Helplines Partnership (HLP)

Who we are

Helplines Partnership is the membership body for organisations that provide helpline services in the UK and internationally.

We facilitate high quality support for callers by offering services to helpline providers. These include training, Helplines Standard accreditation, consultancy and access to the Helpline Freephone Range (a dedicated range of free to caller telephone numbers exclusively for helplines).

Helplines Partnership raises the profile of the sector by representing its members’ interests and influencing the social policy agenda, giving providers of helpline services a voice to build sustainability and promote excellence, choice and accessibility for everyone.

Our culture and values

Our Mission

Helpline helplines to connect and work in partnership through promoting excellence, encouraging innovation and supporting inclusivity whilst strengthening our commitment to exceptional sector standards.

Our Values

HLP's core values define our culture and are at the very heart of who we are, what we do and how we do it.

Respect - We treat everyone with dignity and respect and champion the rights and contribution of helplines.

Accountability - We are accountable to our members, to those who use their services and to those we partner with.

Courage - We are bold and inspiring in our actions and words, and uncompromising in our determination to pursue our mission.

Collaboration - We work with others to maximise our impact, respect diversity and create space for continual advancement.

Quality - We believe in quality, excellence and professionalism.

Innovation - We are creative and agile, always learning, and are prepared to take calculated risks to accelerate change.

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

Statement of Policy

The terms equality, inclusion and diversity are at the heart of this policy. ‘Equality’ means ensuring everyone has the same opportunities to fulfil their potential free from discrimination. ‘Inclusion’ means ensuring everyone feels comfortable to be themselves at work and feels the worth of their contribution. ‘Diversity’ means the celebration of individual differences amongst the workforces. We will actively support diversity and inclusion and ensure that all our employees are valued and treated with dignity and respect. We want to encourage everyone in our business to reach their potential.

We recognise that discrimination is unacceptable and although equality of opportunity has been a long-standing feature of our employment practices and procedure, we have made the decision to adopt a formal policy. Breaches of the policy will lead to disciplinary proceedings and, if appropriate, disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.

The aim of the policy is to ensure no job applicant, employee or worker is discriminated against either directly or indirectly on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

We will ensure that the policy is circulated to any agencies responsible for our recruitment and a copy of the policy will be made available for all employees and made known to all applicants for employment.

The policy will be communicated to all private contractors reminding them of their responsibilities towards the equality of opportunity.

The policy will be implemented in accordance with the appropriate statutory requirements and full account will be taken of all available guidance and in particular any relevant Codes of Practice.

We will maintain a neutral working environment in which no employee or worker feels under threat or intimidated.