Fairness, Inclusivity and Respect (FIR) Archives - Page 2 of 2

FIS Introduces New Respect Policy

by Iain McIlwee | Nov 12, 2021 | Fairness, Inclusivity and Respect (FIR)

At the FIS AGM and Awards last week FIS President Helen Tapper emphasised the importance of a redoubling of efforts from the organisation and wider community to ensure that, amidst the worst skills shortage we have known, that we are ensuring that our sector is attractive to all in our society. To help achieve this aim FIS have launched a new FIS Respect Policy.

As the Trade Body for the £10 billion finishes and interiors sector, FIS is committed to encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion within our workforce and across the wider sector – eliminating unlawful discrimination and ensuring the sector and the businesses therein understand the importance and are equipped to support all individuals within our community.

The aim of this work is to ensure respect is a core value and reflected in all behaviour within our community and to ensure that the sector becomes truly representative of all sections of society.

The policy’s purpose is to:

guarantee all those working in the sector are respected and feel safe and are able to be open about who they are and contribute as their best self.
provide equality, fairness and respect for all in our employment, whether temporary, part-time or full-time.
not unlawfully discriminate because of the Equality Act 2010 protected characteristics of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race (including colour, nationality, and ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.
oppose and avoid all forms of unlawful discrimination. This includes in pay and benefits, terms and conditions of employment, dealing with grievances and discipline, dismissal, redundancy, leave for parents, requests for flexible working, and selection for employment, promotion, training or other developmental opportunities.

In launching the FIS Respect Policy, FIS CEO, Iain McIlwee stated:

“This policy sets out our stall, not just as an organisation, but as a community. I recently completed the training to become a Fairness, Inclusivity and Respect (FIR) Ambassador and frankly I had a lot to learn – still do. It isn’t just about what we do as individuals, it is about how we encourage and lead by example and targeted intervention.

The vital take away though was we need to be reflective, seeking to understand not to defend and encourage others in our influence to be better. We need to be better, not just because it is the right thing to do morally, socially and professionally – the fact is that we are short people, but still behave and communicate in ways that limits our potential to recruit and can turn people away from our sector. I encourage all members to have a look through this policy and, if they can use to strengthen their own focus, great or if they can see areas we can tighten and improve, feed them in. The core message of FIS is an inclusive one, together we are stronger.”

FIS members can download the policy via the FIS Fairness, Inclusivity and Respect Toolkit here (including Iain’s blog on becoming a FIR Ambassador).

FIS is supporting the Inspiring Change Conference and Awards a cross-section construction event focussed on improving FIR in our sector and businesses – the event takes place on Tuesday 30th November in London

Are you FIR Real? Why I am not really worthy to be a FIR Ambassador, but will try

by Iain McIlwee | Jul 15, 2021 | Fairness, Inclusivity and Respect (FIR), Sustainability

Last month I completed the training to become a Fairness, Inclusivity and Respect (FIR) Ambassador, I don’t feel worthy of the title yet, but I have completed my training and made my commitment.

So why now?

Every now and again something jolts us outside of our comfortable perception of the world and our self. For some, this week it will be the unacceptable face of racism that reared its ugly head when three young Englishmen, missed a penalty and were abused for the colour of their skin. For me, it was closer to home, tripping over my own naivety and being challenged on a statement I made about being ill-equipped to lead on diversity issues because “I’m a middle aged, white man’. Even as I type it I cringe at how naïve that statement was – and, whilst it was a horribly uncomfortable moment for me, I realise just how important it was to be called out on it.

Like any moment of intense shame, I immediately set about trying to justify my statement, but the more I dug the more I realised there was no justification – my conscience wasn’t just pricked it was torn apart. I am not saying I didn’t think the FIR agenda was important, but the sad admission in that statement is that I didn’t fully grasp my responsibility as an individual in trying to lead and support change. The uncomfortable truths continued to flow in the self-reflection that shame typically drives. I had always leaned a bit towards the “this is a meritocracy” type thinking. When you stand back, this is almost as naïve and damaging as a statement that starts with those dreaded words “I’m not being racist but…”. I decided rather than wallow in the negative, I had to go back to school, in this case the Supply Chain Sustainability School, and address my ignorance with training.

