News & InfoInclusion and diversity
Everyone in.
People come first. In everything we do. For us, that means the people we hire, the households we design for, the partners we work with and everyone on and around our sites.
This page sets out our intent, not a scorecard, and how to hold us to it.
What we mean
Inclusion is decided in small places.
Not in a slogan. In the wording of a job advert, the height of a threshold, the questions we ask a supplier and the way a site is set up before work starts. Those are the places we hold ourselves to.
Four commitments
What we aim to do.
Written as intent, because that is what they are. Where something depends on the law, a product or a site, we say so.
Commitment 1: Inclusive hiring
Judged on what you can do.
We aim to
- Write job adverts in plain language that say what a role really needs, and leave out what it doesn’t.
- Judge applications on skills, experience and potential, not on background, age or where someone learned their trade.
- Talk through adjustments to how you apply and interview, whenever you ask. For disabled candidates, reasonable adjustments are a legal duty; we treat that as the minimum.
- Welcome people at every stage of a working life, from a first job to years on the tools.
Commitment 2: Accessible products and websites
Designed for the whole household.
We aim to
- Start every design conversation with who will use it: children, older relatives, visitors, and anyone who uses a wheelchair or a walking aid.
- Offer the options in our ranges that make daily life easier, such as flush thresholds, app and keypad control and doors that close themselves, and say plainly what each one depends on.
- Put every specification in writing, in plain words, so no decision rests on a conversation someone could not follow.
- Work towards WCAG 2.2 level AA on our website, and fix barriers when you tell us about them.
Commitment 3: Fair supplier practices
The same standards, all the way back.
We aim to
- Ask our suppliers and manufacturing partners to treat their people fairly and without discrimination, with safe work and freely chosen employment.
- Look for the risk of forced labour and exploitation in our supply chain, and set out how we do it in our Modern Slavery Act statement.
- Welcome expressions of interest from businesses of every size, and judge them on quality, reliability and how they treat people.
- Give anyone in our supply chain a confidential way to raise a concern.
Commitment 4: Safe sites
Safe for everyone around the work.
We aim to
- Plan each installation around the people who live there and pass by: a clear way in and out, tools and materials kept off paths, the work area protected.
- Expect everyone on our sites, our own teams and our partners alike, to treat residents, neighbours and each other with respect.
- Make it normal for anyone on site to stop and ask when something looks unsafe.
- Leave every site clean and safe at handover.
Something not right on one of our sites? Tell us straight away.
Every household
Who comes through your door?
Choose who lives with you and who visits. We will show ideas from our current ranges that make the way in easier for them, and where on the route from street to garden each one applies.
Ideas, not a survey. Each one depends on the product, the drive and the site, and what suits your home is confirmed at survey.
Who lives with you or visits?
Where on the route in?
From the street to the garden, and the controls in your hand.
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01Gate
The gate opens before you reach it.
Open it from the car, the kitchen or anywhere with the app, on a schedule or as part of a scene. It can close behind you after a set time.
Depends onan automatic gate drive with app control
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01Gate
Nothing across the drive.
A cantilever sliding gate glides along the fence line with no track across the driveway, so there is no rail to cross, and leaves and snow do not stop it.
Depends onspace beside the opening for the gate to run back
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01Gate
A gate that turns back on contact.
Safety edges and photocells return an automatic gate when it touches something, or when something crosses its path.
Depends onthe automatic versions of the gate
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01Gate
A wicket for the everyday walk.
A pedestrian gate from the same system as the drive gate, for walks, school runs and visitors on foot. With app control, the dog walker can have the wicket only, on weekdays from eleven to twelve.
Depends ona wicket in the fence run; app control for timed access
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01Gate
Parcels that wait for you.
The MultiBox post takes parcels at the boundary. With app control, a tap lets the courier in at the wicket, so nobody has to hurry to the door.
Depends ona MultiBox post; app control for the wicket
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02Garage
A garage door that knows when to stop.
If the closing door meets resistance, such as a bicycle left on the threshold, it stops and lifts clear, with photocells as a second line. Panel profiles are shaped so they cannot trap fingers.
Depends onthe automatic drive; features vary by drive
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02Garage
Open the garage from the car.
Open and close it from the app, a remote or a scene. And “Did I close it?” is answered with a glance at your phone, from anywhere.
Depends onan automatic drive with app control
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03Front door
A front door that closes itself, and locks.
A concealed closer brings the door home gently every time, and the electric lock locks again as it closes. You can unlock it for the children from your desk.
Depends onan entrance door with an electric lock and closer
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03Front door
Keys optional.
Unlock with a code at the door, the app or a scene. Everyone has a way in, and nobody has to carry a key, or hide a spare one.
Depends onan entrance door with an electric lock
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03Front door
Hands full? It is already open.
A tap from the car as you turn in, and the door is unlocked before you reach the step.
Depends onan electric lock with app control
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04Windows
Windows you can open from where you sit.
