Equal opportunities & diversity news and update

Learning4business produces this completely free monthly update on equal opportunity and diversity news for distribution to selected clients. The update is not intended to be comprehensive, as that would clearly involve a very long and unwieldy communication. Instead, it aims to identify the most relevant items, providing you with the option to investigate further if needed.

We hope you find the news and update both interesting and effective in helping you to keep abreast of what is happening in the world of equal opportunity and diversity.

Race Update

EAT Overturns Tribunal Decision Following Chairman's Comment
Anita Ho, who is of Vietnamese origin, has won an appeal the Employment Appeal Tribunal after revealing how a tribunal chairman had dismissed her discrimination claim because she looked "as white as the English".

Ms. Ho had stated that she was treated less-favourably than other staff by cleaning firm Crystal Services on grounds of her race, because of her colour. She had complained of discriminatory treatment, bullying and verbal abuse from a colleague. Although she complained to her manager, no action was taken. But the tribunal chairman implied she had no case for discrimination because of her physical appearance. He said: "Your skin looks whiter than mine".

The EAT accepted Ho's account as correct, preferring it to the tribunal chairman's. In its judgment, the EAT said:
         "We are not concerned with actual bias but the perception of bias, according to the           standards of the modern fair-minded observer."

Ms. Ho's solicitor, Mohini Bharania, said:
         "It is crucial that extra barriers are not placed in front of victims of discrimination seeking           justice, especially by the very people who are due to hear their case fairly and impartially."

Retention of Ethnic Minorities in Police a Problem
Police forces in England and Wales are failing to retain their female and ethnic minority officers, who are leaving in record numbers, according to Home Office statistics.

Figures obtained by The Times newspaper reveal that:

• The police service had 4,629 ethnic minority officers in 2004, an 18% increase on 2003
  - however, 17.8% of black and Asian recruits in 2004 resigned or were dismissed within six   months of starting their jobs, compared with 7.7% of white officers
• Last year 12.6% of ethnic minority recruits dropped out within six months, compared with 7.6%   of white officers
• The number of female recruits leaving within six months was almost double that of males
  at 6.8%

White Applicants Rejected by Police on Diversity Grounds
Gloucestershire Constabulary has rejected 109 out of 172 job applications from white males, whilst accepting for assessment every one of 129 applications from ethnic minorities and women.

Just 2.8% of Gloucestershire’s population are from an ethnic minority, compared with an average of 8.7% across the UK. However, only 21 of the force’s 1,313 officers are from ethnic minorities, whilst one in three are women.

Assistant chief constable Michael Matthews said:
         "This positive action will undoubtedly mean disappointment for those who fall into the          categories we never have difficulty recruiting from. However, this is the only realistic way
         of ensuring we maintain a diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve."

Age Update

Customer-Facing Jobs Most Likely to Face Age Discrimination
A survey of by HR directors and managers by HR consultancy Croner reveals that people whose jobs involve face-to-face customer interaction are by far the most at risk of age discrimination, with these roles representing three of the top four in the survey.

Sales representatives, with an average age of just 30, top the list with customer service staff and waiting staff also in the top four. The public sector fares much better, with teachers thought to be at risk of age discrimination by only 13% of those surveyed and nurses by only 10%.

Richard Smith, Croner Employment Services Director, said:
         "It's not exactly surprising that jobs considered to be most at risk from age discrimination          are those traditionally associated with physical appearance and exertion. This is a          reflection of our society which links youthfulness to energy, attractiveness - and          sometimes even ability. But attitudes towards more mature people are changing. This          combined with today's longer life expectancy means we now have a new 'older generation'          who have just as much to offersociety as they ever did. This needs to be recognised in
         the workplace."

Gender & Orientation Update

 

Network Rail Guilty of Sex Discrimination
Laetitia Booth, a maintenance manager, was awarded more than £220,000 damages against Network Rail after a tribunal ruled she had been the victim of sex discrimination.

Ms. Booth had been employed by Jarvis Rail but when Network Rail failed to allocate her a new role after bringing its maintenance function in-house, she was effectively demoted. She had worked in the industry for 14 years, but lost one position to a man with just 18 months' experience. She resigned in January 2005 and took her case to an employment tribunal in Leeds who ruled that Network Rail had failed to follow agreed procedure and had discriminated against her.

Gerry Doherty, General Secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA), said:
         "It's a disgrace in this day and age that a woman, and one well as qualified as Laetitia          Booth, was demoted simply because of her sex. As a publicly-owned company and the          biggest employer in the railway industry, Network Rail should be leading the way in terms          of promoting equal opportunities, not breaking the law."

Gender Gap Shows Little Change
A report from the Equal Opportunities Commission, Sex and Power: Who Runs Britain? 2006, says that equality between men and women will take up to 200 years in Parliament, and 40 years at the director level of FTSE 100 companies.

The report reveals that women make up only 11% of directors at FTSE 100 companies, 20% of MPs (with only two ethnic minority women) and 16% of local authority council leaders. The survey also shows that women make up just 9% of the senior judiciary, 10% of senior police officers, and 13% of editors of national newspapers.

While women are reaching critical mass in some areas, including heads of professional bodies (33%) and national arts organisations (33%), in most fields there has been little change since the EOC first published the survey two years ago.

With the publication of this year's survey, the EOC is calling on party leaders and employers to take further action to help pave the way for women to the top.

Female Bank Employees Claim Sex Discrimination
Six female employees of investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein have filed a £800m sex discrimination claim for unfair and abusive treatment.

