our equality and diversity policy
As a public-service provider, a statutory body and an employer, the Financial Ombudsman Service is fully committed to the fair and equal treatment of everyone we deal with.
We see diversity as an asset that helps deliver our vision of a service meeting the needs of all our customers and stakeholders – irrespective, for example, of gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, race, religion, belief or socio-economic background.
the provision of our services
We aim to meet the needs of our customers and stakeholders by:
- creating a work culture which values diversity, inclusiveness and respect, and empowers our employees to reflect those values in their dealings with the people who use our service and all other stakeholders;
- promoting equal access to the Financial Ombudsman Service for all users and potential users;
- ensuring that we provide an accessible service to all of our customers;
- providing clear, meaningful information about what we do and how we do it to our customers, potential customers and other stakeholders, in ways that best suit their individual needs;
- identifying as early as possible any individual requirements that may need to be met in order for a customer to fully access our service; and
- being responsive to changing needs and requirements.
We work towards an equality standard [open in PDF format] in the provision of our services – to help us identify and overcome barriers that may prevent potential customers from accessing our services or may work to the detriment of those customers who are already using our service.
We have also drawn up an action plan [opens in PDF format] to ensure our approach to diversity and equality remains up to date and relevant to the changing needs of our customers and stakeholders.
In drawing up our equality and diversity policy, our equality standard and our action plan, we have taken into account the work we also carry out as part of our commitment to accessibility and outreach.
equal opportunities
We are fully committed to treating everyone equally.
As an equal opportunities employer, we recognise that equality and diversity are positive attributes, and we understand and welcome the differences that a diverse culture brings.
we value openness, accessibility, fairness and transparency
Our equality and diversity policy covers all areas of our responsibilities as an employer – including recruitment, promotion, training, performance management, pay and benefits.
training
We will provide equality and diversity training to all employees to help them:
- understand equality and diversity issues that may arise during the course of their employment;
- understand their rights and responsibilities in law; and
- create a working culture which values diversity, inclusiveness, equality and respect.
our employees' responsibilities
We expect each of our employees to help us meet our commitment to creating a positive, diverse culture, by upholding this policy.
the diversity of our workforce
We publish information in our annual review about the diversity of our workforce. Our latest figures show that 55% of our employees are male and 45% female. 17% of our employees come from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds. The average age of our employees is 36.
As part of our outreach work with communities and consumers who use our service less, we promote not only our work as a leading dispute-resolution body but also our role as an employer committed to diversity and equality. This work has included, for example:
- featuring our three lead ombuds"women" in Women, the official guide to International Women's Month
- promoting the ombudsman service in Network News, the networking forum for BME graduates and young professionals
- featuring in Disability Now and Disability Review [opens in PDF format]
- appearing in the Silver Surfers Guide – a web resource for the over 50s
Our diversity and equality training for our employees has included running a disability-awareness event, in partnership with five charities, for all our staff and our board directors.