Jaguar Land Rover and its Retailers are committed to providing equal opportunities in employment and to creating an inclusive working environment where all staff are assisted and encouraged to reach full potential.

It is 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.

There should be no bullying or intimidation for any reason. This policy applies to all employees, retailer staff and applicants in all areas of our business.

• In issuing this Apprentice Programme policy, Jaguar Land Rover has the following principal objectives:
• To encourage all staff to 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 all staff from participating in harassment or discriminatory behaviour.
• To inform all staff of the types of behaviour that will be deemed unacceptable, and the steps that will be taken should such behaviour occur.

Jaguar Land Rover values the differences that a diverse workforce brings to all organisations and believes that all have the right to be treated with both dignity and respect at all times. All employees, whatever their position, have a part to play in ensuring the effective implementation of this policy.

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 ethnic 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.

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 Jaguar Land Rover, its representatives and every employee to stop all types of harassment, bullying, and discrimination in the workplace.

If it is believed that anybody is being harassed or discriminated against contrary to this policy, anybody 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 the person identifying any issues in good faith will 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 invoking an 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

Regularly monitoring of the effectiveness of this policy will take place and it will be updated 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. Jaguar Land Rover and its retailers 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:

• www.agepositive.gov.uk (Age Diversity)
• equalityhumanrights.com (Equality and Human Rights Commission)
• stonewall.org.uk (Equality for Lesbians, Gay Men and Bisexuals)
• wnc.equalities.gov.uk (The Women’s National Commission)