Supporting Colleagues Age, Race, Sex and Marriage and Civil Partnership

Transcription

1 Supporting Colleagues Age, Race, Sex and Marriage and Civil Partnership Internal, Supporting Colleagues Age, Race, Sex and Marriage and Civil Partnership, Version1, Page 1 of 6

2 Where to find things. Introduction What should I be aware of? What is an inclusive workplace? What are our legal obligations? What should I be aware of if I am recruiting? Is there anything else I should know about the protected characteristics?... 4 Age... 4 Race... 4 Sex... 4 Marriage and civil partnership What are my responsibilities as a manager?... 5 Related Reading... 5 Guide information Guide owner: employment.policy@uk.tesco.com... 6 Ownership and confidentiality... 6 Internal, Supporting Colleagues Age, Race, Sex and Marriage and Civil Partnership, Version1, Page 2 of 6

3 Introduction 2. What is an inclusive workplace? This guide gives you more information about supporting diversity within your teams and specifically focuses on age, race, sex and marriage and civil partnerships, which are four of the nine protected characteristics covered by the Equality Act and protected by UK Law. The aim of this guide is to support colleagues and managers when dealing with any issues that may arise. This document should be read and used in conjunction with the Equal Opportunities and Diversity policy which gives more information on the Equality Act, protected characteristics and the types of discrimination and harassment covered by the law. An inclusive workplace is one where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. Where the talents and skills of different people are the thing that s most valued and where productivity and customer service improve because the team is happier, more motivated and more aware of the benefits that inclusion can bring. In inclusive companies, all colleagues regardless of their age, race, sex or marriage or civil partnership status are all able to be themselves without fear of discrimination or recrimination. 3. What are our legal obligations? 1. What should I be aware of? We all have a responsibility to maintain an inclusive workplace which allows colleagues, regardless of their age, race, sex or marriage of civil partnership status, to feel that they are respected and valued as individuals. We should always work towards ensuring that everyone is treated with dignity and respect and promote a culture that recognises there is value in working in a diverse environment. Having a diverse team means we have different people with different preferences, which everyone is entitled to have. However there are groups within our society who have differing views, and whilst this may be their opinion outside of work, they must not let it impact their ability to do their job, affect their working relationships or influence their decisions in any way. It s important to remember that while some colleagues will be open and happy to talk about themselves others will want to keep a degree of privacy, for example they may not want you to know how old they are and it s important that we respect that. Any form of discrimination or harassment will not be tolerated. This form of behaviour is considered to be gross misconduct and may result in disciplinary action being taken; up to and including dismissal. We have a legal obligation under the Equality Act 2010 to make sure our working environment is free from any form of discrimination or harassment including those on the grounds of age, race, sex or marriage and civil partnership. Any cases of discrimination can end up in an employment tribunal and cause serious damage to our business and its reputation. We are committed to promoting a culture of equality across the business and ensuring that our business and its policies and processes don t discriminate against any individual or group of employees. 4. What should I be aware of if I am recruiting? The right to be treated equally begins as soon as a prospective colleague reads a job advert or accesses our online job search. All candidates are screened on their relevant experience and the skills they can bring to the Internal, Supporting Colleagues Age, Race, Sex and Marriage and Civil Partnership, Version1, Page 3 of 6 role. As part of the recruitment process we ask all candidates to complete an equal opportunities monitoring form, which includes questions around age, race and sex. This information is kept for monitoring purposes only and is stored separately from their application. This information won t be seen by or shared with the hiring manager. When recruiting we must focus on a candidate s ability to do their job and it s important that you don t put any restrictions in the role which would exclude a certain group of people for applying. For example, putting must

