Introduction

 

Orchard Professional Solutions Limited is committed to presenting equal opportunities for all employees, workers and applicants. We provide services which embrace diversity and which promote quality of opportunity in all aspects of recruitment to avoid unlawful or undesirable discrimination

 

Orchard Professional Solutions Limited is committed to diversity and will promote diversity for all employees, workers and applicants and shall adhere to this policy at all times. We will review on an ongoing basis all aspects of recruitment to avoid unlawful or undesirable discrimination. Orchard Professional Solutions Ltd are an equal opportunity employer and will considered all applicants of employment without attention to gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, age, disability, colour, race, nationalist, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, political beliefs or membership or non-members of a Trade Union or spent convictions, and places an obligation upon all staff to respect and act in accordance with this policy. Orchard Professional Solutions Limited shall avoid stipulating any unnecessary requirements which would exclude a higher proportion of a particular gender, sexual orientation, age, religion or racial group or which would exclude disabled Job applicants; and will avoid prescribing any requirements as to marital or civil partnership status.

 

Orchard Professional Solutions Limited shall not discriminate unlawfully when deciding which candidate is submitted for a vacancy or assignment. Orchard Professional Solutions Limited will ensure that each candidate is assessed only in accordance with the candidate’s merits, qualifications and ability to perform the relevant duties required by the particular vacancy

 

Orchard Professional Solutions Limited will not accept instructions from Clients that indicate an intention to discriminate unlawfully.

 

DISCRIMIATION

 

Direct Discrimination

 

Direct Discrimination occurs where one individual treats or would treat another individual less favourably because of sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership, age disability, colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or beliefs (“the protected categories”)

 

It is unlawful for a recruitment agency consultancy to discriminate against a person on the grounds of a protected category;

 

• • In the terms of which the recruitment consultancy offers to provide any of its services;

  • By refusing or deliberately committing to prove any of its services;

  • In the way it provides any of its services

 

Direct discrimination would also occur id a recruitment consultancy accepted and acted upon a job registration from an employer which states that certain persons are unacceptable due to a protected category, unless one of the exceptions apples, for instance, the job demands a genuine occupational requirement irrespective of in the case of age, the discrimination can be lawfully justified.

 

Indirect Discrimination

 

Indirect discrimination occurs when an agency or employer applies a provision, criterion or practice generally, which disadvantages a minority group in the community on the basis of a protected category. Indirect Discrimination would also occur if a recruitment consultant accepted and acted upon an indirectly discriminatory instruction from an employer.

 

If the vacancy requires characteristics which amount to a genuine occupational requirement or the instruction is lawfully discriminatory due to a statutory exception or objective justification, Orchard Professional Solutions Limited will not deal further with the vacancy unless the Client provides written confirmation of such genuine occupational requirement, exception or justification

 

DISABLED PERSONS

 

Discrimination

 

Direct discrimination against a person occurs where, a person is treated less favourably because of disability, either their own or because someone they are associated with has a disability.

 

Indirect Discrimination

 

Indirect Discrimination occurs when a practice, criterion or provision which cannot be objectively justified is applied to everyone but results in a person(s) with a disability being placed at a disadvantage

 

Orchard Professional Solutions Limited will not discriminate against a disabled person on the grounds of disability;

 

• • In all stages (application forms, interviews or selection) for determining to whom a job should be offered; or

  • In the terms on which employment or engagement of temporary workers is offered; or

  • By refusing to offer, or deliberately not offering the disabled person a job for reasons connected with their disability; or

  • In the opportunities afforded to the person for receiving any benefit, or by refusing to afford, or deliberately not affording them any such opportunity; or

  • By subjecting them to any other detriment (detriment will include refusal of training or transfer, demotion, reduction of wage or harassment)

 

Orchard Professional Solutions Limited will accordingly make career opportunities available to all people with disabilities and every practical effort will be made to provide for the needs of staff, candidates and Clients.

