Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

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Creating a culture where everyone can be themselves, thrive, and grow

At FirstGroup, we recognise that the success of our business depends on our people. Diversity and inclusion is integral to everything we do.

We value diversity in capabilities, experiences, perspectives, and approaches and are committed to creating a diverse workforce and inclusive culture that is important for both you and our business to thrive.

Here, you will discover how all brands within FirstGroup demonstrate their commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion and how they are working to create an inclusive culture that actively welcomes, promotes, and celebrates diversity.

How we support creating an inclusive workplace

To better understand and meet the needs of the diverse customers and communities we serve, we are committed to increasing the diversity of our workforce. We are proud to have committed to various standards from established external bodies, in order to benchmark ourselves against best practice and challenge ourselves to improve.

FirstGroup is proud to be "Disability Confident Committed" which is a government scheme supporting employers in ensuring disabled people, and those with long term health conditions, can fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations. The Disability Confident scheme supports employers to make the most of the talents disabled people can bring to the workplace. The scheme aims to help employers to successfully recruit and retain disabled people and those with health conditions.

Clear Assured has awarded FirstGroup ‘Bronze’ accreditation status. Clear Assured Bronze Standard is awarded to businesses that have shown that diversity and inclusion are reflected across all policies and processes. It also marks a move beyond compliance towards a cultural shift where diversity and inclusion is well on the way to becoming embedded in the day to day experiences of colleagues.

Avanti West Coast, Great Western Railway, South Western Railway, and Lumo have signed the Women in Rail and The Railway Industry Association’s Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Charter. Signatories are committed to championing equality, diversity and inclusion in the rail industry, in order to produce a more balanced and fair high-performing sector.

Great Western Railway holds the highly sought after Investors in People Gold status. It is granted to organisations that demonstrate a clear commitment to the people who make up an organisation. This external standard reflects the very latest workplace trends and confirms what we believe - GWR is a great place to work.

We pay a fair wage reflecting local market demands and conditions. Avanti, GWR, SWR, and First Tram Operations pay the Real Living Wage to employees in accordance with the Living Wage Foundation rates of pay, and similarly almost all First Bus employees are paid at or over the Real Living Wage. In addition, First Tram Operations is an accredited Living Wage Employer, paying third party contractors working directly for them Living Wage Foundation rates of pay.

South Western Railway has been awarded a silver accreditation in the Inclusive Employers Standard. Inclusive Employers is the leading membership organisation for prioritising inclusion in the workplace. The accreditation recognises the progress made since the launch of SWR’s first inclusion and diversity strategy in 2021.

Some of our ongoing initiatives

We continue to recognise that attracting and retaining people with different backgrounds and experiences requires an inclusive culture where everyone feels valued and respected. While we are proud of the progress being made in many areas, we do acknowledge there is still more to do in order to create an inclusive workplace for everyone.

AWC Female Train Driver Campaign

In January Avanti West Coast launched the largest train driver campaign ever delivered with a specific focus on increasing the diversity of women among the driver population. The campaign centred on the story of Karen Harrison, the first female driver and launched with the unveiling of a large mural at Euston Station.

GWR Outreach Programmes

Prince's Trust programme - A 3-week work experience programme delivered to young people who are currently unemployed.

Never Mind the Gap - A programme delivered for unemployed females looking to get work experience with the aim of getting back into the labour market.

First Bus Census

In November 2022 First Bus launched their first ever First Bus Census, which is a voluntary survey for all staff that seeks to understand who works with us and how best our people can be supported through policies and practices that treat everyone fairly.

Development Programmes

‘Step Up’/’Step Forward’ and ‘Reach Up’/ ‘Reach Forward’ programmes continue to make a significant contribution in our drive to promote better gender and ethnic minority representation across our senior and middle management populations. You can learn more about this and our other development programmes here.

Attraction and Recruitment

We have been making steady progress on attracting and hiring more women and employees from ethnically diverse backgrounds into the business. For the roles advertised over FY 2023, we have again increased the proportion of applications from women and ethnic diverse backgrounds and from those hired, 21.6% were women and 20.6% were from an ethnically diverse background.

Governance

We have established two separate bodies to help us drive our equality, diversity, and inclusion (ED&I) agenda. Internally we have an ED&I working group where we share learnings across the business and develop strategy. Our aspiration is to have half of all the roles we recruit for, to be filled by women. We also aspire to be representative of the communities we serve from an ethnicity perspective, including within our senior management populations.

Discover other ED&I initiatives

Avanti West Coast Great Western Railway Hull Trains South Western Railway

Our Policies

All FirstGroup businesses are committed to a working environment where everyone is
treated with dignity and respect, and where a culture of equal opportunity is fostered and nurtured. Our Group Dignity at Work and Group Equal Opportunities and Diversity policies explain our position clearly.

FirstGroup Dignity at Work Policy FirstGroup Equal Opportunities and Diversity Policy

Gender and Ethnicity Pay Gap

Our pay gap figures for last year can be seen behind the tiles below but if you'd like to read our full pay gap report, you can find it by clicking the following button.

FirstGroup plc Gender and Ethnicity Pay Gap Report 2023

Gender

Median pay gap = -0.1%
Mean pay gap = 7.0%

Ethnicity

Median pay gap = 9.3%
Mean pay gap = 10.4%