Implement an equality plan

Greiner Packaging Limited is a plastic packaging manufacturer and provider of customised packaging solutions specialising in technologies such as thermoforming, injection moulding and extrusion. Their customer portfolio includes Nestle, Premier Foods, Yeo Valley and Dale Farm. Based in Dungannon, Co. Tyrone, the organisation is one of four divisions of the Greiner Group, with headquarters in Austria.

Maeve Turbitt, People & Culture Generalist, explains how Greiner Packaging has reviewed existing workplace policies and developed new ones focusing on equality and diversity with the help of the Equality Commission.

“Greiner Packaging has a wide range of workplace policies currently in place that help colleagues understand what is expected of them when working for and representing Greiner. We have over 30 workplace policies that all colleagues are aware of and can consult at any time through the company handbook. We also have policies that relate specifically to equality and diversity in the workplace including our equal opportunities policy and positive work environment policy.”

“We have developed our workplace policies so that colleagues know how they are expected to behave whilst working for and representing Greiner. These policies also ensure we as employers are fair and consistent in our approach to all our people. This process delivers an open and transparent atmosphere, helps us retain staff, and attract the right people to come to work for us.”

Delivering diversity and inclusion through our workplace policies

“We have previously worked with the Equality Commission after attending a number of their employer training events and so became aware of the service they offer to Northern Ireland employers in helping them to review their workplace policies from an equality point of view.”

“We then worked with the Equality Commission to review our equal opportunities policy and positive working environment policy. The Equality Commission helped us to rewrite our policies to ensure that as an organisation, we are committed to creating a friendly and harmonious working environment - free from harassment and bullying and treating every colleague with respect and dignity.”

“After reviewing and rewriting our policies, we reissued them to all our people along with a new code of conduct. This commitment clearly outlines to our workforce our dedication to diversity and inclusion right across the organisation.”

“In conjunction with the Equality Commission, we also delivered training sessions to all our colleagues on diversity and inclusion. We hosted these training sessions both virtually and face-to-face to enable us to reach and educate our entire workforce of over 300 people.”

“By reviewing our workplace policies and having a commitment to delivering diversity and inclusion, it ensures that we provide equal opportunities to all job applicants and helps us to promote a respectful and harmonious working environment for everyone. We have also identified the need to provide a mechanism for workers who believe they have been discriminated against to enable them to raise any matters sensitively through the appropriate procedure.”

Our plans to introduce new workplace policies

“We plan to take a look at introducing a number of new workplace policies that will help support colleagues that are affected by symptoms of menopause. We have just begun this process by looking at the guidance available from the Equality Commission and the Labour Relations Agency. We have also attended one of their joint webinars on the subject of menopause in the workplace. This engagement will help give us the foundation we need to take the steps required to introduce a menopause policy to our organisation.”

“Greiner Packaging has also identified the heartache and stress that miscarriage can bring. We also plan to introduce a workplace policy on miscarriage that will help give any colleague affected by miscarriage the time, space, and support they need during such a traumatic time.”

Find out how the Equality Commission can help your business review its equality related workplace policies.