Equal Opportunities Policy
Citroën UK Ltd is committed to providing equal opportunities in employment
and to creating an inclusive working environment, where you are encouraged and assisted
to reach your full potential.
It is the Company's policy that there should be no discrimination, harassment or
less favourable treatment of any employee or job applicant, either directly or indirectly,
on the grounds of colour, race, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or belief,
sexual orientation, gender, gender reassignment, marital, or family status, disability,
trade union membership or activity, or age.
It is also Company policy that there should be no bullying or intimidation of one
employee by another for any reason whatsoever.
This policy applies to all employees of Citroën UK Ltd, regardless of length
of service and to all job applicants. It applies to all areas of employment.
In issuing this policy, the Company has the following principal objectives:
- To encourage you take an active role in combating all forms of harassment and discrimination.
- To raise awareness of the responsibility to promote equality of opportunity in the
workplace.
- To deter you from participating in harassment or discriminatory behaviour.
- To inform you of the types of behaviour that will be deemed unacceptable, and the
steps that will be taken should such behaviour occur
- To demonstrate to you that you can rely upon the Company's support, if you are subjected
to harassment or discrimination at work.
The Company values the differences that a diverse workforce brings to the Organisation,
and believes that you have the right to be treated with both dignity and respect
at all times.
All employees, whatever their position within the Company, have a part to play in
ensuring the effective implementation of this policy.
Discrimination
Discrimination can be either ‘Direct’ or ‘Indirect’.
1. Direct Discrimination
Direct discrimination occurs when one person is treated less favourably than another,
based on inappropriate factors (such as, for example, their sex or religion). Direct
discrimination can occur unintentionally, and is often a result of ill-founded assumptions
or judgements.
Examples of direct discrimination include:
- A woman with young children fails to obtain a job because it is assumed that she
will be the primary carer for the children, and feared that she might, therefore,
be an unreliable member of staff.
- An applicant of a particular ethic background is not appointed because they might
not ‘fit in’ with the existing team.
- Failure to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate the needs of a disabled employee
or applicant.
2. Indirect Discrimination
Indirect discrimination occurs when a requirement or condition is applied equally
to everybody, but the requirement adversely affects one group more than another,
and cannot be objectively justified.
Examples of indirect discrimination include:
- Requiring everyone to work full-time could adversely affect more women than men
(as more women than men have caring responsibilities). This would be unlawful indirect
discrimination, unless there is a justifiable reason as to why the position has
to be undertaken on a full-time basis.
- Requiring all applicants for a position to have a degree, rather than the equivalent
level of experience, could adversely affect older applicants (as university education
is now far more common). This would be unlawful indirect discrimination, unless
there is a justifiable reason why the position specifically requires a degree.
Bullying and Harassment
Bullying is offensive, intimidating, malicious, threatening or insulting behaviour,
or an abuse or misuse of power which is meant to undermine, humiliate or injure
the person at the receiving end.
Harassment is any unwanted conduct which has either the purpose of, or could reasonably
be considered to have the effect of, violating a person’s dignity or creating
an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that
person, even if that effect was not intended by the person responsible for the conduct.
Behaviour which may be considered to be “common-place”, which was intended
as a joke, or was not intended to be offensive, may still amount to harassment or
bullying. Harassment may be deliberate or unconscious, open or covert, an isolated
incident or a series of repeated actions. It may also include, in certain circumstances,
conduct outside of the working environment.
Harassment based on a person’s sex, gender reassignment, race or ethnic or
national origin, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, or age is viewed
extremely seriously. Some examples of harassment are provided below.
Examples of racial harassment include:
- Abusive language and racist jokes.
- Racial name calling.
- The display or circulation of racially offensive written or visual material, including
graffiti.
- Physical threats, assault and insulting behaviour or gestures.
- Open hostility towards workers of a particular racial group.
- Unfair allocation of work and responsibilities.
Examples of sexual harassment include:
- Insensitive jokes or pranks.
- Lewd comments about appearance.
- Unnecessary bodily or physical contact.
- Displays of sexually offensive material, for example pin-ups and calendars.
- Requests for sexual favours.
- Speculation about an employee's private life and/or sexual activities.
- Threatened or actual sexual violence.
- Threat of dismissal, loss of promotion etc for refusal of sexual favours.
Examples of harassment on other grounds include:
- Abusive or insensitive language.
- Inappropriate jokes or pranks.
- Unfair allocation of work and responsibilities.
- Exclusion from normal workplace conversation or social events.
- Drawing attention to an individual’s disability / sexual orientation / religion
or belief / gender reassignment / age.
While the above section gives examples of harassment, it is not intended to be exhaustive.
Harassment of any type can take many forms, from relatively mild comments to actual
physical violence. Any incident will be considered on a case by case basis, taking
into account all the relevant facts.
Making a Complaint
It is the duty and responsibility of the Company and every employee to stop all
types of harassment, bullying, and discrimination in the workplace.
If you believe that you or a colleague is being harassed or discriminated against
contrary to this policy you can invoke the Company’s Grievance Procedure.
Every complaint will be investigated and dealt with sympathetically, without bias,
and as quickly as is reasonably practical.
Furthermore, every effort will be made to ensure that if you make a complaint in
good faith you do not suffer any further detriment because of making such a complaint.
Remedial Action
Harassment, bullying, or any form of discrimination against any other person, whether
or not they are a fellow employee, will not be tolerated under any circumstances.
Any reported incident of such behaviour will result in the Company invoking its
investigatory process and may result in disciplinary action, up to and including
summary dismissal.
Persistent harassment or discrimination, or a single act of gross harassment or
discrimination, is likely to be considered an act of gross misconduct and lead to
summary dismissal. Furthermore, they can be held personally liable for any act of
unlawful discrimination, and those who commit serious acts of harassment may also
be guilty of a criminal offence.
In the event that the complainant is found to have brought a malicious claim, or
to have contributed to the harassment, they themselves would be liable to disciplinary
action, which may include summary dismissal.
Information and Monitoring
The Company will regularly monitor the effectiveness of this policy, and will update
it as required.
To this end, job applicants may be asked to provide information such as their sex,
ethnic origin, marital status, any disability, and age. The Company will seek to
remain aware of any positive actions that could be taken to maximise the effective
application of this policy.
Should you require further details about promoting equal opportunities within the
workplace, the following sources of information may be useful: