Bristol Zero Tolerance Action Plan
Name of organisation: First West of England
Date signed pledge: March 8th 2015
Who signed pledge: James Freeman, Managing Director
Contact details: Sue Arrowsmith, Corporate Sales and Development Manager [email protected]
Pledge statement:
First West of England commits to working in partnership with Bristol to tackle gender-based violence, abuse and exploitation and fully support
the Zero Tolerance Pledge that we have signed.
We will continue to develop our procedures for dealing with instances of abuse in the workplace and to enable our employees to be able to
offer assistance in the wider community. Thus allowing safer travel on our buses.
As an organisation who has signed the Bristol Zero Tolerance pledge you agree to take action in at least one of the key areas, where you can
make the most difference:
Area to take
action
Short-term (next 6
months)
Medium term
(next 12
months)
Training
 First Bus have changed
the way we train new bus
drivers - This training has
a much bigger focus on
customer service and
keeping passengers safe.
With our buses running in
Bristol up to 24 hours a
day 7 days a week and
All staff managers
to complete
Women’s Aid
training to
cascade to all
employees.
Long-term
(next 18
months)
Relevant departments, staff and
contact details
Clare Dalton – HR Business
Partner
[email protected]
Progress
Red – critical needs
attention
Orange – in
progress
Green - complete
In
Progress
Training currently
being arranged
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they cover almost every
part of the city.
Awareness
raising
Review of
policies and
procedures
 FirstGroup has a
confidential employee
assistance programme,
this hotline is run by an
external provider. This
can be used to report any
harassment or bullying
that is happening. Having
this service helps those
that want to ensure they
remain anonymous.
 Joint press release with
Bristol Zero Tolerance
and Bristol City Council
 FirstGroup has many
policies and procedures
that protect both our
customers and staff
against harassment and
gender based abuse and
exploitation.
 Dignity at Work Policy This is a document that
promotes a working
environment where
everyone is treated with
dignity and respect.
Bullying, harassment,
victimisation and
discrimination are not
acceptable and will not
be tolerated.
This service is
regularly
promoted to staff
and details issued
to all employees in
a 2016 calendar
issued in January.
Clare Dalton – HR Business
Partner
[email protected]
Issued at the end
of 2015
Chris Hanson – PR Manager
[email protected]
Ongoing
awareness by way
of staff notices
and bulletins
Clare Dalton – HR Business
Partner
[email protected]
and
Chris Hanson – PR Manager
[email protected]
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Initiatives
Creation of safe
spaces
 Currently in Bristol
approx. 70% of our fleet
has CCTV.
 This will increase by the
end of 2016 to approx.
80%
 First Bus also trains
drivers to ensure that
women who want to
breast feed on the bus
should be encouraged to
do so and drivers should
be aware that some
customers may
disapprove, if they voice
this disapproval drivers
should be available to
offer assistance if
required.
 As part of the company
Community Engagement
activity, First are able to
work with local
organisations to provide a
limited number of
complementary bus
passes for those in need
to travel.
Promotion to
public groups of
Safe and Better
journey cards to
assist when
travelling by bus
Ongoing awareness
and inclusion on
company website
Sue Arrowsmith – Corporate
Sales and Development
Manager
[email protected]
Match funding
available
Sue Arrowsmith – Corporate
Sales and Development
Manager
[email protected]
Other areas of work that feed into Bristol Zero Tolerance:
Better Journeys for Life
As part of a fundamental change First Bus introduced the idea of creating Better Journeys for Life. This is for both our customers and our staff. The journeys
our passengers make with us as well as the career journeys our staff make with us.
These are a set of promises to:
- Our Customers
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-
Our People
Our Communities
Our Partners
Our Shareholders
This policy reflects the company’s core values of:
- Committed our Customers – we keep our customers at the heart of everything we do
- Dedicated to Safety – always front of mind, safety is our way of life
- Supportive of each other – we trust each other to deliver and work to help one another succeed.
- Accountable for performance – every decision matters, we do the right thing to achieve our goals
- Setting the highest standards – we want to be the best, continually seeking a better way to do things.
Better Journeys For Life is also a dedicated website that staff can socialise on as well as finding out information on their shifts as well as information on the
latest promotions etc.
Date of next review: September 2016
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