Home

Services and courses

News

Links

About Us

Our Staff

Contact

Members

Equal opportunities

Equal Opportunities

first2train believe that a critical factor in its future business success will be its ability to attract staff and customers from all sectors of society
.
The overall aims of the Company’s Equal Opportunities Policy are:

• to achieve a balanced workforce that fully reflects the composition of the relevant labour market

• to realise the competitive advantage which can accrue from fully utilising the knowledge, skills and abilities of that diverse workforce.

• to become a preferred employer and provider of financial services.

Underlying first2train’s overall commitment to equality lies a fundamental belief in the right of everyone to be treated with dignity and respect and guaranteed freedom from discrimination on the grounds of sex, marital status, disability, colour, religion or ethnic or national origin.

Within the overall aim of its Equal Opportunities Policy, the Company recognises that at some levels and in some functional specialisms, certain groups are under represented in employment within the Company.As part of this policy, the Company will take all practical steps to assist the recruitment, retention and development of disabled persons. The sole criterion for considering disabled people for employment or continued employment with the Company will be their ability to do the job, where necessary by the reasonable provision of special aids or equipment.

The Company expects all staff to act in such a way as to foster a climate of equal opportunity within the Organisation. Line Managers have a particular responsibility to ensure that the philosophy of equal opportunities underlies all their relationships with staff and customers and that all business and employment policies and procedures are applied in an objective, fair and systematic manner, such that discrimination is eliminated.

The Company takes seriously its responsibility towards incidents of harassment and discrimination at work and will ensure that any incident that comes to its notice is dealt with effectively.

Harassment can be defined as unwanted conduct from any individual including colleagues or customers. In some circumstances, acts of harassment may amount to a criminal offence.

Discrimination consists of treating a person less favourably on grounds of race, gender, disability etc.

Staff are reminded of the necessity at all times to behave towards each other in a responsible and acceptable manner and to respect the dignity of others.

Any inappropriate behaviour and, in particular, any form of harassment whether sexual or otherwise will not be condoned and will be treated as gross misconduct

first2train policies also take into account all anti-discriminatory legislation eg

• Sex Discrimination Act 1975

• Race Relations Act 1976

• Equal Pay Act 1980

• Disability Discrimination Act 1995

• The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974

• The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1994

Dealing with complaints

Any member of first2train staff receiving a complaint from an individual or group relating to a breach of this policy has a duty to treat the complaint seriously, and is responsible for ensuring that it is dealt with promptly and correctly.

For information about the sort of help that is available, ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) aims to improve organisations and working life through better employment relations. They provide up-to-date information, independent advice, high quality training and work with employers and employees to solve problems and improve performance. Contact ACAS at www.acas.org.uk

First2train documentation © 2007 273063