Safeguarding and People Policies
We are committed to creating an equitable environment to build a diverse team and allow individuals to flourish whilst working in the Agulhas family. The company is an employee owned organisation, meaning shares in the company are held in a Trust which works in the interests of the shared owners. Agulhas encourages a high level of staff engagement in company matters and shares rewards of our success with everyone.
We believe that the people we work with are the core to our success in bringing insight and expertise to the fore; we seek to listen to and empower each other. Clarity and transparency in adhering to Agulhas’s values demonstrated through all our work is an essential element in ensuring people (clients, staff and partners) are able to invest their trust in us. Agulhas therefore strives to reach a gold standard in safeguarding and people policies, and we subscribe to the UN Global Compact.
We have introduced guidelines to protect and safeguard all individuals we work with and policies to provide our staff and consultants with both security and an appropriate code of conduct within which to operate.
Read Agulhas’ Code of Conduct and Safeguarding and People Policy Pack 2023
Below is a summary of a number of our policies. For a fully accessible Policy Pack in other formats, please contact us.
Safeguarding Against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Policy
We believe that the protection of children and vulnerable adults requires everyone to take responsibility and that every child matters. We recognise that the care, protection and welfare of children and vulnerable adults is paramount and that all children and vulnerable adults have the right to be protected from all types of harm without exception or discrimination.
While Agulhas does not work directly with children or vulnerable adults, many of our clients and partners do, and there are occasions where we may interact with children or vulnerable adults, such as when conducting field work. In addition, our recommendations may impact on programming for children and vulnerable adults. In all such cases, we recognise that we have a fundamental duty of care towards all children and vulnerable adults. Our full Safeguarding Policy can also be found in our Code of Conduct and Safeguarding and People Policy Pack.
Anti-slavery Policy
At Agulhas, we take the issues of modern slavery and human trafficking very seriously. We are committed to embedding practices to combat slavery and human trafficking in our business and in our supply chain. Our Anti-slavery Policy can also be found in our Code of Conduct and Safeguarding and People Policy Pack.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Agulhas is committed to ensuring that there is no discrimination without a legally legitimate aim in the recruitment, retention, remuneration, training and development of staff on the basis of age, nationality, disability, gender including transgender, HIV/AIDS status, marital status including civil partnerships, pregnancy and maternity, political opinion, race/ethnicity, religion and belief, sexual orientation, socio-economic background, spent convictions, trade union activity or membership, work pattern, on the basis of having or not having dependants or on any other grounds which are irrelevant. We proactively promote diversity in our teams. We aim to follow both the letter and the spirit of equality legislation. Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Policy can also be found in our full Code of Conduct and Safeguarding and People Policy Pack.
Anti-Bullying and Harassment Policy
Agulhas does not tolerate the harassment or bullying of employees, volunteers or employees of contractors whilst at work, at Agulhas related events or whilst carrying out Agulhas business. We note that harassment is unlawful as per the Equality Act 2010, and that bullying and harassment in all forms are fundamentally discordant with Agulhas’ core values. Our Anti-bullying and Harassment Policy can also be found in our full Code of Conduct and Safeguarding and People Policy Pack.
Whistleblowing and Complaints
Agulhas is committed to taking seriously and investigating any concerns or complaints; protecting against the unnecessary disclosure of the identity of those raising concerns or complaints; ensuring no-one implicated in the complaint has a supervisory role in any investigation into it; protecting staff and contractors from retaliation regardless of whether the complaint or concern is upheld; reporting serious abuses to the authorities (e.g. police or HMRC). Our Whistleblowing Policy can also be found in our Code of Conduct and Safeguarding and People Policy Pack.