24 June 2021

Celebrating Pride Month at Hallmark – My Story by Nick Banister-Dudley

This month, Hallmark Care Homes are pleased to be supporting Pride. We caught up with Head of Compliance, Nick Banister-Dudley, who told us how Hallmark has supported not only his growth in the business, but also, the growth in his personal life, throughout his adoption process and more. 

I am Nick Banister-Dudley, the Head of Compliance at Hallmark Care Homes. I am delighted to be able to write this, as part of Hallmark’s first celebration of Pride Month.

I am a gay man and got married to my husband in 2017. We adopted our child in 2019.

I joined Hallmark Care Homes in March 2016, as the Executive Assistant to, the then, Managing Director. This is a role I stayed in, supporting two Managing Directors, until December 2019. I started in my current role in January 2020.

From the time of my first interview prior to joining the organisation, I became aware that Hallmark was different to other organisations. When I actually joined the organisation, I was welcomed and found Hallmark to be inclusive. All team members are encouraged to share their opinions and any suggestions are considered by the Management Team.

To anyone who has gone through the adoption process, you will know that it is a lengthy and emotional, but extremely rewarding one! Hallmark fully supported me through this process and the wider team were genuinely interested in how things were progressing, including the then Managing Director who supported me during the ups and downs of the process. When my husband and I officially adopted our child, Hallmark continued to support me through this period.

We see many organisations which have organisational values, sometimes these are not the true lifeblood of these organisations. However, Hallmark does fully embrace their Vision and Charter. They strive to ensure that everyone is heard and recognise the contribution that everyone makes. Everyone is recognised as an individual with their own experiences and opinions.

I am pleased that Hallmark is officially celebrating Pride Month this year. As many LGBTQ+ people will know, Pride month is not just for those who identify as LGBTQ+. It is also the opportunity for allies of the LGBTQ+ community to show their support of the LGBTQ+ community on its journey to secure equal rights globally. I am excited to see what Hallmark id going to do in the future to recognise Pride Month and other key events which recognise and celebrate people’s differences.

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