Health & Safety Policy
Statement of Intent
The management of Addison Lee looks upon the promotion of health and safety measures as a mutual objective for themselves and their employees. It also acknowledges its obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety Regulations 1999.
It is the policy of Addison Lee to do everything, so far as is reasonably practicable, to prevent personal injury and damage to property and to protect everyone, including the public, in so far as they come into contact with the company or its activities, from any foreseeable hazard and danger.
In particular, the management recognises its responsibility:
• To provide and maintain safe and healthy working conditions.
• To provide training and instruction to enable employees to perform their work safely.
• To maintain a continuing and progressive interest in health and safety.
• To take into account all statutory requirements for health and safety.
• To consult with and involve employees in health and safety matters wherever possible.
• To ensure a safe environment for all learners or other external parties whilst on our premises.
The management of Addison Lee also recognises that its employees have a duty to co-operate in implementation of health and safety policies by:
• Working safely
• Meeting their statutory duties
• Reporting incidents that have led, or may lead to injury or damage.
• Following the health and safety procedures and safe systems of work
The Health and Safety Policy Manual will be revised as often as may be deemed necessary and will take into consideration changes or additions to statutory safety requirements or modifications to our operating procedures. The policy will be reviewed on an annual basis.
As part of the company's continual improvement safety objectives, it is one of the first organisations to comply with the requirements of BS OHSAS 18001:2007, the occupational health and safety assessment standard.
The overall responsibility for compliance with Addison Lee’s Health and Safety Policy rests with the Managing Director.
Quality Policy
Quality
Addison Lee aims to provide a prompt, efficient and professional passenger and parcel service to all our clients.
We are committed to continually looking for ways to improve the quality of service offered to our clients, through investment in technological advancements and effective training of staff. Our quality statement is:
“Who cares wins”.
It is the policy of Addison Lee to establish and maintain effective and efficient documented quality management systems appropriate to our business sector, such that the services provided to our clients satisfy and fulfill all contractual and quality related obligations. It is also our policy to conform to all statutory and regulatory requirements, national and international standards and industry practices applicable in the UK.
Objectives
• To maintain efficient and effective quality management systems and to keep them under regular top management review as a basis for improvement.
• To provide a service which satisfies clients, employees, contractors and other interested parties’ needs and expectations using preventive methods and practices.
• To seek to achieve continual improvement.
Commitment
The directors of Addison Lee Plc will:
• Provide the necessary resources to maintain the quality management systems and develop new and innovative ideas.
• Communicate our policy requirements and objectives to all staff and those working on our behalf.
• Ensure that all staff are competent on the basis of appropriate education, training, skills and experience to enable us achieve our objectives.
To ensure compliance with the stated objectives, the company operates documented quality management systems to ISO 9001: 2000. These are registered with accredited bodies that carry out regular surveillance to ensure continuing conformity.
Training Policy
Addison Lee is committed to providing high quality training and staff development programs for all our staff and drivers.
Our main focus is with our drivers and telephonists who are at the forefront of our business and deliver high quality services to our customers.
Specifically, Addison Lee will:
• Train our drivers and couriers to the highest standard with the use of our modern dedicated driver training facility.
• Ensure our drivers undertake training on health & safety, discrimination and customer service issues.
• Provide staff training at all levels through our in house training programs.
• Ensure effective assessment of the training needs of our staff and drivers.
• Provide and maintain safety and specific job training for equipment and associated operating procedures.
• Identify substances that are potentially hazardous to health and make sure any member of staff dealing with these as a part of their job is aware of the risk they may pose.
• Provide information, instruction, training and supervision to make sure everyone is able to carry out their work safely. These will be refreshed annually or when anything that could affect health and safety changes significantly.
• Set targets for continuous improvement within the bounds of our strict Public Carriage Office licensing program.
• Audit our training systems for effectiveness and compliance with ISO 9001, 14001, and 18001, identifying where we could do things better and implement improvement plans. These audits will be carried out by the Training and Quality Manager and overseen by the Managing Director.
The success of this policy, which will be reviewed at least once a year, relies on everyone being actively involved. We all have a valuable role to play in showing that quality training at work is good business.
Working in this way, we're sure we can continue to build the ideals and success that Addison Lee has enjoyed for the past 33 years.
Equal Opportunities & Discrimination Policy
1. General
1.1 Addison Lee is committed to a policy of equal opportunities for all employees, workers and applicants and shall adhere to such a policy at all times. The policy will be reviewed on an ongoing basis on all aspects of recruitment to avoid unlawful or undesirable discrimination. Addison Lee will treat everyone equally irrespective of sex, sexual orientation, marital status, age, disability, race, colour, ethnic or national origin, religion, political beliefs or membership or non-membership of a trade union and places an obligation upon all staff to respect and act in accordance with the policy. Addison Lee is committed to providing training for its entire staff in equal opportunities practice.
