Equality and diversity

Nuclear Waste Services is committed to building a great place to work where we all feel respected, included and able to perform at our best.

We will continuously drive forward to embed an organisational culture with Equality, Diversity & Inclusion at its core, ensuring everyone will be treated fairly and with respect, allowing employees to their best and bring their ‘whole self’ to work.

We commit to:

  • We’re developing a culture of respect and inclusion where diversity is embraced and people are encouraged to be their authentic self and thrive, ensuring everyone is aware of the NDA Inclusion Strategy.

  • Embed inclusion throughout the employee lifecycle ensuring that our internal procedures for recruitment, development, training, advancement and reward & recognition support the NDA Inclusion Strategy.

  • Ensuring that employees and job applicants with any of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010 have the same consideration for job vacancies as other candidates.

  • We’ll actively seek feedback on our culture through engagement and wellbeing surveys, employee listening forums, employee networks, trade union representatives and D&I champions. Employee experiences and insights will help to shape our strategy, policies and interventions and respond to complaints without prejudice or victimisation of the complainant.

  • Attracting and retaining the skills and talent we need over the coming years calls for us to be a modern and inclusive employer. We‘ll improve the diversity of our workforce as part of our journey to become representative of modern Britain, while aspiring to meet our external commitments under the Nuclear Sector Deal to improve gender balance in the sector.

  • Encourage a blended and flexible working culture that will empower and support employees mental health and wellbeing as well as supporting individuals with a disability or caring responsibilities.

The Equality Act

The Equality Act 2010 protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society. We will provide equality of opportunity protecting against discrimination relating to the following characteristics.:

  • age
  • disability
  • gender reassignment
  • marriage and civil partnership
  • pregnancy and maternity
  • race
  • religion or belief
  • sex
  • sexual orientation

The Equality Duty

The Public sector equality duty came into force on 5 April 2011. It means that public bodies have to consider all individuals when carrying out their day-to-day work – in shaping policy, delivering services and in relation to their own employees.

It also requires that public bodies have due regard for the need to:

  • eliminate discrimination
  • advance equality of opportunity
  • foster good relations between different people when carrying out their activities