01Our commitment
The Oyster Partnership Limited is committed to equality of opportunity, to eliminating discrimination and to building a diverse and inclusive business, for our own people and for every candidate, worker, client and supplier we deal with.
We comply with the Equality Act 2010 and treat everyone equally regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race (including colour, nationality and ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation: the protected characteristics.
This policy applies to everything we do: how we recruit and employ our own staff; how we source, assess, present and place candidates; how we work with clients and suppliers; and how we behave inside and outside the workplace, online and at work related events.
02What we will not tolerate
We do not permit, and the law prohibits, any of the following by our staff or on our behalf:
Direct discrimination. Treating someone less favourably because of a protected characteristic, for example rejecting a candidate because of their religion or because of who they might be attracted to.
Indirect discrimination. Applying a rule or requirement to everyone that puts people with a protected characteristic at a disadvantage and cannot be justified, for example requiring a language test the job does not need.
Harassment. Unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic, including sexual harassment, that violates someone’s dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
Victimisation. Treating someone badly because they have complained about discrimination or harassment, or supported someone else’s complaint.
Disability discrimination. Including a failure to make reasonable adjustments to remove the disadvantage a disability causes.
03How this shapes our recruitment
As a recruitment business, the biggest impact we can have is in how candidates are found, assessed and put forward. We commit that:
- Every selection decision we make, for our own roles and for clients, is based on merit against objective, job related criteria.
- Our advertising is written to reach a diverse labour market and avoids wording that could discourage any group from applying.
- We do not ask candidates questions that could suggest an intention to discriminate, such as whether they are pregnant or plan to have children.
- We do not ask about health or disability before an offer is made, except in the narrow circumstances the law allows: to establish whether adjustments are needed for an interview, or whether an intrinsic requirement of the job can be met with adjustments.
- We will not act on an instruction from a client to select or reject candidates on the basis of a protected characteristic, or on any instruction that would have that effect, unless a lawful exception applies. We will explain why, and we will decline the instruction.
- Where a client asks us to carry out equal opportunities monitoring for an assignment, we do so on an anonymous basis and never use monitoring data in selection decisions.
- Part time, fixed term and agency workers are treated no less favourably than comparable full time or permanent staff.
04Reasonable adjustments
If you have a disability or health condition, we encourage you to tell your consultant so we can consider what adjustments or support would help, at any stage from first contact through to starting a role. You do not have to disclose a condition to ask for an adjustment. Our Accessibility Statement sets out the kinds of support we can arrange.
05Preventing sexual harassment
Under the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 we have a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of our staff, including by candidates, clients and other third parties. We take that duty seriously. Our steps include a clear Anti-Harassment and Bullying Policy, training for all staff at induction and annually, a confidential reporting route, risk assessment of situations where harassment is more likely (such as client site visits, events and social occasions), and a commitment to act on every report, including where the person responsible is a client or candidate.
06Building an inclusive business
- We monitor the diversity of our own workforce and of the candidates we place, on an anonymous basis, and use the results to identify where we are falling short.
- We use positive action where the law allows it: encouraging applications from under represented groups and supporting their development, without lowering the standard for selection.
- We train every member of staff on this policy at induction and refresh it annually through the Oyster Academy.
- We hold Investors in People Platinum accreditation, which independently assesses how we lead, support and develop our people.
07Raising a concern
If you believe you have experienced or witnessed discrimination, harassment or victimisation in your dealings with Oyster, tell your consultant, or email info@oysterpartnership.com marked “Complaint”. Concerns are investigated in confidence under our Customer Care and Complaints Policy, and you will not be treated less favourably for raising one. Our own staff raise concerns through our internal Grievance Procedure.
Breaches of this policy by our staff are dealt with under our Disciplinary Procedure. Deliberate discrimination is gross misconduct and may result in dismissal.
08Accountability
This policy is owned by Alex Willshere, Director of Talent, Performance & L&D and approved by the Board. It is reviewed annually, and last reviewed in September 2026. It sits alongside our Anti-Harassment and Bullying Policy, our Modern Slavery Statement, our Privacy Notice and our Accessibility Statement.