1.2 Addison Lee shall not discriminate unlawfully when deciding which candidate/temporary worker is submitted for a vacancy or assignment, or in any terms of employment or terms of engagement for temporary workers. Addison Lee PLC will ensure that each candidate is assessed only in accordance with the candidate's merits, qualification and ability to perform the relevant duties required by the particular vacancy.
1.3 Addison Lee will not accept instructions from clients that indicate an intention to discriminate unlawfully.
2. Sex and race discrimination
Unlawful sex or race discrimination occurs in the following circumstances:
2.1. Direct discrimination
Under the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Race Relations Act 1976, direct discrimination occurs where one individual treats another individual less favourably on grounds of their sex or race than he treats, or would treat, other persons.
It is unlawful for a recruitment consultancy to discriminate against a person on the grounds of their sex, colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origins:
• in the terms on which the recruitment consultancy offers to provide any of its services;
• by refusing or omitting to provide any of its services;
• in the way it provides any of its services.
Direct discrimination would also occur if a recruitment consultancy accepted and acted upon a job registration from an employer which states that certain persons are unacceptable because of their sex, colour, race, nationality, or ethnic or national origins, unless one of the exceptions applies.
2.2. Indirect discrimination
A claim of indirect discrimination arises when an employer applies a requirement or condition generally, but which is such a proportion of persons from one racial group who can comply with it is considerably smaller than the proportion of persons not of that racial group who can comply with it.
Indirect discrimination would also occur if a recruitment consultancy accepted and acted upon an indirectly discriminatory instruction from an employer.
Addison Lee will not discriminate unlawfully when selecting candidates or temporary workers for submission or a vacancy or assignment or in any terms of employment or terms of engagement for temporary workers.
If the vacancy falls within the definition of a genuine occupational qualification or any other statutory exception Addison Lee will not deal further with the vacancy unless the client provides written confirmation of the genuine occupational qualification.
3. Disability discrimination
Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, disability discrimination occurs if for a reason which relates to the disabled person's disability an individual:
• treats him less favourably than he treats, or would treat, others to whom that reason does not or would not apply, and,
• the employer cannot show that the treatment in question is justified.
Addison Lee will not discriminate against a disabled job applicant or employee on the grounds of disability -
• in the arrangements i.e. application form, interview and arrangements for selection for determining to whom a job should be offered; or
• in the terms on which employment or engagement of temporary workers is offered; or
• by refusing to offer, or deliberately not offering the disabled person a job for reasons connected with their disability; or
• in the opportunities afforded to the person for receiving any benefit, or by refusing to afford, or deliberately not affording him or her any such opportunity; or
• by subjecting him or her to any other detriment (detriment will include refusal of training, transfer, demotion, reduction of wage; or harassment).
Addison Lee will accordingly make career opportunities available to all people with disabilities and every practical effort will be made to provide for the needs of staff, candidates and clients.
Wherever possible, Addison Lee will make reasonable adjustments to hallways, passages and doors in order to provide and improve means of access for disabled employees and workers. However, this may not always be feasible.
4. Age discrimination
Addison Lee will encourage clients not to include any age criteria or other subjective criteria in job specifications and every attempt will be made to persuade clients to recruit on the basis of competence and skill and not age.
Addison Lee is committed to recruiting and retaining employees whose skills, experience and attitude are appropriate to the requirements of the various positions regardless of age.
As far as is reasonably possible, and in the most exceptional circumstances, no age requirements will be stated in any job advertisements on behalf of the company
Addison Lee will request age as part of its recruitment process but information will not be used in any detrimental way and is for compilation of personal data, which the company holds on all employees and workers.
5. Complaints and monitoring procedures
Addison Lee PLC has in place procedures for dealing with complaints of discrimination. These are available from Lee Wickens and will be made available immediately upon request.
6. Part-time workers
This Equal Opportunities Policy also covers the treatment of those employees and workers who work on a part-time basis. Addison Lee recognises that it is an essential part of this policy that part-time employees are treated on the same terms as full-time employees (albeit on a pro rata basis) in matters such as rates of pay, holiday entitlement, maternity leave, parental and domestic incident leave and access to Addison Lee’s pension scheme. Addison Lee also recognises that part-time employees must be treated the same as full-time employees in relation to training and redundancy situations.
7. Harassment policy
7.1 Addison Lee PLC is permitted to providing a work environment free from unlawful harassment.
Harassment because of race, colour, creed, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, age or religion or any other basis protected by legislation is unlawful and will not be tolerated by Addison Lee.
7.2 This policy prohibits unlawful harassment by any employee or worker of Addison Lee.
7.3 Examples of prohibited harassment are:-
7.3.1 Verbal or written conduct containing derogatory jokes or comments
7.3.2 Slurs or unwanted sexual advances
7.3.3 Visual conduct such as derogatory or sexually orientated posters
7.3.4 Photographs, cartoons, drawings or gestures,
7.3.5 Physical conduct such as assault, unwanted touching, or any interference because of sex, race or any other protected basis
