Lovely Professional University (LPU) takes pride in its students, staff, service providers and stakeholders from diverse backgrounds, considered as a treasure beyond measure. As part of our sustained commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, we endeavor to create an environment in which all members of our community are able to realize their full potential. Strategically, it serves the purpose of attracting diverse talent, creating conducive environment for employee engagement and holistic development of students.

Responding to the needs of multicultural and diverse human resources, the University has five underpinning values i.e. Respect for diversity, Freedom of thought and expression, Integrity and Professional ethics, Pursuit of Excellence through Innovation, Collaboration and continuous improvement, Accountability for actions and results.

Lovely Professional University is committed towards promotion of equity and avoiding all forms of discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, physical disability/ Challenge, age, class, caste, or religious or ethnic affiliation. These guidelines showcase the University’s approach towards addressing discrimination and handling of such cases to address any related grievances.

In LPU, Equal Employment Opportunity guidelines are available to ensure that individuals or groups of individuals are not treated less favorably, on the basis of the factors listed below:

• Gender (including gender identity): a person’s gender identity including male, female, transgender or non-binary.
• Civil status: A person’s civil status, be it single, married, separated, divorced, widowed, civil partnered and formerly civil partnered.
• Family status: Being a parent of a person under 18 years or the resident primary career or parent of a person with a disability.
• Socio-economic status: A combined economic and sociological status based on the income, education, and occupation of an individual and their family.
• Sexual orientation: a person’s sexual orientation including gay, lesbian, bisexual and heterosexual. The purpose of this is to set out a framework as per the guidelines laid down in the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Rules 2020 for how the University will support staff who wish to take steps to change the gender identity they were assigned at birth, or have already done so.
• Religion: A person’s religious belief, background, outlook or none.
• Age: A person’s age, (this does not apply to a person aged under 18). LPU firmly believes that multi-generational workforce brings together individuals with different experiences, skills, and viewpoints.
• Disability: Includes people with physical, intellectual, learning, cognitive or emotional disabilities and a range of medical conditions.
• Race: Includes race, skin colour, nationality or ethnic origin.
• Traveler community: recognized as an ethnic group.
• Refugees and Asylum Seeker: No discrimination based on a person's refugee or asylum seeker status. This includes ensuring fair treatment in recruitment, hiring, promotion, and other employment practices.
• Pregnancy and Maternity: No discrimination based on pregnancy and to ensure that pregnant employees are not disadvantaged in terms of career advancement, salary, or other benefits. University provides various benefits at workplace including paid leaves and medical assistance (Mediclaim and ESIC).

The guidelines seek to advance equality of opportunity in access to employment or a programme of study, training, development, career opportunities etc. without any direct or indirect discrimination, or conscious or unconscious biases.

• To avoid and prevent the presence in any of the University’s activities, programmes and decisions, of any form of discrimination or inequity based on gender, sexual orientation, physical disability, age, race, ethnicity, class or religious affiliation
• To promote the equal participation of women and men in all the activities of the Institution as decision-makers in shaping the sustainable development of their societies
• To support the full realization of the human rights of all those involved in or affected by the activities of the University
• To engage, when appropriate, in programmes and initiatives to reduce gender inequities in access to and control over the resources of the Institution and the benefits of its activities
• To ensure women are given equal opportunities in all areas right from recruitment to their appraisals, promotion and work diversity
• To protect complainants reporting discrimination from educational or employment disadvantage

