Purpose and Scope
This policy applies to all employees, workers, contractors, and job applicants at [Organisation Name]. It governs every employment decision, including recruitment, pay, hours, training, performance reviews, promotions, disciplinary actions, redundancy, and dismissals.
It covers conduct in the workplace and any work-related setting, including client sites, work events, training, and digital channels used for business.
Working through related paperwork at the same time? See also our US Anti-Harassment Policy Template, Bullying & Harassment Policy Template and UK Code of Conduct Template.
Policy Statement
[Organisation Name] bases all employment decisions strictly on merit, skills, and performance. We do not tolerate discrimination, harassment, or victimisation based on protected characteristics, whether committed by managers, colleagues, or third parties.
We build a workforce that reflects the community we serve and maintain a workplace where individual differences are valued.
Prohibited Conduct
Under the Equality Act 2010, you must not discriminate, harass, or victimise anyone based on the nine protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. Prohibited conduct includes:
- Direct discrimination: Treating someone less favourably because of a protected characteristic.
- Indirect discrimination: Applying a rule, criterion, or practice to everyone that disadvantages individuals with a protected characteristic, unless objectively justified.
- Harassment: Unwanted conduct tied to a protected characteristic that violates an individual’s dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment.
- Victimisation: Disadvantaging someone because they raised, supported, or provided evidence regarding a discrimination complaint.
- Failure to make reasonable adjustments: Failing to take reasonable steps to remove a substantial disadvantage faced by a disabled worker or job applicant.
Responsibilities
- [Role] maintains this policy, oversees ongoing compliance, and reports on implementation to [Governing Body/Role] at [Frequency].
- Managers must apply this policy consistently across all decisions, challenge non-compliant behaviour immediately, and take action without waiting for a formal complaint.
- All staff must treat colleagues, applicants, clients, and suppliers with respect and report any behaviour that falls short of this standard.
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Recruitment and Selection Procedure
- Draft job advertisements and person specifications based strictly on genuine job requirements. Do not use language that implies a preference for any demographic group.
- Publish vacancies across broad channels [List Standard Channels] to reach a wide applicant pool. Do not rely exclusively on word-of-mouth recruitment.
- Assess all candidates against standardized, published criteria using consistent core interview questions. Document the reasons for every selection decision.
- Do not ask health or disability questions before issuing a job offer, except for narrow legal exceptions (such as arranging interview adjustments).
- Provide reasonable adjustments at every stage of recruitment, including application formats, interview schedules, and physical site access.
Terms and Working Conditions
- Base pay, working hours, training opportunities, promotions, and workload allocation on consistent, recorded criteria.
- Assess flexible working requests consistently and objectively, regardless of the reason for the request.
- Direct requests for reasonable adjustments to [Role]. The organisation will consult with the individual, seek medical or specialist advice where necessary, and document agreed adjustments with a set review date.
- Review dress codes, shift patterns, and social events regularly to ensure they do not disadvantage any protected group without a genuine business need, and modify them where necessary.
Complaints Procedure
- Anyone who experiences or witnesses discrimination, harassment, or victimisation should raise the issue informally with their manager, formally through the grievance procedure, or via the bullying and harassment policy.
- Designated staff must investigate all reported complaints promptly, thoroughly, and confidentially.
- If an investigation substantiates a policy breach, management will take action under the disciplinary procedure, up to and including summary dismissal for serious offences.
- No individual will suffer retaliatory action or detriment for raising a genuine concern or participating in an investigation.
Training, Monitoring, and Review
- New staff must complete training on this policy during induction. All employees must complete mandatory refresher training at [Frequency].
- Staff involved in hiring must complete specialized selection training before conducting candidate interviews.
- Collect diversity monitoring data voluntarily, anonymize it where possible, and process it under the data protection policy.
- [Role] reviews this policy at [Frequency]. Next review due date: [Date].
FAQs on an equal opportunities and diversity
What is an equal opportunities and diversity?
An equal opportunities and diversity applies to all employees, workers, contractors, and job applicants at your organisation. It governs every employment decision, including recruitment, pay, hours, training, performance reviews, promotions, disciplinary actions, redundancy, and dismissals.
Having it written down means the same rules apply to everyone, so managers are not making judgement calls case by case under pressure.
What does an equal opportunities and diversity include?
This template covers prohibited conduct, recruitment and selection procedure, terms and working conditions and complaints procedure.
Every section is written to be filled in. The bracketed placeholders mark the decisions that are yours to make, such as timescales, approval owners and retention periods.
How to implement an equal opportunities and diversity with Whale
Copy this template into Whale and work through the bracketed placeholders so it reflects how your organisation actually operates.
Assign it to the teams it applies to so it sits where people work rather than in a shared drive, and set a review date so it gets revisited on schedule instead of quietly going out of date.
Use our templates to fast-track your documentation
Customize this template and 100s of others for free in Whale, the fastest way to get your team aligned.