Progress flag to fly at OIC during Pride month

You may see the Progress flag flying over the Town Hall in Kirkwall this weekend (16, 17 and 18 June 2023.)

It’s one way as a Council we can show our support for equality and diversity in the community during Pride month, and – as a provider of many vital services - our commitment to inclusive services and better experiences for all in our community.

We thought we’d quickly highlight some of what’s already in place to ensure OIC is embracing and supporting inclusion for our colleagues, no matter what their background or identity, and to help create a better place to work for us all.

OIC policies relating to family, leave and other benefits don’t make assumptions about the gender of employees or of their partners. These include:

• Adoption and Surrogacy policy
• Leave of Absence policy
• Maternity and Paternity policy
• Shared parental leave policy
• Menopause policy
• Local Government Pension Scheme

The Council’s Dignity at Work policy makes specific mention of LGBTQ+ discrimination, bullying and harassment and aims to help all colleagues to feel confident identifying and reporting these incidents, sending the message that homophobic, biphobic or transphobic behaviour is not tolerated at OIC.

Looking ahead, the Council’s Organisational Development team are starting to look at how OIC can bring staff together to continue the conversation beyond Pride month, and share ideas on how our services and workplace can be more inclusive.

Keep an eye out for more details coming soon about how you can get involved!

You can read the Council’s press release, here.