As a responsible employer and major contractor to the Public Sector, PSFR has developed a range of policies relating to employee wellbeing and our interaction with the environment and the community.

We outline below our policies on:

Equal Opportunities
The Environment
Sustainability
Health and Safety

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES POLICY AND CODES OF PRACTICE

PSFR is committed in its pursuit of excellence to equality of opportunity and to a pro-active and inclusive approach to equality, which supports and encourages all under-represented groups, promotes an inclusive culture, and values diversity.
The Company is therefore committed to a policy and practice which require that entry into employment with the Company and progression within employment will be determined only by personal merit and by the application of criteria which are related to the duties and conditions of each particular post and the needs of the duties concerned.
Subject to statutory provisions no applicant for employment will be treated less favourably than another on the grounds of sex (including gender reassignment), marital or parental status, race, ethnic or national origin, colour, disability, sexual orientation, religion, or age. For staff, ability to perform the job, will be the primary consideration.
If any person considers that he or she is suffering from unequal treatment on any of the above grounds in his or her admission, appointment, or progression through the Company, he or she may make a complaint, which will be dealt with through the agreed procedures for complaints or grievances or the procedures for dealing with bullying and harassment, as appropriate.

The Company will take active steps to promote good practice. In particular it will:

  • Promote equality of opportunity
  • Promote good relations between people of different racial groups, between women and men and between disabled and non-disabled people
  • Have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination on grounds of race, sex, disability, and all other grounds set out in the statement on equal opportunities
  • Subject its policies to continuous assessment in order to examine how they affect all under-represented groups, especially ethnic minority students and staff, women, and disabled students and staff, and to identify whether its policies help to achieve equality of opportunity for all these groups, or whether they have an adverse impact
  • Monitor the recruitment and progress of all staff, paying particular attention to the recruitment and progress of ethnic minority staff, women, and disabled students and staff.
  • Promote an inclusive culture, and good management practice, through the development of codes of best practice, policies, and training.
  • Take positive action wherever possible to support this policy and its aims.
  • Publish this policy widely amongst staff, together with policy assessments and results of monitoring


The Company will meet all statutory obligations under relevant legislation and, where appropriate, anticipate future legal requirements signalled under EU Directives. The Company's policy is guided by:

  • Equal Pay Act (1970)
  • Sex Discrimination Act (1975)
  • Race Relations Act (1976)
  • Disability Discrimination Act (1995)
  • Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (2001)
  • Human Rights Act (1998)
  • Race Relations (Amendment) Act (2000)
  • EU Equal Treatment Framework Directive (2000/78)

and, in addition, the Codes of Practice issued by the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Commission for Racial Equality, together with the Codes of Practice on Disability and Age Diversity. These Codes are not legally binding (though they are admissible as evidence in Employment Tribunals) and the Company supports them fully.

The policy will be amended as appropriate to meet the demands of future legislation.

Further guidance will be issued on the general duty under the RR(A)A to:

  • Eliminate racial discrimination
  • Promote equality of opportunity and good race relations and on the specific duties under the RR(A)A to:
    • Assess the impact of policies on ethnic minority students and staff
    • Monitor the recruitment and progress of ethnic minority students and staff
    • Set out arrangements for publishing the results of impact assessments and monitoring


STATEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY


PSFR seeks to apply the same high standards of diligence and professionalism to our interaction with the environment that we apply to our audit work.

In particular, we will

  • seek to use recycled materials wherever possible
  • seek to recycle materials wherever possible
  • raise awareness of our staff as to how they may assist our environmental policy
    • In use and recycling of materials
    • In the environmental impact of choice of transport
      • public versus car
      • train rather than plane
      • consideration of alternatives to travel such as video conferencing, remote working
  • wherever possible in the course of our work promote environmental sensitivity among our customers
      • provision of management information and analytics by magnetic medium rather than paper, and by electronic transmission rather than hard copy.
  • as an absolute minimum, comply with environmental legislation; but always seek to exceed this minimum.
  • Seek to continuously improve our environmental efficiency.


It is our aim to achieve these objectives by:

  • Staff education
  • Performance Monitoring
  • Annual performance review
  • Participation in environmental initiatives

SUSTAINABILITY

The term ‘sustainability’ has many interpretations. PSFR supports Brundtlands’ 1987 definition, that ‘Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations to meet their own needs.’

We see this as closely linked to our policy on the environment. Integral to Sustainability is:

  • Use of recycled material where possible
  • Use of rail transport rather than car or train
  • Recycling where possible – example - printer cartridges
  • Use of low-energy lightbulbs
  • Where possible without compromising our professional standards, the selection of audit staff geographically to cover the UK, providing us with the capacity to service our UK-wide client base whilst reducing the need for transport

HEALTH AND SAFETY

PSFR statement of general policy is:

  • to provide adequate control of the health and safety risks arising from our work activities;
  • to consult with our employees on matters affecting their health and safety;
  • to provide and maintain safe plant and equipment;
  • to ensure safe handling and use of substances;
  • to provide information, instruction and supervision for employees;
  • to ensure all employees are competent to do their tasks, and to give them adequate training;
  • to prevent accidents and cases of work-related ill health;
  • to maintain safe and healthy working conditions; and
    To review and revise this policy as necessary at regular intervals.