Definitions

An animal the employer is required by law to accommodate; its rights sit above the standard and are never overridden by it.

The employer's requirement that a dog meet a recognised behaviour standard and basic health, vaccination and parasite control before it is admitted.

An employee's own pet dog brought to work, as distinct from an assistance or service animal protected by law.

The standard's third pillar: protecting colleagues who cannot, or choose not to, share workspace with a dog.

A private check, run before dogs are admitted, that lets any member of staff object without identifying themselves or disclosing a condition to a manager.

Where a restriction is genuinely required by law, insurance or lease, the employer complies with it, discloses it, and identifies its basis, rather than hiding a blanket ban behind it.

A workplace that welcomes dogs through published policy, consistent terms, no breed or size bans, welfare provision, and genuine protection for colleagues who cannot share space with a dog.

A defined, genuinely separate space dogs do not enter: food areas, first-aid and medical rooms, quiet and prayer rooms, and any space an opted-out colleague needs.

The organisation that sets the terms on which dogs may be brought to a workplace, and the party assessed and certified against the standard.

A genuine objection on medical or comparable grounds that keeps a shared space dog-free; a single genuine objection is enough.

The governing principle: a dog friendly workplace welcomes and provides for dogs without forcing any colleague into proximity against a genuine medical or comparable need.

The conditions a dog needs to spend the working day safely and well, drawn from the Five Domains of animal welfare.