• Gender equity will be implemented explicitly in all decisions concerning the University’s programmes, awards, and other initiatives, as well as in the construction of all committees and panels.
• Training in gender equity and non-discrimination is to be made available to all staff members of the University.
• Respecting the confidentiality of all transgender staff members and not to reveal information related to their transgender status without the prior agreement of the individual.
• Zero tolerance for trans-phobic abuse, harassment or bullying (name- calling/derogatory jokes, unacceptable or unwanted behaviour, intrusive questions etc.). Strive to develop appropriate facilities for transgender students and Staff, such as gender-neutral toilets.
• Staff undergoing medical and surgical procedures related to gender reassignment will receive positive support from the University to meet their particular needs during this period. The University recognizes that transgender staff coming from diverse backgrounds, and will strive to ensure they do not face discrimination on the grounds of their gender identity or in relation to other aspects of their identity, for example, their race, age, religion, disability or sexual orientation.
• Any complaint of discrimination based on gender, age, race, ethnicity, class, caste, or religious affiliation will be addressed through the grievance redressal procedure laid down by the University.
• University will protect complainants reporting discrimination from educational or employment disadvantage by ensuring anonymity of complaints and constituting neutral investigation committee with no conflict of interest.
• Language used will be gender-neutral and respectful, both in choice of words and in discourse interaction.
• The Vice Chancellor/ Appropriate Authority will comment in his/her Annual Report on the state of equity in the University, reporting on successes and where appropriate on shortcomings and plans to address those shortcomings.

EMPLOYMENT PRACTICE RELATED TO TRADE UNIONS
LPU is guided by the ‘The Indian Trade Unions Act, 1926’ for the creation, registration, management, rights and duties of a trade union.

• Executive: means the body, by whatever name called, to which the management of the affairs of a Trade Union is entrusted.
• Office-Bearer: in the case of a Trade Union, includes any member of the executive thereof, but does not include an auditor.
• Registered Office: means that office of a Trade Union which is registered under ‘The Indian Trade Unions Act, 1926’ as the head office thereof.
• Registered Trade Union: means a Trade Union registered under ‘The Indian Trade Unions Act, 1926’.
• Trade Dispute: means any dispute between employers and workmen or between workmen and workmen, or between employers and employers which is connected with the employment or non- employment, or the terms of employment or the conditions of labour, of any person, and "workmen" means all persons employed in trade or industry whether or not in the employment of the employer with whom the trade dispute arises.
• Trade Union: means any combination, whether temporary or permanent, formed primarily for the purpose of regulating the relations between workmen and employers or between workmen and workmen, or between employers and employers, or for imposing restrictive conditions on the conduct of any trade or business, and includes any federation of two or more Trade Unions.
• Labour Rights related to employees taken care by the University:
• Secure fair wages for employees and improve their opportunities for promotion and training.
• Safeguard security of tenure and improve their conditions of service.
• Improve working and living conditions of workers.
• Provide them educational, cultural and recreational facilities.
• Facilitate technological advancement by broadening the understanding of the workers.
• Help them in improving levels of production, productivity, discipline and high standard of living.
• Promote individual and collective welfare and thus correlate the workers' interests with that of their industry.
• To take participation in management for decision-making in connection to workers and to take disciplinary action against the worker who commits in-disciplinary action.
Lovely Professional University has a transparent process for employees to appeal on employee rights. The University has created an efficient and transparent Relationship Management System (RMS), which is an online module available on University Management System (UMS) where the employees of the University can share their grievances
/queries/suggestions related to any issue they are facing while working in the University. The faculty concerns become visible to the concerned Department/ Division which has to respond on the issue within reasonable defined time. The system also has a provision for escalating the issue to Head of School / Head of Faculty/ Head of Division if the grievance/query is not handled on time or to the satisfaction of the employee. The concerned head thereafter reviews the issue on merit and tries to resolve it in accordance with the rules and regulations of the University. If required even departures are made from the existing policy and if deemed appropriate, policy/system itself may be amended accordingly. This provision generates transparency of operations, time bound redressal of the issues raised by the employees and continuous upgradation of systems, procedures and policies.

Online Office Management System (OMS) is another interface wherein the employee can seek appointment with any authority and discuss his/her concerns in-person. Herein an opportunity is provided to the employees to put forward the issue, understand the existing policies and norms and seek the best possible resolution.

In the light of an efficient and effective system of grievance redressal in the University, the employees are well satisfied with the pay, working conditions and their general rights because of which they have not felt the need to form trade union in the University. Further, the University is following all the policy guidelines laid down by the regulatory bodies and is offering infrastructure and systems of Global standards, which pre-empts any serious dissatisfaction/ grievance.

However, in case the need arises, a trade union can be established as per the rules and regulations laid down under ‘The Indian Trade Unions Act, 1926’. It will be pertinent to mention that there is a very large number of academic and industry organizations which do not have trade unions and yet are successfully managed while displaying employee satisfaction.