The training has been eye-opening. There were more uncomfortable truths – I’ve hidden behind the internal monologue that “I have never worried too much about sexuality, gender, disability or race”, that I was pretty “right on” when it came to this “FIR stuff”. But, over the past couple of months I now understand why this is simply not enough.

The FIR agenda is about so much more than looking past diversity, it is about recognising the value in diversity. I had, wrongly, positioned FIR to be about sexuality, race and physical disability, I had failed to grasp the wider issues of age related prejudice, failed to recognise and support people with particular personality traits and failed to understand the impact of deeply hidden mental health issues and neural diversity which can leave people feeling isolated.

In the training I learned more about the dangers of conscious and unconscious bias, the importance of empathy, self reflection and awareness and how to regularly challenge myself and my beliefs. Part of the training was online and part in a workshop format, we looked in the workshops at how to create an environment which goes beyond being intolerant of intolerance, but ensures that nobody can be disadvantaged by anything we say or can control and how we can better work with those around us to ensure that the culture in our organisations and wider sector is equally welcoming and open to change. How we can create an environment that can and does celebrate diversity.

I can’t change the past, but I have been shamed and inspired over the past couple of months and recognised the need to redouble my efforts to be better today and in the future. I can draw confidence too from a better understanding of what fairness, inclusivity and respect really mean and my role in identifying and uphold these values. Vitally too I now have access to a network of other FIR Ambassador’s who have, like me, committed to being better, a network where we can learn from one anothers successes and failures without fear of judgement.

My FIR Ambassador’s commitment is to:

Make a difference by influencing and inspiring others within my organisation
Encourage colleagues at all levels to become engaged with Fairness, Inclusion and Respect issues.
Collaborate with other FIR Ambassadors, particularly those outside my business to help drive cultural change within the construction industry
Share knowledge and resources, both within my organisation and with other FIR Ambassadors
Provide an annual update on my Ambassador progress to the FIR Programme team

And I urge anyone to call me out if I am not living up to this.

We have set up a FIR Toolkit on the FIS website and looking to embed the core principles of Fairness, Inclusivity and Respect in all that we do and help businesses to understand and champion diversity and ensure that the finishes and interiors sector is an environment where people feel welcomed, safe and included.

You can access the FIS Fairness, Inclusivity and Respect Toolkit here.

If anyone wants to talk about the Ambassador’s course, don’t hesitate to get in touch, links are in the above toolkit – I would recommend it to everyone.

Blog by Iain McIlwee, FIS CEO
E: iainmcilwee@thefis.org
M: 07792 959 481

Government to protect workers’ rights and clamp down on workplace abuse with powerful new body

by Clair Mooney | Jun 8, 2021 | Fairness, Inclusivity and Respect (FIR)

A powerful new workers’ watchdog will be created to protect the rights of UK workers, the Government confirmed today.

Responsibility for tackling modern slavery, enforcing the minimum wage and protecting agency workers – currently spread across three different bodies – will be brought under one roof, creating a comprehensive new authority, which will ensure businesses that break the rules have nowhere to hide.

This “one-stop shop” approach will help improve enforcement through better co-ordination and pooling intelligence.

The new watchdog will also enhance workers’ rights by providing a single, recognisable port of call for workers so they know their rights and can blow the whistle on bad behaviour.

The body will support businesses to do the right thing by their employees by providing guidance on their obligations to staff. Meanwhile, increased enforcement will make sure good businesses aren’t undercut by unscrupulous rival employers who aren’t paying or treating their workers correctly.

As well as enforcing all existing powers belonging to the three agencies, the new body will have a new ability to ensure vulnerable workers get the holiday pay and statutory sick pay they are entitled to – without having to go through a lengthy employment tribunal process.

Business Minister Paul Scully said:

“This Government has been absolutely clear that we will do whatever we can to protect and enhance workers’ rights.

“The vast majority of businesses want to do right by their staff, but there are a minority who seem to think the law doesn’t apply to them. Exploitative practices like modern slavery have no place in society.

