Inclusivity

Building our inclusive place to work

Orbit’s vision is to lead in building thriving communities, and that means being fair and equal to all, irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, caring responsibilities, religion/belief or sexual orientation. 

We are passionate about giving everyone an equal opportunity to unlock their full potential and are fully committed to creating an inclusive workplace and a society which embraces equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).

Our EDI Allies representatives from across the business –complement the work of our employee ambassadors and healthy mind first aiders, and help shape our internal approach to equality, diversity and inclusion.

A key part of their role is to work with partners both in and out of sector to shape our policies and processes, share best practice and explore ways that we can further encourage workforce diversity. Our approach is really gaining momentum and we are launching an updated EDI policy later this year which has been led by our EDI Allies.

We deliver EDI training for all colleagues and managers and have created a number of closed-group employee forums for colleagues to connect, ask questions and gain support. In addition, we run awareness campaigns with colleagues and customers throughout the year, which support our EDI commitments, challenge misperceptions, and encourage open and honest conversation. We are proud to support a number of like-minded organisations and commitments which are all focused on ensuring an equal and fair world for all.

The HouseProud Pledge

We are committed to the HouseProud Pledge, a scheme for social housing providers, to demonstrate our promise to delivering high quality services to our LGBTQ+ customers and support to our colleagues from the LGBTQ+ community.

The HouseProud Pledge provides a framework for landlords to work with involved residents to take action against discrimination and tokenism, and demonstrate their commitment to LGBTQ+ equality and support.  

Business in the Community Race Charter

We are proud to have signed the Race at Work Charter, created by Business in the Community (BITC) in partnership with the UK Government in 2018 to improve outcomes for ethnic minority groups in the UK. The Charter sets out five actions for signatories to take:

  • Appointing an executive sponsor for race
  • Capturing data and publicising progress
  • Ensuring zero tolerance of harassment and bullying
  • Making equality in the workplace the responsibility of all leaders and managers
  • Taking action that supports ethnic minority career progression

Disability Confident Committed Status

Orbit has Disability Confident Committed status provided by the Department for Work and Pensions. As part of this accreditation, we have committed to the following statements:

  • To ensure our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible
  • To communicate and promote vacancies
  • To offer an interview to disabled people
  • To anticipate and provide reasonable adjustments as required
  • Support existing employees who acquires a disability or long-term health condition

Armed Forces Covenant

We are proud to support the brave men and women who protect this country by committing to the Government’s Armed Forces Covenant.

Making the shift to a new career and adapting to civilian life can prove challenging. We have therefore made seven pledges to help service leavers and their families to make a smooth transition as they leave the Armed Forces, and to support those still serving. These are that we will:

  • Support Service Leavers by recruiting through the Career Transition Partnership (CTP)
  • Offer 5 days additional paid leave for Reservists to facilitate their training needs
  • Offer discounts to serving Armed Forces personnel when buying an Orbit home
  • Promote the fact that we are a Forces Friendly organisation
  • Support Reserves, Armed Forces Day
  • Support Remembrance Day
  • Working in partnership with STOLL, the leading charity for housing veterans, to provide access to our properties for veterans

Supporting mental health

Orbit was a signatory of the Time to Change Employer Pledge, a commitment to changing the way we all think and act about mental health in the workplace. This pledge has now retired, but our commitment very much continues through the work delivered by our EDI Allies, employee ambassadors and healthy mind first aiders, and the launch of #ThisIsMe.

#ThisIsMe is our new wellness programme which recognises that everyone is different and require different wellbeing support. The programme includes support tools from videos, podcasts, factsheets and webinars, to 24-hour employee assistance programmes, coaching and mentoring.

Stonewall no bystanders

Finally, we are a supporter of Stonewall's #NoBystanders Campaign, committing to never being a bystander to hateful language and abuse.