Equal Opportunities Policy

The Company is committed to promoting equal opportunities and ensuring that individuals receive equal 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 or sex or sexual orientation (together referred to as the “Protected Characteristics”).

Discrimination

Each of our businesses is committed to ensuring that individuals are not unlawfully discriminated against or harassed including its clients, customers, suppliers and visitors.

We strive to ensure that all forms of discrimination are prohibited including:

• direct discrimination: treating someone less favourably because of a Protected Characteristic;
• indirect discrimination: implementing a provision, criterion or practice (“PCP”) that applies to everyone but adversely affects people with a particular Protected Characteristic more than others and this PCP cannot be objectively justified;
• harassment: this includes sexual harassment and other unwanted conduct related to a Protected Characteristic, 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;
• in relation to disability 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.

Disabilities

We are keen to ensure that individuals who are disabled or become disabled are not discriminated against and we will monitor the physical features of our premises to consider whether they might place anyone with a disability at a substantial disadvantage. Where necessary, we will take reasonable steps to improve access.