EQUALITY AND INCLUSION POLICY
OUR POLICY
We are committed to eliminating discrimination, encouraging diversity and inclusion and promoting equality in all aspects of our business. This policy sets out our approach to equal opportunities and the avoidance of discrimination at work. It applies to all aspects of working with and for us, including the working relationships with:
• our colleagues (including recruitment, pay and conditions, training, appraisals, promotion, conduct at work, disciplinary and grievance procedures, the working environment generally as well as termination of employment);
• our clients, such as how we take on new clients and work;
• suppliers of goods and services to us and to our clients, including instructing barristers and experts;
• third parties and their representatives.
It applies to all of our staff and also informs our development of policies and procedures and our operational practices.
OUR COMMITMENT
We and all of our staff will respect diversity and promote equality of opportunity. We shall treat everyone we encounter in our work fairly and with respect, regardless of age, race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality and national origin, sex, gender reassignment and sexual orientation, disability, marital and civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, religion or philosophical belief (‘Protected Characteristics’).
We are committed to making reasonable adjustments for clients and staff (including those applying to join our team) with a disability to ensure that they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to those who are not disabled. We will not make a charge to our staff or our clients for an adjustment we make for them. In particular and where appropriate, we are happy to:
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visit clients off site if our premises are not accessible to them due to a physical limitation;
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offer different options for communicating with individuals who have a visual, speech or hearing impairment, including arranging signing facilities;
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for clients whose first language is not English, facilitate and support access to interpretative and translative support as far as possible.
We shall also take care to ensure that our communications (our website in particular) are provided in an accessible format.
As a business we take a zero-tolerance approach to unlawful discrimination, bullying, harassment or victimisation. All new staff will be made aware of this policy and appropriate training will be provided to raise awareness of equality and inclusion issues and to prevent unlawful discrimination, bullying, harassment or victimisation. If any problems are identified, we will act promptly and effectively to resolve them.
The following forms of discrimination are prohibited under this policy and are unlawful:
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Direct discrimination, Indirect Discrimination, Harassment, Victimisation, Failure to make reasonable adjustments
We hope to go beyond the basic legal requirements in this area and create a business in which individual differences are valued and equality and diversity is promoted in everything that we do.
RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION
Recruitment, promotion and other selection exercises will be conducted on the basis of merit, against objective criteria that avoid discrimination. Shortlisting will be done by more than one person if possible.
Vacancies will generally be advertised to a diverse section of the labour market. Advertisements will avoid stereotyping or using wording that may discourage particular groups from applying.
Job applicants will not be asked questions which might suggest an intention to discriminate on grounds of a Protected Characteristic.
Job applicants will not be asked about health or disability before a job offer is made, except in the very limited circumstances allowed by law: for example, to check that the applicant could perform an intrinsic part of the job (taking account of any reasonable adjustments), or to see if any adjustments might be needed at interview because of a disability.
TRAINING
All staff receive training on our obligations under the Equality Act, the SRA Codes of Conduct and our equality and inclusion values more generally as part of our core induction training.
MONITORING
We use our quality and standards assurance processes to ensure that our service remains of a high technical and ethical standard. This will include consideration of whether staff are meeting the requirements of this policy and the law in this area.
We believe strongly in the benefits of a diverse workforce. We will periodically monitor the diversity of our workforce in an effort to build a strong and diverse team. We will follow SRA guidance[1] on reporting and publishing our diversity data.
ENFORCEMENT
Any complaint of unlawful discrimination will be initially dealt with through the grievance procedure (for staff) or through our Client Complaints Policy (for clients).
Serious or persistent failures by any member of staff to satisfy the standards set out in this policy and in law in this area may result in disciplinary action, including in appropriate cases dismissal.
REVIEW
This policy will be reviewed annually by its owner and this shall include an assessment of whether the policy is achieving its goals in practice.