Equality & Diversity Policy

Aim

This policy sets out the standards to be achieved by staff in relation to providing people with equality of opportunity and valuing people as individuals who have diverse experiences, backgrounds and beliefs.

Scope

This policy applies to all employees and management who are full time or part time, temporary or permanent and those on fixed term contracts.

Policy

Cavendish Homecare Professionals is an equal opportunities employer, committed to ensuring that the talents and resources of all employees are utilised to the full. Cavendish Homecare Professionals aims to attract and retain staff and broaden their skill base in a stimulating and healthy environment that is free from prejudice. As such, Cavendish Homecare Professionals is committed to adopting, implementing and monitoring a policy of equal opportunities for all employees to exclude discrimination from the work-place and to ensure that access to employment and fair treatment are genuinely practiced. Implementation and management of this policy is the responsibility of each individual employee and they are obliged to respect and act in accordance with the policy. It is the objective of the policy that there shall be no discrimination towards employees for any reason of age, race or ethnic origin, creed, colour, religion, political affiliation, disability or impairments, marital status, parenthood, sexual gender, sexual orientation or offending background. In this respect, employees with disabilities will only be prohibited from positions where the duties of the job involve activities that would make it impossible or inherently hazardous to perform. Staff will be promoted on their individual ability to do the job and performance. All staff will have equal and fair access to learning and development as identified through their performance appraisal.

Training

All staff, including managers, throughout Cavendish Homecare Professionals will be provided with training to ensure that they understand the importance of equality, diversity and fairness.

Recruitment

For employee recruitment and selection, to eliminate possibilities of discrimination or prejudice the selection criteria will proceed purely according to the merits and abilities of the applicant to perform the tasks and duties listed in the relevant job description. Employee recruitment and selection procedures are regularly reviewed to ensure that the elements of this policy are maintained. In order to ensure a fair working environment for all employees, discrimination or harassment (physical or verbal conduct that violates a person’s dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment) will not be tolerated within the organisation. Cavendish Homecare Professionals provides facilities for any employee who believes that he or she has been treated unfairly within the scope of this policy to address the matter through a documented and established grievance procedure. Each complaint will be thoroughly investigated and where it is identified that an individual has treated a colleague unfairly they will be subject to the organisation’s disciplinary procedure.

Date: January 2024

Version: 8 (Review)

Source: UKHCA