Equal Opportunities
Lister has long been a champion of equal opportunities – for its tenants, its other customers, its staff and its Management Committee.
We believe in the equality of opportunity and respect for diverse cultures and communities. We are members of Edinburgh & Lothians Racial Equality Council, and Positive Action in Housing. Together with other members of EdIndex, the Edinburgh common housing register, we promote equal opportunity and access for all to housing in Edinburgh.
Our equal opportunities statement is as follows:
Lister Housing Co-operative believes that no person should suffer disadvantage because of race, colour, ethnic origin, religion, sex, sexual preference, appearance, physical or mental disability, marital status, age, class or responsibility for dependants, HIV infection or HIV related illnesses.
We ask all our regular contractors and consultants to sign up to abide by our policy and we monitor, as part of our complaints monitoring process, any complaints relating to equal opportunities. Complaints have the ability to be referred by the complainant to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) once internal processed are exhausted.
We would wish, however to address and tackle any issues long before any possible referral to the SPSO.
Our staff that go on site regularly have also had a Basic Disclosure check done, to reassure tenants and their families.
Fair Work First
Fair Work First is the Scottish Government’s policy to drive high quality and fair working practices for workforces within Scotland. Lister is fully committed to advancing the Fair Work First criteria, specifically:
We have an appropriate channel for effective employee voice
- We recognise a Trade Union (UNITE). As full members of Employers in Voluntary Housing (EVH) we are part of the collective bargaining arrangement that EVH has with UNITE, which covers pay, grading arrangements and terms and conditions of employment.
We invest in workforce development
- We are committed to supporting and developing our employees. All staff members have access to learning and development opportunities, both formal and informal.
We do not use zero hours contracts inappropriately
- All our staff are employed under the EVH terms and conditions of employment. We have no zero-hour contracts in place
We take action to tackle the gender pay gap and create a more diverse and inclusive workplace
- As EVH members we have adopted their terms and conditions and pay scales to ensure equality and transparency in relation to pay, as well as dignity at work
We commit to paying the Real Living Wage
- We are a Living Wage employer. As a member of EVH we pay the real living wage as a minimum which is set at the bottom point of the EVH salary scales.
We offer flexible and family friendly working practices for all workers from day one of employment
- We operate a range of family friendly employment practices, including Maternity and Paternity leave, Shared Parental Leave and Adoption Leave
We oppose the use of fire and rehire practice
- We are committed to working with our employees to ensure that there is effective consultation and negotiation relating to proposed change.
