VIVO Defence Services has been awarded a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader certificate, making the organisation a premier employer for those who need additional support.
The Facilities Management firm, which provides maintenance services, asset management and project management to the UK military, became a Level 2 Disability Confident Employer last year.
At the time, it signed up to a number of pledges to help staff with disabilities and those seeking work.
Now, after putting all these pledges into place, VIVO has been awarded Leader status, marking it out as an exemplar within the Facilities Management industry sector.
The pledges include:
- Promoting and supporting diversity and inclusion within the workplace
- Offering Diversity & Inclusion and Disability Awareness training to all VIVO employees via its VIVO Academy.
- Ensuring fair treatment for colleagues and fostering an inclusive, open workplace culture
- Treating everyone with respect regardless of differences
- Promoting flexible working arrangements e.g. working from home and flexible working hours
- Providing extra or specialised equipment where necessary
- Providing options for a phased return to work for employees acquiring a disability
- Exploring redeployment options where appropriate for employees acquiring a disability
- Supporting any existing employee who acquires a disability or long-term health condition, enabling them to stay in work
- Communicating and promoting vacancies using the Disability Confident Employer badge
- Arranging for wheelchair accessible interviews
- Reasonably adjusting our recruitment process to better support applicants, such as offering you more time to apply
- Offering an interview to applicants with a disability who meet the minimum criteria for the job in order to demonstrate their abilities at an interview.
Cheryl Grant, VIVO Defence Services HR Director, said: “I am really pleased we have gained a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader certificate. Putting in place policies to help disabled candidates seeking work with us and to help those already employed here is something that is really important to all at VIVO.
“We want to be known across our industry as an employer of choice, one that is keen to employ talented people, whatever their background, and seeks to enable our staff to work collaboratively together, and respect each other and each of our differences.”
VIVO Defence Services is a joint venture 50/50 owned by Serco and Equans and serves the UK military and its partners on behalf of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, which is part of the Ministry of Defence.