4 have five years experience would exclude younger candidates as they may not be old enough to have gained five years experience and would therefore be age discrimination. To help protect us against any claims of discrimination, notes from all interviews/assessments should be kept for at least 12 months at which point they can be confidentially destroyed. If you are going to view someone s social media profile as part of the screening process you should tell the candidate first, and give them the opportunity to update their profile in advance. You should also make sure that you view all profiles (or everyone that has one) not just a select few to make sure that everyone is treated fairly. By viewing someone s profile you may discover personal details about them, for example their age or make an assumption about it, and it s important to remember not to let what you see unconsciously influence your decision. Also remember that most social media sites allow you to see who has viewed your profile so a potential candidate may know that you ve viewed their profile. Questions about a candidate s age, race, sex or martial or civil partnership status should never be asked during the interview/assessment process. If the information is volunteered, you shouldn t question this any further, use it to evaluate the candidates or make your final decision. 5. Is there anything else I should know about the protected characteristics? Age A colleague s age is confidential to them and we should be mindful about revealing it. For example, buying a 40 th birthday card and getting everyone to sign it may not be appropriate if someone is sensitive and/or doesn t want to reveal their age. Questions about a colleagues age should never be asked unless there is a legitimate reason to ask for it, for example, if the colleague is a young or child worker we would need to know their age to manage their hours, breaks etc. appropriately. Age is the only protected characteristic that changes throughout our life, and everyone could potentially benefit from preferential treatment on the grounds of age at some point. It s also the only area where discrimination can be justified when there s an objective justification and it s considered to be in the public interest. Reducing unemployment, encouraging career progression and rewarding loyalty could all be objective justifications for treating colleagues differently on the basis of their age. Race Racial harassment refers to harassment suffered by individuals, or groups, because of their colour, race, nationality, or ethnic or national origins. It is behaviour or abuse that is unwanted and personally offensive, creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment. Harassment can take many forms and can include verbal comments/noises etc., gestures, emblems/logos, songs etc., psychological and/or physical abuse. All forms of harassment can have a devastating impact on the individual who is subjected to it, and in severe or prolonged cases it can result in long term physical or mental health conditions. Sex Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when: Submission to such conduct is made a term or condition of a colleague s employment, e.g. you can only have the job if you have sex with me Submission to or rejection of such conduct by a colleague is used as a basis for an employment decision e.g. if you don t have sex with me I won t give you a pay rise Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with a colleagues work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment. This can apply to things such as sitting unnecessarily close to a colleague of the opposite sex, or putting your hand on them when there is no reason to do so. Be aware of the impact you are having on others and how you are making them feel. If you get signals that someone is uncomfortable with what you are doing, stop. Internal, Supporting Colleagues Age, Race, Sex and Marriage and Civil Partnership, Version1, Page 4 of 6

5 Marriage and civil partnership The protection under marriage and civil partnership doesn t apply if you re: misconduct and if you fail to deal with it, then disciplinary action may also be taken against you. Work events single engaged to be married divorced or your civil partnership has been dissolved living with someone as a couple widowed If you re arranging a work event, make sure it s appropriate for all colleagues, talk about your plans and what type of event might be appropriate for everyone. This way you can make sure your plans suit everyone concerned and that you re not excluding anyone. If you re separated you re still protected, as your marriage or civil partnership has not been legally dissolved. A colleague s marital status is confidential to them and irrelevant to us, therefore we no longer capture or hold this information. If you are aware of someone s marital status and they are, for example, in a same sex marriage you should keep this confidential, even if it s well known. The protections under sexual orientation make it totally unacceptable to out (reveal someone s sexual orientation) someone without their permission either in the workplace or outside of it, including in the use of social media. This would also apply even if the person was open with you about their sexual orientation and marital status. 6. What are my responsibilities as a manager? Your responsibility is to ensure that all of our colleagues are treated fairly when it comes to accessing training and development, employment procedures and benefits, workplace events and activities and their day to day interactions with colleagues and customers. If you hear comments or see any behaviour which you think is discriminatory or amounts to bullying or harassment you should deal with it in an appropriate manner. This type of behaviour is considered to be gross Banter Banter is often light hearted with no offence intended, but what can be funny to some may be offensive to others. If you feel the banter within your team is inappropriate speak to the individuals concerned and ask them to stop making the comments, and if necessary speak to your People Manager/Partner for advice about how to deal with the issue. If a complaint has been raised you must speak to your People Manager/Partner about how to deal with this, in cases where a grievance has been raised the People Team will carry out the investigation. Any banter which is deemed to be unacceptable needs to be dealt with, even if it wasn t intended to be offensive, for example, sending an old git birthday card, making amorous comments to the opposite sex or jokes about a certain group of people from a specific country e.g. Irish jokes. Related Reading Disciplinary Policy Equal Opportunities and Diversity Policy Grievance Policy Supporting Disabled Colleagues Supporting Trans Colleagues Supporting Colleagues Religion and Belief Supporting Colleagues Sexual Orientation Northern Ireland Equality Statement Guide information. Internal, Supporting Colleagues Age, Race, Sex and Marriage and Civil Partnership, Version1, Page 5 of 6

6 Version No. Date of change Summary of change 1 8 th February 2016 Updated document Guide owner: employment.policy@uk.tesco.com Ownership and confidentiality This document shouldn t be shared with anyone externally without permission from your Director. This policy and any associated documentation remains the property of Tesco and should be returned if requested. Internal, Supporting Colleagues Age, Race, Sex and Marriage and Civil Partnership, Version1, Page 6 of 6