Policies

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At Red Ant we are committed to

Finding, supporting and developing great people

Respecting the values of employees, providing good conditions of work and equal opportunities, improving employee satisfaction and, through training, developing their intellectual capacity to benefit them and their overall quality of life.

Encouraging high standards of professionalism throughout the company and promoting best practice in respect of ethical behaviour

Ensuring that health and safety is embedded in all activities and processes for the provision of a safe working environment, wherever that may be.

Working conditions 

We seek to ensure that the working conditions at Red Ant and our suppliers meet the standards of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights(UDHR). 

As Red Ant does, we expect our suppliers to adopt and demonstrate the following standards of social compliance: 

Child labour: organisations should ensure the effective long-term elimination of child labour, in a manner consistent with the interests of the children concerned. Children or young persons under 18 shall not be employed at night or in hazardous conditions. 

Forced labour: there should be no forced, bonded or involuntary labour and no workers are required to lodge ‘deposits’ or identity papers with their employers and should be able to leave after giving reasonable notice. 

Health, safety and hygiene: all employees should expect to work in an environment that is both safe and healthy. Adequate steps should be taken to prevent accidents occurring in the normal course of work. Workers should receive suitable health and safety training and have access to clean toilet facilities and clean drinking water as required. 

Discipline: physical abuse or discipline, the threat of physical abuse, sexual or other harassment and verbal abuse or other forms of intimidation are not acceptable. Disciplinary and grievance procedures shall be clearly documented and communicated to all employees. All disciplinary measures of a serious nature must be recorded. 

Freedom of association and employee representation: all workers and employers have the right to form and join organisations of their own choosing without prior authorisation. 

Working hours: working hours should not be excessive and shall comply with relevant national laws. Overtime should be voluntary. 

Equalityof treatment: organisations will seek to eliminate discrimination in access to employment, training and working conditions on grounds of race, colour, sex, age, religion, political opinion, national extraction, sexual orientation, disability or social origin and promote equality of opportunity and treatment. 

Remuneration: wages and benefits should meet national standards. Workers should be provided with clear written information on their pay and conditions. Excessive deductions on wages should not be permitted as a disciplinary measure. 

Employment terms: all workers should be provided with simple, written contracts which must detail the terms and conditions of their employment. Contracts should be clearly understandable to each worker. Work performed should be based on recognised employment law and practice. 

Community impact: organisations are encouraged to support the communities in which they operate through appropriate community initiatives. 

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This Equal Opportunities Policy communicates our commitment to equality of opportunity in employment, with the aim of ensuring that all employees and job applicants are treated fairly and equally, and supporting the Company’s objective of providing a working environment that is free from all forms of discrimination.

The policy applies to all staff in the Company, including employees and other workers such as agency workers, temporary workers and contractors. We expect all staff to put this policy into practice.

A copy of this policy will be distributed to all employees and can be found alongside the employee handbook - it will be made available to other workers on their engagement. Job seekers and applicants can access the policy via the Company’s website and will be sent a copy of the policy on request.  All employees will be briefed on this policy – the briefing will also be included in the induction process for new employees.

Any questions about the policy should be directed to Sarah Friswell.

This policy does not form part of employees’ contracts of employment and the Company may amend it at any time.

We review the policy annually and it may be amended at anytime.  

Policy statement

The Company is fully committed to providing equality in the workplace and all opportunities for and during employment will be given to individuals fairly and irrespective of age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race including colour, ethnic or national origins and nationality, religion or belief or sexual orientation (‘protected characteristics’). We aim to create a working environment that is free from discrimination and harassment in any form, in which all employees, clients and suppliers are treated with dignity and respect.  

The Company will not unlawfully discriminate in the arrangements we make for recruitment and selection or in the opportunities given for employment, training or any other benefit.  All decisions will be made fairly and objectively. We aim, as far as reasonably possible, to ensure that all our working practices are applied fairly and consistently and, where necessary, we will take reasonable steps to avoid or overcome any particular disadvantage these may cause and to promote equality.

