Fair Work Statement | Etopia Training

Modern Slavery

Published in accordance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015, this statement outlines the steps taken by Etopia to prevent any involvement or business relationships with any organisations potentially involved in modern slavery and human trafficking throughout our business and supply chains. The statement also covers our approach to fair work policy.

Etopia continues to commit to providing customers with services that have been created in decent and safe working conditions, in a lawful way, through fair and honest dealings and without exploiting the people who made them.

We require all our independent contractors to agree to our Code of Conduct.

We seek to grow our relationships with established business and new enterprises that share our views on work practice fairness.

Etopia continues to be committed to actively address and minimise the risk of modern slavery, human trafficking and unfair work practices within our business and supply chain. We will continue to review our policies and processes every year as a responsibility of directors – collectively and individually.

Social Responsibility

Etopia recognises that all sizes of business can have an impact with acceptance otherwise of the principles of social responsibility.

In practical terms we aim to, in everyday business practice:

Reduce our carbon footprints
Improve our employment conditions
Participating in Fairtrade where viable
Champion diversity, equity and inclusion
Consider the environment when making any policy

Fair Work

In common with many private and public sector organisations we aim to have a situation where workforces are well rewarded and motivated, have real opportunities and are diverse and inclusive. As a company we also feel that we align our policies and procedures aiming towards the ethics and philosophy expressed in the Fair Work First criteria. We are also aware though that while we broadly meet the criteria expressed, we also have work to do in progressing towards truly embedding the principles across out workplace and workforce.

As a small business (and one where all the shareholders take an active role as employees in running and managing the business), we feel the most important points for our own organisation are:

Channels for effective voice.

All employees have personal review meetings where points and issues and suggestions can be raised, beyond those of everyday interaction. These meetings are held annually for major reviews and quarterly for review in-between those times. We also have Team Meetings that are held for 90 minutes each week to ensure that we provide a good co-ordinated service (and that any current operating needs or challenges can have a good, informed and wide-spread debate aimed at that them). The most important factor that we feel applies here - is for the organisation to maintain what we feel is a culture of openness, fairness and one that constantly seek the views and opinions of all staff, simply as an embedded part of the way we do things. This also extends to contractor and suppliers that we deal with, although not on the same every-day basis that we enjoy interacting amongst ourselves as employees.

We also appreciate that effective voice contribution and treatment is beyond just having a regular communication channel available. We feel that a safe and comfortable and respectful workplace allows discussion and the opportunity to challenge pre-conceptions – we simply aim to take everyone’s viewpoint on board - as a contribution to what we do and how we do it.

Workforce Development through CPD.

Etopia’s policy for anyone who works with us is that CPD is the term we use to describe a commitment in investing in lifelong learning, and that this should not necessarily be a formal or prescriptive process.

Specifically, for trainers, Etopia, in our on-going reviews interprets this to mean (for our context): Continues professional development facilitates a commitment by our people to continually update their skills and knowledge - in order to remain as professionally competent as possible - while being supported and encouraged to do so. Etopia operates CPD under guidelines within an eight page document (available on request) – titled since 2014 as “Planning to Learn”. This follows the format of tabled Decision, Policy and Implications - and addresses 24 CPD points in this way.

Trainer CPD Approach: From the Trainer CPD Section of the Etopia CPD discussion document – “ In addition to the appropriate assisting templates, it [the document] aims to summarise Etopia’s attitude towards developing individuals, and to demonstrate how the process has an impact on the organisation. So long as they add value to your work, quite a range of activities can contribute to your CPD. According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) they could include in-house or external training, study leading to a qualification, which may be vocational, conferences, workshops and seminars, membership of a planning group or committee, work-based research, reading professional magazines and journals, relevant hobbies, leisure activities and voluntary work.

CPD In practice: As an organisation consisting of experienced IT training professionals most of our learning is either self-paced (in learning new technology), or for broadening skills -trainers are actively encouraged to sit-in on each other’s courses – one of the 24 points in Planning To Learn:

Decision: Etopia is committed to supporting the development of its people. Client-facing and operational and support staff are encouraged to improve their own and other people’s performance.

Policy: Frequent sitting-in on each other’s courses. Implications: Two-fold effect means we either learn from each other in terms of technical knowledge & training skills, and/or allows for constructive criticism or alternative approaches – and our training services therefore improve.

Action: Although both are very seasoned trainers, as an example, in a one recent month we have Liane investing two days of time sitting in on Doune’s Excel VBA programming course, specifically for self-development purposes.

Approach to zero hours contracts.

Etopia simply neither uses or condones any zero hours contracts - and has no plans to ever do so. Each member of staff is employed on open-ended contracts with confirmed minimum hours and work pattern. In addition, all staff have a contract which accurately reflects the hours worked and does not involve any form whatsoever of compulsory overtime. Staff get notice of shifts and work requirements - provided with as much notice in advance as we can, accommodating for variations in customer demand. Shift patterns are always suggestions and not stipulated or provide as final or anything previously unchanged-ably decided-upon by anyone else. Within policy, and as practice, staff are always asked if a suggested pattern suits - and this is planned for weeks forward on a rolling basis. If any work patterns do not suit then any accommodations or different ways of sharing workload are discussed as options. Where it makes no overall significant difference to client bookings … staff are actually encouraged, on every occasion, to suggest their own working patterns rather than having those suggested to them.

Gender pay gap and workplace diversity

Etopia has for the last seven years paid exactly the same pay rate to anyone performing a role regardless of gender, sexual preferences, ethnicity or other potentially differentiating factor. While, as a small company, we appreciate that is may not be surprising that our workforce is not as diverse as a larger organisation might be, the fact that it is not - is something that we are aware of. Our small workforce does include though, on the payroll, people between the ages of 20 and 67 in valued employment - and our wage bill each month since 2018 has paid more to women than to men.

Fair pay approach.

Etopia pays each employee equal to or above the minimum wage for their age-group. In addition, we aim to pay everyone on or above the Real Living Wage by the end of 2023.