This policy covers all current and potential employees, contractors, consultants, agency workers, suppliers, candidates, examiners, customers of and visitors to Digital Ethos.

It covers discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and/or belief, sex or sexual orientation as set out in the Equality Act 2010. Digital Ethos Limited recognises that there can be differences between the physical sex and gender assigned at birth and an individual’s gender identity/expression, therefore, this policy also covers discrimination on the basis of a person’s gender identity.

This policy should be read in conjunction with the Equal Opportunities Policy.

Digital Ethos (“DE”), recognises that providing equality of opportunity, valuing diversity and promoting a culture of inclusion are vital to our success.

We want our staff, candidates, suppliers, partners and customers to reflect the diversity of the regional, national, and international communities that we serve. We aim to be a place where people can be free to be themselves no matter what their identity or background.

By creating a working and social environment in which individuals can utilise their skills and talents to the full without fear of prejudice or harassment, we aim to create a culture where everyone can reach their fullest potential.

We will ensure that equality is embedded in all our activities, policies and decisions and will work with our partners to share good practice. Key to this is our commitment to implementing a programme of activity to progress our equality aims and objectives.

Equality is at the heart of our Mission Statement and our aim is to make full use of people’s talents and skills by creating an open and inclusive workplace culture where people from all backgrounds can work together with dignity and respect.

We will take active steps to fulfil our responsibilities and promote good practice by:

• Complying with legal obligations in a transparent manner
• Developing and publishing DE-wide diversity objectives as well as mainstreaming equality, diversity and inclusion (“EDI”) in to the Organisation’s planning process
• Publishing this policy widely amongst staff and on our website
• Assessing the impact of policies, content and working practices to identify, remove or mitigate any disadvantage to underrepresented groups or recognise any cultural or religious sensitivity or differences
• Taking action to redress any gender, racial or other imbalance highlighted from monitoring data
• Promoting awareness and understanding of EDI matters among staff and other parties through policies, training, guidance and campaigns
• Engaging with staff in respect of changes which may affect their employment
• Ensuring that staff, customers and 3rd party providers are treated fairly and judged solely on merit and by reference to their skills and abilities
• Raising awareness of our policies and commitment to EDI with external suppliers, contractors and partners and encouraging them to follow similar good practice
• Ensuring the DE offices are, as far as reasonably possible, welcoming and accessible to all
• Making sure reasonable adjustments are made, as appropriate, to enable staff and candidates with disabilities or additional needs to overcome barriers in the working, learning and social environment
• Ensure compliance with employment and equal opportunity legislation and regulations in the countries in which DE works
• Ensuring staff and other parties are provided with appropriate tools so that they feel confident to discuss EDI issues and raise any concerns
• Dealing with potential and actual acts of discrimination, harassment and bullying appropriately under relevant DE policy and taking appropriate action where necessary

This Policy will be implemented through an Equality and Diversity Committee within DE. Progress against actions and objectives will also be reported to the Executive Management Team on a regular basis.

We will assess the impact of this Policy by monitoring as follows:

The HR Department will collect and analyse monitoring data on staff and report this information annually to the Executive Management Team.

The Quality and Standards Department will coordinate the collection and analysis of candidate monitoring data.

The Marketing Team will put in place and maintain measures to ensure that, as far as possible, DE content is created in line with the provisions set out in this policy.

This Policy will be reviewed regularly to ensure that it reflects best practice and current legislation.

Digital Ethos (“DE”), recognises that providing equality of opportunity, valuing diversity and promoting a culture of inclusion are vital to our success.

We want our staff, candidates, suppliers, partners and customers to reflect the diversity of the regional, national, and international communities that we serve. We aim to be a place where people can be free to be themselves no matter what their identity or background.

By creating a working and social environment in which individuals can utilise their skills and talents to the full without fear of prejudice or harassment, we aim to create a culture where everyone can reach their fullest potential.

We will ensure that equality is embedded in all our activities, policies and decisions and will work with our partners to share good practice. Key to this is our commitment to implementing a programme of activity to progress our equality aims and objectives.

DE expects all members of its staff and wider community to treat others equitably, with dignity and respect. Anyone who believes they have been discriminated against, harassed or bullied has the right to make a complaint free from victimisation or fear of retaliation.

Please refer to staff policies for the appropriate procedure to follow.