As a responsible employer LPU strives to provide a safe and healthy working environment to all its employees. In some circumstances where outsourcing of services is necessary, the University commits to exercising due care in considering the outsourcing proposals and putting in place proper mechanism to select and monitor the performance of the contractors, whose workers also deserve fair compensation and treatment.

• The University attaches great importance to social justice and social responsibility, and outsourcing of services is considered in that light.
• The University endeavours to exercise due care in considering outsourcing of services, especially for cleaning and security services involving non-skilled labour, and will explore measures to facilitate the engagement of social enterprises where appropriate for the provision of such services.
• It is necessary to maintain balance between upholding social justice and cost- effectiveness in service delivery.
• The above guiding principles are communicated to all Faculty Deans, Division Heads, officers, as well as staff and students of the University for information. It is however acknowledged that the considerations for outsourcing vary across Departments/Divisions, and the ultimate decision of whether to outsource or not has to be made on a case-by-case basis by the University taking into account all relevant factors.

In view of the large volume and variety of services procured by the University each year, and the difficulty in clearly defining “outsourced services” comprehensively, the University focuses on monitoring high-risk areas/cases of outsourcing, such as long-term contracts and those involving housekeeping or security services, or other industries known to have employment models where employees are more susceptible to exploitative treatments. The following service contracts are processed in accordance with the purchase procedures and guidelines of the University, without the need to be submitted for prior review:

• non-cleaning and non-security service contracts; or
• one-off contracts on a non-recurring basis of not more than one year; or

Contracts other than the above-mentioned will normally be presented/circulated to a Monitoring Committee for input before the University makes a final decision on the outsourcing proposal.

1. While the contractor acts as the agent for delivering services in accordance with the contract terms, and is responsible for compliance with legislation and for remunerating its staff, the University is ultimately responsible to stakeholders for ensuring that the services are delivered in accordance with the statutory and contractual requirements including the quality and standard of services. The University shall always establish sufficient control over the outsourced activities by putting in place appropriate measures to manage the regulatory and reputational risks to safeguard stakeholders’ interests. In this connection, it is resolved:

• To ensure the sustainability and implementation of the guiding principles governing outsourcing, a Monitoring Committee monitors outsourcing matters and makes recommendations for improvement on a regular basis. The Monitoring Committee takes up the following roles:
• Provide input on outsourcing proposals.
• Make recommendations for improvement on the monitoring mechanism of outsourced services and the criteria for selection of contractors as appropriate.
• To facilitate communication with outsourced workers where necessary, particularly in cases of serious labour disputes/conflicts/complaints and work safety matters, the HR Office will serve as the designated office/co-ordinating point. In case of request for assistance, the HR Office will liaise with the relevant persons, units and contractors, with a view to channelling the workers’ concerns for better communication and facilitating problem resolution. Cases received will be reported to the Monitoring Committee.

The procedure for selection of contractors is open, fair and transparent, so as to allow the participation of any interested service providers. Apart from considering the usual criteria such as meeting the specified service requirements, and reasonable costs as determined through the quotation/tendering procedures, the following criteria be taken into account and where applicable, appropriately reflected in the tendering/contractual documents:

• The contractors should provide fair compensation package to the workers which reflects market value, and with proper terms and conditions meeting statutory requirements. For example, caterers should include meal time and statutory rest days for their employees as paid working hours. Preference may be given to those who provide better terms and conditions exceeding baseline requirements, and contractors which uphold their social responsibility in their business practices.
• The contractors should endeavour to maintain harmonious labour relations and safeguard labour rights of the outsourced workers.
• Proven track record of the contractors (e.g. reputation in the business, labour relations, past conviction records) should be properly declared and made available upon request.
• The contractors should commit to the green policies (e.g. Environmental Sustainability Practices) adopted by the University.
• The contractor should commit the following code of conduct:
• The contractors should commit to conducting their businesses in an ethical manner, and be accountable, transparent and reputable in the business practices.
• The contractors should observe the fundamental principles of human rights and equal opportunities, and not be involved in any form of discrimination in hiring and employment practices.
• The contractors should provide a safe and healthy working environment to the employees with appropriate training.
• The contractors should treat employees with respect and not engage in any form of exploitation of employees.
• The contractors should affirm freedom of expression and association by employees, and provide communication channels to express their views appropriately.