Concealed actuators tilt and close windows from the app, one at a time or all together, or on a schedule: twenty minutes of fresh air every morning.
Depends ontilt-and-turn or terrace windows fitted with actuators
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04Windows
One handle, two ways to open.
Turn the handle up and the sash tips in for background air; turn it level and it swings wide. A handle that locks with a key makes an upstairs window as safe as the front door.
Depends ontilt-and-turn windows; a lockable handle where specified
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04Windows
Shade without reaching.
External blinds and roller shutters run from the app, a remote or a schedule, and can follow the sun through the day.
Depends onmotorised blinds or shutters
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05Garden door
Threshold zero.
Sink the running rail of a lift-and-slide door into the floor, put a drainage channel in front of it, and bare feet, prams and wheelchairs cross without a thought. Where a drain is not possible, a low threshold of 20 to 48 mm is the next best thing.
Depends onthe floor build-up and drainage, confirmed at survey
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05Garden door
Glass that moves with one hand.
Turn the lever and a lift-and-slide leaf rises onto rollers, so it moves with one hand whatever its weight. Motorised versions open by themselves.
Depends ona lift-and-slide door; a motor where specified
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06Controls
Access for people, not keys.
Anyone you choose, from family to a carer, a cleaner or a dog walker, gets their own access, limited to a time window or a number of uses. Take it back in a tap. The activity log keeps the last thirty days.
Depends ongate, garage and door drives with app control
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06Controls
Still works the old way.
Remotes, keypads and wall switches carry on exactly as before, even when the internet is down. The app adds to them; it does not replace them.
Depends onremotes, keypads or wall switches fitted with the drives
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06Controls
Know that everyone is home.
The app tells you, quietly, when someone gets home, and only alerts you about what matters: a gate left open, or a door operated with a remote.
Depends ondrives with app control
No ideas match at this point on the route.
Your list
Bring it to your survey.
We will prepare an email with the ideas you chose and who they are for, addressed to our team at enquiries@watford-construction.com. Nothing is sent until you send it from your own email app.
Your list is empty. Choose “Add to my list” on any idea above.
Ready to send
Nothing has been sent. Your email app opens with this message ready for you to check and send.
The law
The law sets the floor.
In Great Britain, the Equality Act 2010 protects people from discrimination because of nine characteristics. They are where fairness starts in how we hire, how we work together and how we treat the people we work for.
- Age
- Disability
- Gender reassignment
- Marriage and civil partnership
- Pregnancy and maternity
- Race
- Religion or belief
- Sex
- Sexual orientation
The law is the floor, not the ceiling. We aim to make sure that accent, background, caring responsibilities and the route someone took into the trade never count against them either. In Northern Ireland and in our other markets, local equality law applies, and we aim to meet it.
Equality Act 2010, section 4 on legislation.gov.uk
Careers
Build with us.
From the first survey to the final handover, on site and in the office, we want our teams to reflect the households and businesses we work for, and everyone in them to be able to do their best work.
- Current vacanciesThe roles open now.
- CareersWorking at Watford Construction.
- Early careersStarting out? Begin here.
Need an adjustment to apply or to interview?
Email us before you apply, or at any stage. Tell us the role and what would help; you don’t have to tell us why.
Ask about an adjustmentSpeak up
If we get it wrong, tell us.
Inclusion is tested in everyday moments: a phone call, a home visit, a job application, a web page. If one of them let you down, we want to hear about it, and we will treat what you tell us with care.
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How you were treated by our team
On the phone, at your home or in writing.
Call +44 (0) 330 818 0713 Email usCustomer Care: Monday to Saturday 8 am to 8 pm, Sunday 10 am to 5 pm (UK time)
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A barrier on our website
Something you could not read, reach or use.
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A job application
An advert, a form or an interview that did not work for you.
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Something in our supply chain
A concern about how people are treated by a supplier or partner.
Questions
Straight answers.
No. It sets out our approach and our intent, and how to hold us to them. It does not report figures.
No. Home Inclusive™ is our coordinated exterior: entrance doors, windows, garage doors and fencing in one design language and sixteen signature finishes. The household ideas on this page come from across our ranges: windows and patio doors, garage doors, fences and gates, and Intelligent Systems.
Yes, that is the right place to start. Tell us who will use it when you ask for a quotation. Options such as a flush threshold, an automatic drive or an electric lock are chosen at specification, we confirm what suits your home at survey, and every quotation comes with a written specification.
Email enquiries@watford-construction.com with the role and what would help, before you apply or at any stage. You only need to tell us what would help, not why.
Our Accessibility and usability page explains how to tell us about a barrier and how to ask for information in another format.
On its own page: Modern Slavery Act statement. Our expectations of suppliers are on Supplier responsibility.
The door is open.
Questions about this page, or ideas on how we could do better? We would like to hear them.
Photographs on this page are concept visualisations. The household ideas describe options in our current ranges; each depends on the product, the drive and the site, and is confirmed at survey and in your written specification.
Watford Construction™ · Inclusion and diversity
