D06H · Rev 1, 24/02/2023
Three Phase Contractors Ltd is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our consumers and eliminating unlawful discrimination.
Our policy purpose is to provide equality, fairness and respect for all our consumers including vulnerable consumers.
"Someone who, due to their personal circumstances, is especially susceptible to detriment, particularly when a business is not acting with appropriate levels of care."
A vulnerable consumer could be an individual that:
Vulnerability is fluid, meaning that consumers can drift in and out of vulnerability.
We must not unlawfully discriminate or exclude consumers based on individual characteristics and circumstances such as age, disability, caring or dependency responsibilities, gender or gender identity, marriage or civil partnership status, political opinion, pregnancy or maternity, race, colour, caste, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or other distinctions.
We act in accordance with the Equality Act 2010 which has the following protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race (including colour, nationality, and ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, sex (gender) and sexual orientation.
The purpose of this policy is to protect people, particularly children, at risk adults and beneficiaries of assistance, from any harm that may be caused due to their coming into contact with Three Phase Contractors Ltd. This includes harm arising from the conduct of workers or personnel associated with the company, and the design and implementation of our programmes and activities.
In the UK, safeguarding means protecting peoples' health, wellbeing and human rights, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect. In our sector, we understand it to mean protecting people, including children and at-risk adults, from harm that arises from coming into contact with our workers.
This policy applies to all workers contracted by Three Phase Contractors Ltd, and associated personnel whilst engaged with work or visits related to the company, including but not limited to consultants, volunteers and contractors.
Three Phase Contractors Ltd believes that everyone we come into contact with, regardless of age, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation or ethnic origin has the right to be protected from all forms of harm, abuse, neglect and exploitation. We will not tolerate discrimination, abuse and exploitation by workers or associated personnel.
This policy addresses safeguarding customers and their family members, child safeguarding and adult safeguarding. We commit to addressing safeguarding throughout our work, through the three pillars of prevention, reporting and response.
Three Phase Contractors Ltd will:
Three Phase Contractors Ltd workers and associated personnel must not:
A vulnerable adult is a person aged 18 years or over who may be unable to take care of themselves or protect themselves from harm or from being exploited. This may include a person who is elderly and frail, has a mental illness including dementia, has a physical or sensory disability, has a learning disability, has a severe physical illness, or is a substance misuser.
Workers and associated personnel must not inflict harm or fail to act to prevent harm, sexually abuse or exploit at risk adults, or subject an at-risk adult to physical, emotional or psychological abuse, or neglect.
Additionally, workers and associated personnel are obliged to contribute to creating and maintaining an environment that prevents safeguarding violations, report any concerns or suspicions regarding safeguarding violations to the appropriate senior manager, and refrain from promising children or vulnerable adults that they will keep secrets.
Three Phase Contractors Ltd will ensure that safe, appropriate, accessible means of reporting safeguarding concerns are made available to workers and the communities we work with. We will also accept complaints from external sources such as members of the public, partners and official bodies.
Workers who have a complaint or concern relating to safeguarding should report it immediately to the directors. If the worker does not feel comfortable reporting to directors (for example if they feel that the report will not be taken seriously, or if that person is implicated in the concern) they may report to any other senior manager or a member of the HR Team.
Three Phase Contractors Ltd will make a safeguarding report to our local authority safeguarding board. We will follow up safeguarding reports and concerns according to policy and procedure, and legal and statutory obligations. We will apply appropriate disciplinary measures to workers found in breach of policy.
It is essential that confidentiality is maintained at all stages of the process when dealing with safeguarding concerns. Information relating to the concern and subsequent case management should be shared on a need-to-know basis only and should be kept secure at all times.
As a HIES member we are obliged to identify a vulnerable consumer and treat them appropriately and sympathetically before, during and after purchase.
Although not every vulnerability is immediately noticeable and not every consumer will find it comfortable or necessary to declare a vulnerability, the following questions may help:
Beneficiary of Assistance. Someone who directly receives goods or services from Three Phase Contractors Ltd programme.
Child. A person below the age of 18.
Harm. Psychological, physical and any other infringement of an individual's rights.
Psychological Harm. Emotional or psychological abuse, including but not limited to humiliating and degrading treatment such as bad name calling, constant criticism, belittling, persistent shaming, solitary confinement and isolation.
Safeguarding. Protecting peoples' health, wellbeing and human rights, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect. Taking all reasonable steps to prevent harm, particularly sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment from occurring; to protect people from that harm; and to respond appropriately when harm does occur.
Sexual Abuse. The actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions.
Sexual Exploitation. Any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes. This definition includes human trafficking and modern slavery.
At Risk Adult. A person who is or may be in need of care by reason of mental or other disability, age or illness; and who is or may be unable to take care of themselves, or unable to protect themselves against significant harm or exploitation.