Set up employment policies for your business

Workers are protected from discrimination on a wide range of grounds, eg gender, sexual orientation, and age. See how to prevent discrimination and value diversity.

Business benefits of promoting diversity

Many successful businesses go much further and actively promote diversity in both their strategic and human resources policies. If you value everyone as an individual, research shows that diversity can help stimulate creative interaction, motivate employees, and improve business performance.

If you do not yet have an equality and diversity policy in place, you could find it a useful management and recruitment tool. It should:

• explain your business' stance on diversity
• show how you intend to achieve a diverse working environment
• describe how managers and staff can participate in the business's commitment to diversity both within and outside the organisation

It's therefore important that workers contribute to the policy-making process. You can do this by asking them for their views on, for example:

• promoting good relationships in the workplace between individuals, managers, teams, and employers
• treating all workers fairly
• valuing and respecting differences
• understanding workers' needs to balance work and family commitments
• how to communicate with individuals through formal and informal communication channels

Equality guidance for small businesses

The Equality Commission supports businesses and helps to promote good practice in equality, diversity, and inclusion. Read the Equality Commission guidance for small businesses.