Specific responsibilities

The Company has overall responsibility for the effective operation of this policy and for ensuring compliance with the Equality Act 2010 and associated legislation and for observing relevant Codes of Practice.

The Leadership Team is responsible for monitoring and reviewing the policy and for ensuring that all employment-related policies, procedures and practices adhere to this policy.  

All staff have a responsibility not to discriminate against or harass other staff, clients and suppliers and if they become aware of it, to report any such behaviour to a member of the Leadership Team.

Directors are responsible for implementing the Equal Opportunities Policy and must apply the policy as part of their day-to-day management of the Company.  

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These are forms of discrimination that this policy aims toavoid:  

Direct discrimination occurs when a person is treated lessf avourably because of a protected characteristic that they either have or are thought to have. Direct discrimination can also occur by way of association, which is when a person is treated less favourably because, for example, their spouse or partner or other relative has the protected characteristic.  

Indirect discrimination occurs when a provision, criterion or practice is applied equally to everyone, but has a disproportionately adverse effect on people who share a particular protected characteristic.  A person with the protected characteristic who is disadvantaged in that way has the right to complain.  

To be justified, the provision,criterion, or practice must be necessary for legitimate business reasons in circumstances where less discriminatory alternatives are not reasonably available.  

Victimisation occurs where someone is treated unfavourably because they have raised a complaint under this policy or taken legal action against the Company in relation to any alleged act of unlawful discrimination, or because they have supported someone else in doing this.

Harassment is unwanted conduct that violates an individual’s dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile,degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. Harassment can take many different forms and may involve inappropriate actions, behaviour, comments, emails or physical contact that cause offence or are objectionable.  

Harassment may involve a single incident or persistent behaviour that extends over a period of time and can occur even if someone did not mean to cause offence. It also means that a person can be subjected to harassment by behaviour that is not aimed at them directly but which they nonetheless find unpleasant.

Harassment is always unacceptable and where it relates to a protected characteristic it will amount to an unlawful act of discrimination.  

Discrimination arising from disability - In addition to the above,it is unlawful to treat a person unfavourably because of something that is the result, effect or outcome of their disability, unless the treatment is necessary and can be objectively justified. Employers also have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled applicants, employees or other workers are not substantially disadvantaged.

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There are a number of ways in which the Company aims toensure equal opportunities in the workplace, including:  

Recruitment and selection

Recruitment and selection procedures will be free from bias or discrimination and conducted objectively, based on specific and reasonable job-related criteria. Decisions regarding an individual’s suitability for a particular role will be based on aptitude and ability.  

We will consider making appropriate reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process to ensure that disabled applicants are not substantially disadvantaged.

Wherever possible, vacancies will be advertised as being suitable for flexible working, to encourage applicationsfrom people seeking part-time work or job shares.

Career development and training

All staff will be given an appropriate induction to enable them to fulfil the responsibilities of their role.  

All employees will be encouraged to develop their full potential and we will not unreasonably deny an employee access to training or other career development opportunities. These will be identified as part of an ongoing performance management process and will be determined objectively, taking into account the needs of the business and available resources.  

Selection for promotion will be based on objective criteria and decisions will be made on the basis of merit.

Terms and conditions

Our terms and conditions of service will be applied fairly and benefits and facilities will be made available to all staff who should have access to them, as appropriate.  

The Company operates a pay and benefits system that is transparent, based on objective criteria and free frombias to ensure that all employees are rewarded fairly for their contribution.

Terms and conditions of employment for part-time employeeswill be provided on a pro-rata basis to full time employees.

Employment policies and practices

The Company aims to ensure that employment policies and practices, including any rules or requirements, do not directly or indirectly discriminate and are applied in a non-discriminatory manner. In particular we will ensure that all disciplinary decisions are fair and consistent and that selection for redundancy is based on objective criteria.

The Company will consider making appropriate reasonable adjustments to the working environment or any work arrangements that would alleviate any substantial disadvantage to disabled staff.  

