The National Policing Improvement Agency has today signed up to the Face Equality at Work charter.

By pledging its support, the NPIA has committed itself to training many of its staff, particularly those in recruitment, HR and exams or assessments, to make them aware of facial disfigurements and how best to approach situations involving people who are visibly different.

The NPIA will also develop training for all staff to increase employee awareness and improve perceptions of facial disfigurement. In addition, it will review its equality policies and strategies to ensure that they cover facial equality issues.

Chief Constable Peter Neyroud, Chief Executive of the NPIA, said: "We are delighted to be the first police organisation to sign up to the Face Equality At Work Charter.  As an employer and service provider, we are committed to embedding equality and ensuring that we are accessible to everyone. We would also encourage the wider police service to undertake similar initiatives."

The NPIA joins a number of leading organisations who have all committed to treating their employees and customers with disfigurements fairly and equally. These include Shell, Olympic Deliver Authority, British Airways and Barclays.

The commitment to Face Equality At Work will require employers to take steps to:
* become aware of the causes and effects of disfiguring conditions
* commit to positive thinking about people with disfigurements which will be reflected in policies and procedures
* embed new behaviours when meeting someone with a disfigurement especially in interviews and customer service.

Henrietta Spalding, Head of Professional Development at Changing Faces, said: "We are absolutely delighted that the NPIA is signing up to our Face Equality at Work scheme. We hope that its enthusiasm and the actions it has committed itself to will encourage other constabularies to follow suit to help create communities where people are valued as individuals and not judged on their appearance."

In January 2008, a public attitude survey of 1000 people showed 9 out of 10 people have unconscious negative attitudes towards people who have disfigurements. The research also showed that people with facial disfigurements are likely to be marginalized because little is expected of them, both socially and professionally.

Face Equality at Work was launched in May 2008 to address the discrimination and prejudice that people with disfigurements may experience both as employees and customers and to promote fair treatment and equal opportunities."