Red Carnation Hotels is committed to creating a work environment that promotes equal opportunities in employment and is free of harassment and bullying, where everyone is treated with dignity and respect, avoiding unlawful discrimination against our employees or guests. The policy will be reviewed on an ongoing basis to reflect changes in the law, demographics and internal business requirements.

1. to ensure that we create a work environment that is free from discrimination, where everyone can achieve their potential

2. that everyone is treated with dignity and respect is an important aspect of ensuring equal opportunities and diversity and inclusion in employment.

3. to encourage all employees to take an active role against all forms of harassment or discrimination

4. to demonstrate to all employees that they can rely on the Company’s support in cases of harassment or discrimination

5. to be compliant with related legislation and best employment practice

This policy applies to all aspects of our working practices and therefore applies to the recruitment and selection of employees, terms and conditions of employment, training, salary, work allocation, promotion and disciplinary procedures.

To this purpose Red Carnation Hotels has an Employee Representative Group called “IDEA”, which stands for: Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity and Action.

The aim of this group is to start a conversation about how Red Carnation Hotels can become an even more inclusive employer. It creates an opportunity for all employees to get involved in promoting a diverse and inclusive workforce. The initiative aids the fair recruitment and promotion of people from all groups covered by protected characteristics and more.

It is unlawful to discriminate directly or indirectly in recruitment or employment because of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, pregnancy, maternity, race (which includes colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins), sexual orientation, religion or belief, or because someone is married or in a civil partnership. These are known as "protected characteristics".

Discrimination after employment may also be unlawful, e.g. refusing to give a reference for a reason related to one of the protected characteristics.

It is generally unlawful to discriminate directly or indirectly, harass or victimise a member of the public based on any of the protected characteristics in the provision of services or goods. It is unlawful to fail to make reasonable adjustments to overcome barriers to using services caused by disability. The duty to make reasonable adjustments includes the removal, adaptation or alteration of physical features, if the physical features make it impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled people to make use of services. In addition, service providers have an obligation to think ahead and address any barriers that may impede disabled people from accessing a service.

The Company is committed to creating a work environment free of harassment and bullying, where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. Some harassment is unlawful discrimination and serious harassment may be a criminal offence.

Harassment and bullying can have very serious consequences for individuals and the Company. Harassment or bullying may make people unhappy; may cause them stress and affect their health, family and social relationships; may affect their work performance and could cause them to leave their job. Severe cases of harassment and bullying can even lead to mental illness and suicide. Effect on us can include loss of morale, poor work performance, increased turnover of staff, legal claims and damage to our reputation. Employees found guilty of harassment or bullying may face disciplinary penalties up to and including dismissal, could be personally liable to pay compensation in legal claims, and may find their own family and social relationships are adversely affected. Serious harassment may be a criminal offence.

We will not tolerate bullying and harassment of any kind. All allegations of bullying and harassment will be investigated and, if appropriate, disciplinary action will be taken. We will also not tolerate victimisation of a person for making allegations of bullying or harassment in good faith or supporting someone to make such a complaint. Victimisation is a disciplinary offence.

The company will conduct a full training needs analysis relating to the understanding and management of diversity, integrate diversity into mainstream training and development programmes. We will undertake an audit of existing communications channels so that compliance and inclusiveness are assured; ensure that communication imagery and graphics are inclusive, and reflect and reinforce the words within this document. The company will communicate and celebrate the organisation's successes in diversity.

We will strive to avoid unlawful discrimination in all aspects of employment including recruitment, promotion, opportunities for training, pay and benefits, discipline and selection for redundancy.

Person and job specifications will be limited to those requirements that are necessary for the effective performance of the job. Candidates for employment or promotion will be assessed objectively against the requirements for the job, taking account of any reasonable adjustments that may be required for candidates with a disability. Disability and personal or home commitments will not form the basis of employment decisions except where necessary.

We will consider any possible indirectly discriminatory effect of our working practices, including the number of hours to be worked, the times at which these are to be worked and the place at which work is to be done. We will refuse requests for variations to working practices only if we have good reasons for doing so, that are unrelated to any protected characteristic. We will comply with our obligations in relation to statutory requests for contract variations and will also make reasonable adjustments to our working practices for individuals with a disability.

We will monitor the ethnic, gender and age composition of the existing workforce and of applicants for jobs (including promotion), and the number of people with disabilities within these groups, and will consider and take any appropriate action to address any problems that may be identified as a result of the monitoring process.

As part of the commitment to creating and cultivating a workplace that embraces equality, diversity and inclusion, it is important that the whole workforce takes steps to address any negative biases that limit opportunities or creativity, and that can lead to discrimination.

As part of our commitment to creating and cultivating a workplace that embraces equality, diversity and inclusion, it is important that we take steps to address any negative biases that limit opportunities or creativity, and that can lead to discrimination.

Unconscious biases will have an impact on any interactions in the workplace. All people management processes may be affected by unconscious biases, including:

· recruitment;

· day-to-day management, such as work or leave allocation;

· performance reviews;

· promotion and;

· redundancy.

While unconscious biases exist, they do not operate as an excuse to take decisions that the employee can simply attempt to justify as being out of their control. Recognising biases, or allowing others to call them out, means that they are no longer unconscious.

By acknowledging the possibility of bias in a particular situation, employees are more likely to ask themselves whether they are being fair and inclusive.

All conversations held at work, whether they are between the manager and their team, with stakeholders or with clients, must be conducted within a framework of fairness, respect and dignity. Employees should ensure that they are open to the perspectives of others; contrasting viewpoints can minimise automatic biases. Organisations that foster and further conversations about biases to cultivate a culture of proactive measures and reassurances will enable employees to call out biases when they occur.

Employees are encouraged to seek the assistance of the People and Culture department when they want advice regarding this policy. Any complaint will be investigated promptly usually within 5 working days, impartially and, so far as practical, confidentially. You can also refer to the company grievance policy for further information.