset and/or intimidate another. Discrimination, bullying and harassment take many forms and can range from relatively mild banter to actual physical violence. They can be delivered in many ways and this policy applies to all forms of communication including text messages, WhatsApp messages, email and comments posted on social networking sites.