Diversity, Equality + Inclusion Policy

Full Fat is committed to encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion among our workforce, and eliminating discrimination of any kind. We welcome people from all backgrounds and believe our team should be representative of society and the audiences we communicate with. Diversity is an essential part of encouraging greater innovation and creativity within the agency.

Each and every person at Full Fat should feel respected, be themselves and be able to give their best.

We are committed to:

Providing equality, fairness and respect for all in our employment, whether temporary, part-time or full-time

Not unlawfully discriminating because of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race (including colour, nationality, and ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation

Opposing and avoiding all forms of unlawful discrimination. This includes in pay and benefits, terms and conditions of employment, dealing with grievances and discipline, dismissal, redundancy, leave for parents, requests for flexible working, and selection for employment, promotion, training or other developmental opportunities

Create a working environment free of bullying, harassment, victimisation and unlawful discrimination, promoting dignity and respect for all, and where individual differences and contributions are recognised and valued.   All staff should actively help the agency deliver this commitment and . individuals, as well as Full Fat, can be held liable for perpetrating these acts in the course of their employment, against fellow employees, customers, suppliers and the public 

Take seriously complaints of bullying, harassment, victimisation and unlawful discrimination by fellow employees, clients, suppliers, visitors, the public and any others in the course of the agency’s work.   Such acts will be dealt with as misconduct under our grievance and/or disciplinary procedures.  

Make opportunities for training, development and progress available to all staff, who will be helped and encouraged to develop their full potential, so their talents and resources can be fully utilised to maximise the efficiency of the organisation. 

Make opportunities for training available to all staff regarding issues that impact equality, diversity and inclusion in society and the workplace so that they can represent the agency’s values throughout their work

Decisions concerning staff being based on merit (apart from in any necessary and limited exemptions and exceptions allowed under the Equality Act). 

Review employment practices and procedures when necessary to ensure fairness, and also update them and the policy to take account of changes in the law.

Ensure that new vacancies within the agency are made accessible to a wide range of people from different backgrounds, working with inclusive organisations such as BAME specific recruiters to ensure we actively encourage a more diverse workforce

Encourage equality, diversity and inclusion in our work, by ensuring media and influencer target lists are reflective of society and that a variety of audiences are considered when strategies are created for clients

Monitor the make-up of the workforce regarding information such as age, sex, ethnic background, sexual orientation, religion or belief, and disability in encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion, and in meeting the aims and commitments set out in the equality, diversity and inclusion policy.   Monitoring will also include assessing how the equality, diversity and inclusion policy, and any supporting action plan, are working in practice, reviewing them annually, and considering and taking action to address any issues.

The equality, diversity and inclusion policy is fully supported by senior management and our commitments are continuously assessed and updated by the agency’s DEI Committee.

PRIVACY POLICY

ABOUT OUR PRIVACY POLICY

Gold Top Media LTD, trading as Full Fat, is committed to your right to privacy and the protection of your personal information. We have created this privacy policy to ensure that you understand why we collect personal information, what type of information we collect and how we use it.

WHO IS FULL FAT

Full Fat (whose registered business name is Gold Top Media LTD, registered address is 71 Fanshaw Street, N1 6LA and registered company number 07866135) is an agency working in the Public Relations industry and provides PR and Social Media services to its clients. Full Fat is a ‘data controller’ in respect of the personal information that it collects and stores from journalists and social media influencers (influencers).

WHO ARE OUR CLIENTS?

Full Fat deliver PR and Social Media services to businesses within the lifestyle, culture, technology, food and drink industries.

WHAT PERSONAL INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?

We only collect basic personal data about journalists and social media influencers including name, employer (journalists only), email and phone number.

HOW DO WE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION?

We collect this personal information by the following means:

- Identifying bylines in papers, online sites and magazines
- By communicating with journalists when we hear of a move within the industry
- By following journalists and influencers that update their status on various platforms including LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter and other sites
- By using media database services such as Gorkana.

We also collect personal information when we are contacted directly.

WHY WE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION

We collect, store and handle the personal information of journalists and social media influencers for our legitimate interest as Public Relation professionals to serve journalists with relevant information about our clients that is likely to be of interest to them. This information is used to:

- Call/email a journalist following an enquiry
- Introduce spokespeople to journalists
- To send products to journalists and social media influencers
- To send journalists press releases
- To correct inaccurate stories
- To invite journalists and social media influencers to events.

We also collect, store and use the contact details of our clients because this is needed for us to provide them with our services.

All of our email list building and email marketing strategies are GDPR compliant.

COLLECTING SENSITIVE INFORMATION

Full Fat only holds the information that is relevant to this relationship and no sensitive data is collected. Unless we have consent, we will not collect data that details sensitive information such as ethnic origin, political views, religious beliefs, criminal records, health, disability or sexual orientation.

STORING PERSONAL INFORMATION

We store personal information in paper and electronic form. Data is only handled by staff that are employed by Full Fat and who are aware of our privacy policy.

Paper stored data is for single use only such as an event and is destroyed after use. Electronically stored data can only be accessed through a secure password by employees of Full Fat and on some occasions our IT support service who will have access to this data only when it is needed to provide support to us.

We do not share any personal data with any third parties and we take appropriate steps to protect personal information from misuse, disclosure or unauthorised access.

How long we keep your data for

In line with data protection principles, we only keep your data for as long as we need it for and for as long as we are able to determine that you are still engaged in media and marketing. At the end of a year if you are no longer working within the industry in which we have previoulsy engaged you for then we will remove your data.