We will aim as far as reasonably possible to accommodate the requirements of different religions and cultures and will consider requests from employees to vary or change their working hours to enable them to care for a dependant.

Working environment

All individuals have a right to be treated with dignity and respect and the Company takes reasonable steps to protect staff from discrimination, bullying or harassment and, in the event of a complaint, we will take appropriate action to prevent, as far as possible, a further occurrence.    

All staff are encouraged to report any incidents of inappropriate or unacceptable behaviour that happens at work or during the course of employment, on or off premises, including at work social events (whether organised by the Company or not) or at formal or informal events involving staff, clients or other work-related contacts.  

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The Company will monitor the effectiveness of this policy to ensure it is achieving its objectives.  

As part of this process we monitor:

the composition of job applicants and decisions in recruitment    

the composition of our workforce  

access to training, promotion and other opportunities and benefits

the impact of our employment policies, including use of the disciplinary and grievance procedure

dismissals and other terminations  

Information collected for monitoring purposes will be treated as confidential and will not be used for any other purpose.  

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If you believe you have been discriminated against, you should raise the matter following the Company’s grievance procedure, a copy of which can be found in the Employee Handbook.  

Any employee who is found to have committed an act of discrimination, or breached this policy in any other way, will be subject to action under the disciplinary procedure, up to and including dismissal. Non– employees will be subject to appropriate formal action that may, depending on the circumstances, involve terminating any contract or agreement.  

The Company will also take seriously any malicious or, in its opinion, unwarranted allegations of discrimination and will take appropriate action, disciplinary or otherwise, where necessary.

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We’re committed to diversity, equity and inclusion across the business, and we’re proud to be an employee-owned business with a team that comprises:  

59%women across all roles from boardroom to developers, including our CEO  

a wide range of ages – school leavers up to 50+, some who have worked for thecompany for 10 + years and others who have joined straight from education or aspart of an apprenticeship, opening up opportunities for people without traditional work histories  

women returners/career changers who were actively recruited for their life skills as well as work skills  

a truly diverse group of people from around the world who are both neurotypical and non-neurotypical  

Working practices 

We have introduced working practices that support women and those with caring responsibilities:  

core hours are designed to enable parents and carers to spend time with their families when they need it most at the beginning and end of the day, including the opportunity to work a nine day fortnight.  

hybrid working patterns mean that the team spends at least some of the week working from home, which makes a significant difference to childcare arrangements and their cost as well as other responsibilities including caring for elderly relatives  

we’re always prepared to discuss and develop roles to support people’s lives outside work – for example, adapting responsibilities and meeting attendance to accommodate child or parent care 

Ongoing support  

Weknow how important it is for our culture and wellbeing to provide ongoing support to the team.  

Our programme for new joiners includes:  

regular team-based catch-ups to make sure they’re happy with their role and what’s being asked of them  

ongoing one-to-ones with their direct managers to make sure everything is on track and to give them the opportunity to bring up any issues or challenges 

Our open structure and active encouragement of feedback throughout the business ensures that we continue to have open, honest and, ultimately, more productive relationships with each other and our clients. 

Safe spaces and mental health awareness  

Because we have such a diverse team, we recognise the importance of providing a safespace for people to reach their full potential and be themselves without judgement or discrimination. We also have a comprehensive programme for supporting and spreading awareness of mental health issues on both a team and individual level, and a number of employees are mental health first aiders. We believe this kind of security makes for a truly honest way of working which brings clarity to both relationships within the team and working styles within projects. It also allows us to identify where people may need more help and support, giving us the opportunity to work with them to overcome any challenges before they feel overwhelmed.  

Open door, open mind approach to supporting team needs on a personal level  

We recognise that we are all individuals with different working styles and unique needs, based on our roles, talents and preferences. We adopt an open door, open mind policy based on encouraging people to talk about their needs, listening to what they have to say and, where possible, making changes to support them.