The lawsuit alleges that the women were consistently passed over for senior-level jobs in the bank's London and New York offices, were paid significantly less than their male colleagues and were made to work in a hostile environment.

The women claimed that their male colleagues would boast of visiting a strip club, bring prostitutes to the office during their lunch hour and would subject their female counterparts to sexist remarks. Women were hired as "eye candy" and one was referred to as the "Pamela Anderson of trading", the women said.

HBOS facing £11m Claim
Claire Bright, head of asset and liability management at HBOS has lodged an £11m claim for sex discrimination and wrongful dismissal.

Ms. Bright was suspended last October after a dispute with a male colleague. She claims this was unfair treatment. On returning to work after the suspension ended she claimed she had been dismissed by the firm. Her lawyer, Gillian Howard, said the original claim was in respect of sex discrimination and victimisation, but she was now adding unfair dismissal to her complaints against the organisation.

The bank added it would "vigorously defend" the allegations.

Gay-Friendly Employer League Headed by Staffordshire Police
Staffordshire Police force has been named Britain's most gay-friendly employer - beating many of the UK's biggest companies.

The gay campaigners Stonewall said a factor in the force's success was its record of promoting lesbian and gay officers to a high level. Currently one in 10 of the force's 2,309 police officers is lesbian or gay, almost twice the 6% of the general population estimated to be homosexual in a recent Treasury report.

IBM came second in the list of the 100 most gay-friendly employers, whilst the Department for Work and Pensions and Manchester City Council tied for third.

Unions May Face Sex Discrimination Claims
The Herald newspaper in Scotland claims that Unison and the GMB could receive compensation claims worth millions of pounds from female council workers alleging they were not properly represented during equal pay negotiations.

A spokesman for Unison dismissed the cases as opportunism, saying:
         "Officials will respond appropriately and we will be advising them accordingly – this is          simply another part of the attempt by commercial lawyers to enrich themselves. We will be          defending these cases. Unison is proud of its record in campaigning and negotiating for a          full solution to the equal pay issue rather than the partial solution advocated by no-win,
         no-fee lawyers."

The GMB also said it would vigorously defend any case that arose.

Disability Update

Scottish Companies Encouraged to Employ Asperger's Sufferers
The National Autistic Society says that an estimated 50,000 people in Scotland suffer from Asperger's Syndrome, with only one in ten in full-time employment.

Although a person with Asperger's can be more intelligent than average, their less-developed social skills can hold them back; they also tend to interpret questions in a literal way. They are, however, highly motivated and very methodical. In contrast to autism, the condition causes no delays in language or self-help skills, other than the limited ability to interact with others.

The NAS believes social awkwardness means people with the condition often do not get the job their intellect deserves. Robin Walker, manager of NAS employment service Prospects Scotland, said:
         "It is a communication disorder. It's a lifelong condition so it's always going to be there.          You have a difficulty in imagining how other people might view you."

Alan Mitchell, of employers' organisation CBI Scotland, believes that taking on someone from a non-traditional background could appear daunting when firms are fighting to stay in business. As a consequence he believes the government has to help out more as companies need to be reassured that people with Asperger's will not hold them back and should be told about the help they can receive including guidance and advice, support from specialist trainers and financial incentives.
                  
Public Authorities have ‘No Excuse’ Over Disability Duties
Anne MacGuire, Minister for Disabled People, has told public authority delegates at a Disability Rights Commission (DRC) reception that they now have the opportunity to plan ahead before the new code of practice on promoting disability equality comes into force in December 2006.

The Duty to Promote Disability Equality requires public sector employers to produce a disability equality scheme to outline their policies, practices and procedures on disabled people.
         "There is no excuse for not understanding what you have to do," she told the delegates.

DRC chairman Bert Massie said:
         "Public authorities must involve disabled people and take disability policies beyond the          brief. Take the code home with you, read it, memorise it and then make sure every public          authority knows it."

Ex Offenders

Nacro Calls for Review of Disclosure
Ex-offender charity Nacro has produced a report, ‘Getting Disclosures Right: A review of the use and misuse of criminal record disclosure’ which highlights how, under the current system, people who are not a risk to children or vulnerable adults are being refused employment, suspended and dismissed on the basis of wholly irrelevant cautions or convictions.

The report calls on the government to take urgent steps to reform the way people with criminal records are treated in the labour market, by introducing an independent licensing authority which would hold ultimate responsibility for clearing people for employment.

Paul Cavadino, chief executive of Nacro, said:
         "It is vital to have an effective system to protect children and vulnerable adults from those          who are a risk to them. However, far too many people with past cautions or convictions for          minor non-sexual offences are being unfairly refused jobs".

Key recommendations of the report include:

• Introduction of an independent licensing authority which would hold ultimate responsibility for   clearing people with criminal records for employment
• Strengthening the powers of the Criminal Records Bureau to take action against employers who   breach the Disclosure Code of Practice by running checks on posts that are not eligible for   checking
• Reform of the law on unfair dismissal - Nacro wants to see an amendment to enable people   with spent convictions to claim unfair dismissal

Learn more about employing ex-offenders with the learning4business course visit the training library or call for a free preview

 

Note: The information contained within this document is intended as a summary of selected items of equal opportunity and diversity news and information. As such, it is not offered or intended as complete, exhaustive and accurate reporting of such news and information. Learning4business accepts no responsibility for the completeness of the information, and no liability for actions resulting from it.

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