Equal Opportunities and Harassment Policy
This sets out the Company’s policy on equal opportunities. Tom Prichard Contracting Ltd is committed to a policy of treating all its employees, job applicants, clients, customers and suppliers equally.
Principles
(a) There should be no unlawful discrimination on account of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. These are known as protected characteristics under the legislation.
(b) Discrimination can take the form of a number of possibilities:
– Direct discrimination: treating someone less favourably because of a Protected Characteristic. For example, rejecting a job applicant because of their religious views or because they might be gay.
– Indirect discrimination: a provision, criterion or practice that applies to everyone but adversely affects people with a particular Protected Characteristic more than others, and is not justified. For example, requiring a job to be done full-time rather than part-time would adversely affect women because they generally have greater childcare commitments than men. Such a requirement would be discriminatory unless it can be 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. [Harassment is dealt with further in our Anti-harassment and Bullying Policy].
– Victimisation: retaliation against someone who has complained or has supported someone else’s complaint about discrimination or harassment. This includes where someone mistakenly believes that the person victimised has done so.
– Disability discrimination: this includes direct and indirect 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.
(c) Tom Prichard Contracting Ltd will appoint, train, develop, reward and promote on the basis of merit and ability.
(d) All employees have personal responsibility for the practical application of the Company’s equal opportunities policy, which extends to the treatment of job applicants, employees, clients, customers, suppliers and visitors.
(e) Special responsibility for the practicable application of the Company’s equal opportunities policy falls upon directors, Managers and supervisors involved in the recruitment, selection, promotion and training of employees.
(f) The Company’s grievance procedure is available to any employee who believes that he or she may have been unfairly discriminated against. The harassment complaints procedure set out in this policy is available to any employee who believes that he or she may have been harassed. Employees will not be victimised in any way for making such a complaint in good faith. Complaints of this nature will be dealt with seriously, in confidence and as soon as possible.
(g) Disciplinary action will be taken against any employee who is found to have committed an act of unlawful discrimination. Serious breaches of this policy and serious incidents of harassment will be treated as gross misconduct. Allegations of discrimination which are not made in good faith will also be considered as a disciplinary matter. Confidential records of ongoing matters dealt with in accordance with this policy will be kept.
(h) In the case of any doubt or concern about the application of this policy in any particular instance, consult a Manager.
(i) The Company will keep under review its policy, procedures and practices on equal opportunities.
Equal Opportunities Code of Practice
(j) Tom Prichard Contracting Ltd has introduced this equal opportunities policy as a commitment to make full use of the talents and resource of all its employees and to provide a healthy environment which will encourage good and productive working operations within the organisation. This code of practice describes how the policy is to be applied throughout the Company.
(k) The Company is particularly concerned that equality of opportunity is maintained in the following areas:
– recruitment and selection;
– promotion, transfer and training;
– terms of employment, benefits, facilities and services;
– grievances and disciplinary procedures;
– dismissals and redundancies.
Date: August 2025
Tom Prichard
Managing Director