At the heart of everything Marston's stands for as a Company is people. The beer we barrel, the food we serve, the environments we create and the moments our customers share in our pubs – everything is focused around our extended community. Catering for the preferences of many different people (be it employees or customers) is therefore fundamental to our business and it is essential that we consider diversity in our decision-making processes.
Our focus has been on engaging with the uniqueness and talents, beliefs, backgrounds, capabilities and ways of working of individuals as well as continually developing an inclusive culture in which all people are valued and respected. By embracing employee diversity and inclusion, we know we can draw on the best talent, contribution and commitment from all backgrounds.
This policy aims to create a framework within which everyone can work together with respect for each other and with equality of opportunity. As a Company, it is up to every single one of us to ensure we are guided by this framework to create an environment where all views, beliefs and differences (of ourselves and our customers) are fully embraced.
As with all of our policies, this policy is underpinned by our ways of working.
We want our people to feel valued for their efforts and have the opportunity to discuss their performance, development needs and what's important to their career.
We want to recognise and celebrate their strengths, helping them to make the most of their talents and achievements.
We want our people to reach their full potential, achieve their career goals and strive to be the best they can be.
We want to identify and develop talented people, who help our business grow and contribute to Marston's continued success.
We recognise the importance that equality legislation has to play in promoting equality and eliminating unlawful discrimination and will meet all of our legal requirements. Our Equal Opportunities Policy covers our approach to the characteristics that are protected by the Equality Act 2010: Age, Disability, Gender reassignment, Marriage or civil partnership, Pregnancy and maternity, Race, Religion or belief, Sex and Sexual orientation. The Equal Opportunities Policy also covers our commitment to not discriminating in the areas of recruitment, selection, promotion, transfer, training, access to benefits and services, discipline or dismissal and selection for redundancy.
In addition, we will not tolerate our people being subjected to physical, sexual, racial, psychological, verbal, or any other form of harassment, bullying or abuse. Any such actions will be dealt with under the Company's disciplinary procedure.
Finally we also seek to exceed our legal obligations. Our business functions with people at our heart and we understand that simply having diversity in our workforce is not enough; we must create an inclusive environment where all people can contribute their best work.
To continue to develop our culture of inclusivity, our key 5 principles are as follows
Every one of us is required to play our own individual role in enabling the Company to meet its commitment to provide equal opportunities in employment, avoid unlawful discrimination, enable our company to be reflective of our customers and communities as well as fostering a culture that is inclusive to all, fully utilising and celebrating the talents of all.
To demonstrate our commitment to diversity and inclusion, we will be taking a phased approach over the course of 12 -24 months. We aim to ensure this commitment is reflected in both how we attract external talent into the business and how we nurture and develop people internally once with us.
We commit to a full review of our people policies and practises to ensure they are aligned and consistently support our focus on diversity and inclusion. Our updated Equal Opportunities Policy complements this Diversity and Inclusion Policy, and (alongside our Grievance Policy) provides specific detail on the process individuals should follow if they believe there has been an instance of unlawful discrimination.
We commit to reporting on diversity and incorporating this into our ongoing talent analysis process. We will use these trends and insights to identify any potential factors that impact on our ability to create an inclusive environment for all, and ensure action planning takes place to address these factors.
We commit to reviewing and reporting on the diversity balance of our recruitment shortlists. We will use this insight to ensure suitable interventions are in place to address knowledge, skill or behaviour gaps that impact upon our ability to create an inclusive environment for all. We will explore opportunities to connect externally, such as through the Apprenticeship Diversity Champions Network.
After this initial 12-month period we commit to using ongoing reporting and annual action planning to ensure we continue to drive forward. We aim to make a meaningful difference, and understand the importance of using data to help us focus our efforts on the most appropriate initiatives.