Diversity, equality & inclusion

We value difference. Difference of opinion, of culture and background. Difference in the way we look, the way we feel and the challenges we face.

By creating a culture of openness where every person is welcomed and every voice can be heard, we see difference as an opportunity - to learn from each other, to see things from another point of view and make meaningful changes by bringing our voices together.

That’s why we’re committed to creating a diverse, inclusive environment where everyone can bring their whole selves to work, and feel welcomed, respected and valued for who they are.

It starts with ensuring that the way we recruit is responsible, fair, unbiased and open to all. We’ve launched a number of initiatives to help people who face challenges with employment, and we’re supporting wellbeing and development with a range of mentoring programmes and our employee network groups.

Videos

Our brilliant people talk about working at Capita

Meet Emily. Emily talks about her needs as an autistic individual and how she feels these are supported by her manager and colleagues at Capita.

Hear from our people

The importance of diversity and wellbeing at work

Obidike Ukaegbu, Senior Business Analyst, tells us about the main challenges for the future of the industry and why diversity has never been more important.

How accessibility opens up a world of possibility

Paul, a Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby athlete who won bronze and silver medals at the European and World Championships, talks about working for Capita as a wheelchair user.

Empowering our people

Our mentoring schemes to support our people to develop their career include:

RISE (Reduce Inequality Strive for Equality), a leadership programme for Black, Asian and minority ethnic employees, as well as female employees, which aims to reduce the representation gap across the business
our mutual mentoring scheme which pairs junior colleagues from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic background with senior leaders to enable them to learn from one another
the Moving Ahead mentorship programme, provided by our partners The 30% Club, which is aimed at increasing women’s representation at board and senior levels within the organisation.

Socially responsible resourcing

We know we have a responsibility to help people facing challenges when searching for a job, which is why our socially responsible resourcing & development initiatives are focused on offering greater and better opportunities to disadvantaged and under-represented groups.

We're also a Disability Confident Leader which means we offer a fully inclusive, flexible and accessible recruitment process. We actively seek to attract and recruit disabled people, making reasonable adjustments wherever they are needed and supporting the initiative to offer an interview for disabled candidates who meet the minimum requirements of an advertised role.

Our current programmes are listed below - toggle the + sign to learn more about each initiative.

Capita accessibility guide

At Capita, we’re committed to providing an inclusive, barrier-free recruitment process and working environment for everyone. We want everyone to have the best chance of succeeding as they move through their application and start their career with us.

We value difference. Difference of opinion, of culture and background. Difference in the way we look, the way we feel and the challenges we face. There are many ways we can support you during your application process or career with Capita, your experience really matters to us.

Support during your job application

When applying for a job using Capita Jobs, you will be asked if you need an adjustment for any of the stages in the process.

Katy Clarke

Talent Acquisition Partner and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion lead

“In Talent Acquisition we’re here to explore new ways of supporting our candidates to get the best possible experience through their recruitment process. The needs of one person to the next are always so different, we’re often finding new ways to make an interview more accessible or provide information in a way that works for people”

What adjustments do we offer?

Depending on what support you need, we can work with you to explore what adjustments can be made. Some examples of adjustments made to our recruitment processes include:

providing job adverts and applications in different formats
talking you through all the accessibility features we have on our Capita website and our job application site Workday, which include things like a screen reader, using a keyboard without a mouse, a magnifier or high contrast and colour adjuster
advising you on the accessibility features within Teams
enabling you to use any accessibility devices/communication support you might have i.e. screen readers, speech-to-text software
providing interview questions in advance or in the teams chat
offering a suitable interview in terms of time of day, location and format
ensuring accessibility for in person interviews
preparing your interview for a communication support worker/BSL interpreter to attend
offering extra time to complete assessments and reviewing the format of assessments

Access to Work can also help you to get support during the recruitment process, including communication support at interviews such as a British Sign Language interpreter. Apply for this candidate support

Disability confident scheme

Capita is a Disability Confident Leader, which means we are taking action to remove any barriers to the recruitment process and enable candidates with disabilities the opportunity to demonstrate their full experience, skills, ability, and potential.

As signatories of the Governments Disability Confident Scheme (formerly known as the Guaranteed Interview scheme), we offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for a job. If you consider yourself to have a physical or mental impairment, or a long-term health condition which has a substantial and long-term (over 12 months) adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities you can apply for a job under this scheme.

Access to the Disability Confident scheme simply requires an applicant with a disability to:

Show that they meet the essential criteria described in the person specification
Answer 'yes' to the question on the job application form 'do you wish to be considered under the Disability Confident Interview Scheme’

Adjustments in the workplace

Our support continues after your offer and into your career with us at Capita. Our Workplace Adjustment Passport, designed in collaboration with Capita Ability Network, our disability employee network group, can be useful for structuring your conversation about workplace adjustments with your manager.

Creating a barrier-free, inclusive workplace is really important to us.