YOUR ACCESS TO YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

You have the right to:

- Access your personal information stored by us if requested
- Request that we update personal information that is incorrect or outdated
- Opt out if any marketing materials that we may send you

You can do this by either contacting us via info@wearefullfat.com or by opting out of marketing materials via the unsubscribe links included within these materials.

COOKIES

Our website uses cookies to collect non-personally identifiable information to remember users’ settings and for authentication. You can adjust cookie settings via your internet browser.

This privacy policy was last updated June, 2024.

Bereavement Policy

Full Fat acknowledges the personal nature of bereavement and grief and is committed to supporting employees in practical and reasonable ways.

Paid leave

Bereavement leave is paid leave that allows an employee time off to deal with their personal distress and related practical arrangements, primarily, but not limited to, when a member of their family dies.

We acknowledge that bereavement impacts all individuals differently and the guidelines below are intended to show the minimum paid leave an employee is entitled to in different circumstances. We acknowledge that not all employees will need to take the full allowance, and some employees will need additional time, depending on their relationship with the person who has died and the circumstances of the death.

In the event of the death of an immediate relative, 5 working days paid leave will be granted. An immediate relative includes a spouse, civil partner or partner (including same sex partners),* child,** parent, step- parent, sibling or a person with whom the employee is in a relationship of domestic dependency.

*Partner includes someone with whom the employee is co-habiting but is not the employee’s spouse or civil partner.

**Child includes children in respect of whom the employee is the adoptive parent and legal guardians and carers. 2 days leave will be allowed on the death of a mother/father-in-law, grandparents, grandchildren, son/daughter-in-law.

1 day of leave will be allowed on the death of an uncle/aunt to facilitate attendance at the funeral.

In exceptional circumstances, 1 to 2 days leave may be granted on the death of someone outside the immediate family. These circumstances would include (but are not limited to) situations where the employee is responsible for funeral arrangements or has to travel abroad to attend the funeral.

An employee should notify their line manager of their need to take leave as soon as possible or, at latest, on the first day of absence. In exceptional circumstances, applications for leave will be considered after the first day of absence. Line managers have the right to exercise discretion in exceptional circumstances as outlined above. Leave days do not have to be taken consecutively.

Annual leave

In the event of a bereavement, an employee will be able to take unpaid leave or annual leave at short notice to supplement their bereavement leave. Requests should be directed to the employee’s line manager. 

An employee who suffers a family bereavement while on annual leave can convert their annual leave into bereavement leave and take their annual leave at a future date.

Unpaid leave

Unpaid leave on compassionate grounds up to a maximum of 4 weeks may be granted after bereavement. An employee must consult with their line manager before starting unpaid leave.

Return to work

In certain circumstances a full return to work may not be possible for an employee following the death of an immediate relative – for example, when the employee’s grief is likely to impact on their ability to perform their role, or where new child care arrangements have to be sourced or responsibility for the care of an elderly parent has transferred to the employee.

In such instances Full Fat will allow a phased return to work on a part-time or reduced hours basis where practicable. Alternative duties may also be considered. Any such arrangement would need to be agreed in advance by the line manager, would be subject to an agreed maximum number of days and would be managed in line with [name of organisation] flexible working/part-time working policy.

Employee support

We acknowledge that bereavement leave is intended to support employees in the immediate period around the death of a relative. However, the process of grief, the natural reaction and adjustment to loss and change may take a significant time and will be personal to each individual.

An employee with any concerns about the grieving process impacting on their work performance should discuss this in confidence with either their line manager or the Human Resources Department, to ensure that any reasonable adjustments that may be necessary are discussed and put in place and that the employee is supported in their return to the full range of duties and responsibilities that they had prior to the bereavement or their duties and responsibilities are adjusted (as necessary) with the prior agreement of line manager.

Full Fat recognises that the majority of people do not require counselling to cope effectively with their grief. However, for employees wishing to avail themselves of professional help in coming to terms with a significant loss, the organisation will cover the cost of up to [insert number] counselling sessions with an independent counselling practice. This is a confidential service and can be accessed directly through HR or the employee assistance programme.

Health and safety

Bereavement can have an impact on concentration, sleep, and decision-making. The health and safety assessment of the workplace will include consideration of the impact of bereavement on employees, their duties and responsibilities, and the context in which they are working, e.g. do they operate heavy machinery?

Any employee who is concerned about their ability to conduct their duties safely in the weeks following a bereavement must discuss this with their line manager.

Full Fat reserves the right to request an employee to meet the organisation’s doctor before resuming full duties.

Culture and diversity

Full Fat recognises that different cultures respond to death in significantly different ways.

Line managers will check whether the employee’s religion or culture requires them to observe any particular practices or make special arrangements which would necessitate them being off work at a particular time. Employees should not assume that their line manager is aware of any such requirements and should draw this to their line manager’s attention as soon as possible.

Line managers who are unsure of how to respond to a bereaved employee from a different culture should ask the bereaved employee or someone else from their cultural group about what is appropriate.

Policies

Drug & Alcohol

Policy

Full Fat staff may not bring to or consume alcohol or any unlawful drugs in the workplace during office and working hours.

This includes business functions whereby Full Fat is working as representation of and on behalf of a client, such as on site at a festival, restaurant or bar and applies to all staff, whether working on site or otherwise.

Special rules may apply in relation to alcohol and in these circumstances, any variation to the no-alcohol policy will be communicated. This includes events such as staff parties, alcohol sample tasting and the weekly Friday cocktail hour 5pm - 6pm.

In line with the agency’s disciplinary rules, breach of these rules will normally result in disciplinary proceedings and in exceptional cases either notice or the reduced disciplinary action of a final written warning could be applied.