• Lovely Professional University believes in dignity of labour and has Zero tolerance on employment of child labour, forced labour, modern slavery & human trafficking. University provides a work environment that ensures every employee is treated with dignity and respect and given unbiased treatment. In compliance with Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 the University does not employ any person below the age of fourteen years. The University prohibits employment of forced or compulsory labour in the entire campus directly or indirectly.
• Modern slavery which takes various forms, such as slavery, servitude, forced and compulsory labour and human trafficking is a crime and a violation of fundamental human rights. The University has zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery and we are committed to acting ethically and with integrity in all our dealings and relationships and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to ensure modern slavery is not taking place anywhere in our university.
• No employee is made to work against his/her will or work as bonded/forced labour, or subject to coercion of any type related to work. The University strictly prohibits modern slavery and any of its related practices which may include but is not limited to labour, bonded labour, child labour etc.
• Staff joining forms, identification proofs and other records, documenting all relevant details of the employees, including age, are maintained in the University, open to verification by authorised personnel or relevant statutory body.
• All offices of the University and on the University’s website, concerned Heads of Schools/ Division communicate the same to all staff and the same is taken up in the staff induction programme as well. The implementation of the guidelines is the responsibility of the Division of Human Resource.

• To encourage openness and support anyone who raises genuine concerns in good faith under this guideline, even if they turn out to be mistaken.
• Sub contactors/vendors are prohibited in engaging in any form of modern slavery, Forced/ Bonded Labour.
• Staff members shall have the right to leave the workplace premises after completing the standard workday and shall be free to terminate their employment provided that they give reasonable notice to the University, as per policy so specified.
• All employees should be well informed of the terms of their employment i.e. job description, hours of work etc.
• The University also permits staff, students and anyone contractually associated with the University to raise concerns of serious malpractice in the University. Deans and Directors or their representative must report any suspected breaches of the child labour, forced labour, modern slavery & human trafficking to the University Registrar.

• Lovely Professional University is committed to promoting equal employment opportunities and avoiding all forms of discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, difference of ability, age, class, caste, or religious or ethnic affiliation. Equal opportunity means that all staff experience fairness, impartiality and equal access to all career initiatives. University also endeavors to promote an inclusive work environment that values and accepts the diverse cultural and social backgrounds of its staff.
• APPEAL PROCESS: Lovely Professional University has a very transparent and robust process for employees to appeal on issues relating to equal employment opportunities and for avoiding all forms of discrimination. Lovely Professional University has a transparent process for employees to appeal on employment of child labour, forced labour, modern slavery & human trafficking. The University has created an efficient and transparent Relationship Management System (RMS), which is an online module available on University Management System (UMS) where the employees of the University can share their grievances /queries/suggestions related to any issue they are facing while working in the University. The faculty concerns become visible to the concerned Department/ Division which has to respond on the issue within reasonable defined time. The system also has a provision for escalating the issue to Head of School /Head of Faculty/ Head of Division if the grievance/query is not handled on time or to the satisfaction of the employee. The concerned head thereafter reviews the issue on merit and tries to resolve it in accordance with the rules and regulations of the University. If required even departures are made from the existing policy and if deemed appropriate, policy/system itself may be amended accordingly. This provision generates transparency of operations, time bound redressal of the issues raised by the employees and continuous upgradation of systems, procedures and policies.
  Online Office Management System (OMS) is another interface wherein the employee can seek appointment with any authority and discuss his/her concerns in-person. Herein an opportunity is provided to the employees to put forward the issue, understand the existing policies and norms and seek the best possible resolution.
  The University is very open and receptive to any new direction or guidelines issued or endorsed by the regulatory authorities and immediately try to incorporate the same into the system. As is the case with all University policies/guidelines, it has the exclusive right to interpret this policy.
  The above provision has been made available to ensure that all matters w.r.t gender, age, race, ethnicity, class, caste, or religious affiliation are dealt with transparency, in a time bound manner ensuring procedural justice with an inclusive approach.