Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
A journey to a place where everyone is welcome, can be their true selves and succeed
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is a central plank of First Bus's ambition to be a people centric business.
The overarching mission for EDI at First Bus recognises that we are on a journey to a place where everyone is welcome, can be their true selves and succeed.
Our Divisional strategy is to be leading on the E, S and G agenda and key to that is embracing ED&I. We believe our strength comes from the different skills, backgrounds and life experiences of our colleagues.
What makes us uniquely us?
Take a look at these videos from colleagues across First Bus and learn a little more about what makes us all different and uniquely us:
"Although we are one team, First Bus is made up of thousands of very different colleagues. I believe our strength comes from the different skills, backgrounds and life experiences we all have. I want to create a First Bus where everyone is welcome, feels that they can be their true self and can succeed in whatever they choose to do."
Janette Bell, Managing Director, First Bus
Timeline
We have a long-standing relationship with Pride - which we are particularly proud of in terms of our support for Bristol Pride - with a dedicated Pride liveried bus and our attendance and free travel offer for Bristol Pride Day testament to this support. In 2022, First Bus attended more Pride events than ever before across the country and has more Pride liveried buses in its fleet that ever before too.
Flexible working, part-time working and term-time working. To encourage a wider demographic of applications, part-time driving shifts have been introduced as it was considered many applicants with school-age children could not achieve a work/life balance and dropped out of the application process once this was realised. The positive outcome of this has been an increase in younger drivers, female drivers and also older, end of career drivers who have often been made redundant from long-term careers and have chosen a career change for their last few years before retirement. This one change has seen the start of a move away from a predominance of middle-aged male drivers. We have also partnered with a specialist company to help us understand what we can do to have a truly flexible approach, recognising that sometimes flexibility is also about predictability.
We launched a reverse mentoring programme and an intentional allyship programme, initially focused on providing positive action towards our female colleagues, to redouble our efforts in the gender equality space.
First Bus is a Signatory to the Business in the Community (BiTC) Race at Work Charter where businesses make a public commitment to improving equality of opportunity in the workplace.
We have six Inclusion Networks, each sponsored and chaired by an Exec member and made up of colleagues with lived experience and allies:
- Progress (LGBTQIA+)
- Origins (Ethnicity)
- Balance (Gender)
- Oxygen (Wellbeing)
- Enable (Disability)
- Life (Life Moments)
Simplyhealth is an industry-leading healthcare scheme, providing a cash back benefit which is paid for by First Bus, meaning it’s free for all colleagues.
We were awarded the bronze accreditation from the Inclusive Employers Standard. This success recognises our commitment to embedding diversity and inclusion across First Bus.
We hosted an industry wide Inclusive Cab Summit - bringing together representatives from across the operators and manufacturers, together with colleagues, to discuss and work towards a gold standard for cab design. The event was in conjunction with the D&I Bus Group of Women in Transport.
We became a Period Positive Workplace, supplying free period products to our colleagues.