Here are a few examples of adjustments we’ve made for our colleagues at Capita:

Specialised equipment such as ergonomic chairs
IT software such as speech-to-text and magnification software
Adjusted responsibilities and workload
Adjusted hours and working location
Adjusted working environment
Providing information in accessible formats

Once agreed with your manager, we record adjustments using the Adjustments Passport. This means we can ensure that we capture any adjustments in place for you and they are reviewed regularly to ensure they remain the right ones to support you.

Access to work

Access to Work is a government scheme which can help you get or stay in work if you have a physical or mental health condition or disability. The support you get will depend on your needs.

Through Access to Work, you can apply for:	Access to Work could give you a grant to help pay for things like:
a grant to help pay for practical support with your work support with managing your mental health at work money to pay for communication support at job interviews	specialist equipment and assistive software support workers, like a BSL interpreter, a job coach or a travel buddy costs of travelling to work, if you cannot use public transport physical changes to your workplace Your workplace can include your home if you work from there some or all of the time.

It doesn’t matter how much you earn. If you get an Access to Work grant, it will not affect any other benefits you get and you will not have to pay it back. Capita may be asked to contribute a proportion of the funding, depending on the size and type of request.

To access the service, a self-referral should be made either online at www.gov.uk/access-to-work, via telephone on 0800 121 7479, textphone 0800 121 7579, or via Relay UK (if unable to hear or speak on the phone): 18001 then 0800 121 7479.

Capita Employee Network Groups

We want to offer an inclusive environment where everyone feels empowered. Our 6 Employee Networks help us do just that. Each group is led by a chair and co-chair who have been voted into their roles, and is supported by an Executive Committee Sponsor. Whether you want to connect with similar people or want to learn more about others, you're welcome to join any of these networks:

Family Network
Ability Network
Embrace Network (race and ethnicity)
Rainbow Alliance (LGBTQ+)
Multi-Faith Network
Gender Network

If you would like to discuss any support or adjustments you might need during your job application, please contact us at reasonableadjustments@capita.com or call 07784 237318 and we’ll get back to you to start the conversation.

Sharon Loviette

Head of Diversity, Inclusion and Social Value, Capita

“Disability inclusion means valuing everyone for their strengths, including those with disabilities — whether visible or invisible. It means providing an equal opportunity to succeed, to learn, to be compensated fairly, and to advance. I am proud of the work we are doing to build a more inclusive workplace.”

Our diversity and inclusion hub

Our people are actively involved in how we shape the future of Capita. Our employee network groups play a huge part in this – offering a place for everyone to ask questions, explore new ideas and share experiences. They help us to create a culture of openness and trust, where every voice feels heard, every person feels seen and valued. It doesn’t stop there though.

We’ve created an online content hub for our people – a place to share knowledge, experiences and educational content – so that we can drive allyship across our business and bring together our voices to enact real change. We call it CHOIR and when you join us you’ll be part of it too.

Employee network groups

We have eight networks covering all aspects of diversity and inclusion. Each group is led by a chair and co-chair who have been voted into their roles, and is supported by an Executive Committee Sponsor.

Capita Ability Network (CAN)

This network is for colleagues whose lives are affected in any way by disability, including neurodiversity and long-term health conditions. Its aim is to remove the stigma surrounding disability and provide a supportive place for colleagues to share their experiences.

Capita Embrace (race & ethnicity) Network

This network is for people from all ethnicities, faiths and geographies. Its aim is to understand the challenges faced by ethnic minorities and how we can help our colleagues thrive.

Capita Family Network

The Family Network provides a supportive community where colleagues can discuss all aspects of family life, whether they’re a parent, carer, sibling, child or extended family member. We aim to make everyone to feel comfortable sharing their experiences and insights, and to help change perceptions of traditional family and gender roles.

Capita Gender Equality Network

In this network group, people of all genders can connect and celebrate what makes them unique in the workplace. We want to empower people to succeed by sharing ideas and discussing ways of working that can help Capita become more inclusive.

Capita Generation Network

Colleagues of all ages are welcome here, as we work to reduce age-related misconceptions. This is a place to raise awareness for the challenges we face at different points in our lives and to drive positive change within the organisation.

Capita Rainbow Alliance (LGBTQ+) Network

The Rainbow Alliance Network is dedicated to promoting gender equality, sexual orientation, diversity and inclusion, and providing a supportive space for colleagues to share their experiences around the challenges they face at work to make Capita more inclusive.

Capita Multi-Faith Network

Whether you’re religious, atheist, agnostic or somewhere in-between, our Multi-Faith Network is open to all colleagues. It offers an inclusive space for people to expand their understanding and discuss how beliefs can enable us to lead positive and healthy lives.

Capita Wellbeing Network

We’ve created the Wellbeing Network to provide a welcoming, supportive community which everyone at Capita can benefit from. It includes tools, guidance and tips on managing wellbeing, and aims to help colleagues support each other and nurture a positive work/life balance.

Our commitments

We’re proud of the awards we’ve achieved so far and continue to seek out partnerships and commitments that champion diversity, equality and inclusion for all.