“This new workers’ watchdog will help us crack down on any abuses of workers’ rights and take action against companies that turn a blind eye to abuses in their supply chains, while providing a one-stop shop for employees and businesses wanting to understand their rights and obligations.”

The plans come as part of the Government’s wider efforts to protect workers’ rights. Since last year alone, the Government has boosted the minimum wage for around two million employees, protected furloughed workers’ parental pay, brought Jack’s Law into force to support bereaved parents, and more.

The Government’s plans will see the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate and HMRC’s National Minimum Wage Enforcement combined to create a single enforcement body.

The new body will continue the successful Naming and Shaming scheme, which calls out companies who fail to pay workers what they are owed and can hit rogue employers with fines of up to £20,000 per worker. This enforcement activity will be extended to cover other regulations protecting the pay of workers employed through agencies or by gangmasters in the agricultural sector.

To help businesses understand the rules, the new body will provide guidance on best practice, complementing the work already carried out by existing authorities such as the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas). It will seek to build strong links with community and worker groups to spread awareness and support engagement with at-risk groups, including the low-paid and those in sectors like construction and agriculture that could be at higher risk of abuse.

The Government will also explore further measures to target abuses in the garment sector specifically, following reports of serious problems in the industry. Options being examined include creating a Garment Trade Adjudicator to investigate companies’ supply chains, or extending the licencing scheme that currently covers employers in the agricultural sector. Under the scheme, businesses who provide workers for agriculture and the fresh produce supply chain must apply for a license to operate in the sectors, and are subject to inspections to ensure they meet employment standards required by law.

If brands’ behaviour doesn’t improve, the Government warned it could introduce harsher measures, including bans on goods made in factories where workers have been underpaid.

FIS Modern Slavery Toolkit

Modern Slavery can take many forms including the trafficking of people, forced labour, servitude and slavery. Construction remains high risk particularly in terms of forced labour. Employers and most notably companies engaging workers through gangs and labour agencies must be vigilant.

Access the toolkit here

Inspiring Change – prevention is better than cure

by Clair Mooney | Jun 7, 2021 | Fairness, Inclusivity and Respect (FIR)

The right health and wellbeing strategy can help organisations lower absence rates, increase productivity and improve employee engagement by showing they put their employees’ needs first.

Workplace health and wellbeing has been moving up the corporate agenda as more and more businesses now recognise the benefits of taking care of their employees. The pandemic has had a huge impact on how we are working and increased awareness of the importance of caring for employees’ mental health but it makes good business sense to develop and manage a broader, more holistic approach to employees health, safety and wellbeing.

With this is mind, Inspiring Chnage is hostine an online webinar on Wednesday 23 June at 10am to focus on creating happier, healthier, and more resilient workplaces, and will also touch on effective support pathways for people if they do become unwell.

You will hear from experts in their field about:
• The need for an effective wellbeing strategy.
• Solutions designed to improve employee health and wellbeing whilst contributing to better business performance.
• How employers can support those with long term illnesses.

Confirmed speakers include:
• Rachel Suff, Senior Policy Advisor, CIPD and author of CIPD’s Well-Being Report

Reserve your place

Women in construction offer perspective on markets in UK and Sweden

by Clair Mooney | May 20, 2021 | Fairness, Inclusivity and Respect (FIR), Main News Feed, Sustainability

A half day Women in Construction event, hosted by the Department for International Trade Sweden, will be taking place on Wedneday 26 May to facilitate knowledge exchange, stimulate ideas and give UK and Swedish stakeholders’ insight into the two markets.

Build UK Chief Executive Suzannah Nichol will be a keynote speaker at the event, which will feature panel discussions with stakeholders from the UK and Sweden. Attendance at the virtual event is free and you can register online here.

A range of speakers, from the private sector, civil society and other organisations, will offer their perspectives on the markets, both in the UK and in Sweden. Together, the panellists will discuss their experiences and the challenges they face as women in their professions, in the office and on site. The speakers, from both Sweden and the UK, will give their unique insights into the differences and similarities in the two markets.

Download the Fairness, Inclusivity and Respect (FIR) Toolkit

Click Here