 

Wherever possible Orchard Professional Solutions  Limited will make reasonable adjustments to hallways, passages and doors in order to provide and improve means of access for disabled employees and workers. However, this may not always be feasible, due to circumstances creating such difficulties as to render such adjustments as being beyond what is reasonable in all the circumstances. 

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AGE DISCRIMINATION

 

Orchard Professional Solutions Limited will not discriminate directly or indirectly , harass or victimise any person on the grounds of their age. We will encourage Clients not to include any age criteria in job specifications and every attempt will be made to persuade Clients to recruit on the basis of competence and skills and not age.

 

Orchard Professional Solutions  Limited is committed to recruiting and retaining employees whose skills, experience and attitude are suitable for the requirements of the various positions regardless of age.

 

No age requirements will be stated in any job advertisements on behalf of the company.

 

As part of Orchard Professional Solutions Limited’s commitment to equal opportunities it is part of our recruitment process to obtain the date of birth of applicants, however such information will not be used as election, training or promotion criteria or in any detrimental way an dis only for compilation of personal data, which the company holds on all employees and workers and is part of its equal opportunities monitoring process.

 

BULLYING AND HARASSMENT

 

Orchard Professional Solutions Limited is committed to providing a work environment free from bullying and harassment. Any form of bullying or harassment on grounds of sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, divinity, colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, political belies or any other basis protected by legislation is unlawful and will not be tolerated by Orchard Professional Solutions  Limited.

 

The policy prohibits bullying or harassment by any employee irrespective of work of Orchard Professional Solutions  Limited. Examples of prohibited bullying and/or harassment are;

 

• • verbal or written conduct containing derogatory jokes or comments;

  • Slurs or unwanted sexual advances;

  • Visual conduct such as derogatory or sexually oriented posters;

  • Photographers, cartoons, drawings or gestures;

  • Physical conduct such as assault, unwanted touching, or anything interference because of sex, race or any other protected basis;

  • Threats and demands to submit to sexual requests as a condition of continued employment or to avoid some other loss, and offers of employment benefits in return for sexual favours;

  • Retaliation for having reported or threatened to report harassment

 

If you believe that you have been subjected to any form of bullying or harassment, you should report this immediately to the HE department followed by a written complaint as soon as possible after the incident.  Your complaint should include;

 

• • Details of the incident;

  • The name(s) of the individual(s) involved

  • The name(s) of a witness(es)

 

Orchard Professional Solutions Limited will undertake a thorough investigation of the allegations. If it is concluded that any bullying or harassment haas occurred, appropriate action will be taken.

 

Any employee who Orchard Professional Solutions Limited finds to be responsible for bullying or harassment will be subject to our disciplinary procedures which may be considered as gross misconduct, leading to termination of assignment / contract.

 

GENDER REASSIGNMENT

 

Orchard Professional Solutions Limited recognises that an employee or worker may wish to change there gender during he course of their employment with the company and we will support any employee or work through the reassignment. We will make every effort to try to protect an employee or worker, who has undergone, undergoing or intends to undergo gender reassignment, from discrimination or harassment within the workplace. All employees and workers will be expected to comply with Orchard Professional Solutions Limited’s policy on harassment in the workplace. Any breach of this policy will lead to the appropriate disciplinary sanction.

 

Where an employee is engaged in work where the gender imposes genuine problems, Orchard Professional Solutions Limited will make evert effort to reassign the employee or worker to an alternative role in the company, if so desired by the employee. Any employee or worker suffering discrimination on the grounds of gender reassignment should make recourse of the company’s grievance procedure.

 

PART TIIME WORKERS

 

This Equality & Diversity Policy also cover the treatment of those employees and workers who work on a part-time basis, Orchard Professional Solutions Limited recognises that it is an essential part of this policy that Part Time employees are treated on the same terms, with no detriment, as full time employees (albeit on a pro rata basis) in matters such as rates of pay, holiday entitlement, parental leave, parental and domestic incident leave and access to the pension scheme. Orchard Professional Solutions also recognises that part time employees must be treated the same as full time employees in relation to training and redundancy situations.