Equal Opportunities&Diversity

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.

General News

Improving Diversity in Broadcast Media
A £3m programme of initiatives to tackle diversity in the broadcast media has been launched by sector skills council Skillset and the UK Film Council. The funding will enable the launch of more than 20 projects across the UK to benefit almost 600 individuals.

The projects are part of the Audio Visual Entrepreneurship (AVE) programme which has been launched to support individuals from groups currently under represented within the media including women, people with disabilities, black and ethnic minorities, older people and young people from economically disadvantaged areas.

Race Update

BMA Warns NHS Trusts about Discrimination
The British Medical Association believes that overseas doctors are facing discrimination because health trusts are misinterpreting a recent change in regulations which means that NHS trusts have been barred from recruiting junior doctors from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) if there are suitable candidates from the UK or the EEA.

The BMA said Doctors who have refugee status, or who are on the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme, have reported problems finding posts, even though the new rules should not apply to them. It is also claimed that some posts have been advertised on the basis that they will not attract a work permit for doctors from outside the EEA.

The BMA has written to the Commission of Racial Equality requesting an opinion on whether this amounts to discrimination.

BNP Employee’s Dismissal Did Not Breach Race Discrimination Act
Services company Serco was not guilty of breaking the Race Discrimination Act when it dismissed a bus driver who was a British National Party (BNP) councillor, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

Arthur Redfearn was employed by Serco to transport vulnerable adults and children to schools and day-centres. He was elected to Bradford Council for the BNP in 2004. Serco subsequently dismissed him on health and safety grounds, as part of its duty of care to its passengers, fellow employees and Redfearn himself.

The Court of Appeal ruling overturned an earlier Employment Appeal Tribunal decision to refer the case back to a new tribunal, to re-hear Redfearn’s allegations of discrimination on racial grounds, after the original tribunal had rejected his claim.

In the ruling, Lord Justice Mummery, sitting with two fellow judges said:
"Mr Redfearn was no more dismissed ‘on racial grounds’ than an employee who is dismissed for racially abusing his employer, a fellow employee or a valued customer. Any other result would be incompatible with the purpose of the 1976 [Race Discrimination] Act."

Chris Hyman, Serco group chief executive said:
"Mr Redfearn was dismissed because of the potential threat his public support for BNP policies posed to the wellbeing of our clients and our employees. The idea that we breached the Race Discrimination Act by dismissing Mr Redfearn was, frankly, ridiculous. We are grateful to the judges for their clear and unambiguous ruling."

Ethnic Minorities Still Not in Local Authority Top Tier
Personnel Today magazine has revealed that almost half of England's 411 local authorities still do not have a single person from black and minority ethnic (BME) communities among their top earners.

The 2004-05 Best Value Performance Indicators (BVPI), compiled by the Audit Commission and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, also shows that the situation is worsening with 189 local authorities not having a single BME employee in their top 5% of earners, compared with 181 in 2003-04.

The BVPI was created to allow local authorities in England to review and benchmark their performance. The most recent findings show that 60% of local authorities saw a decrease in the number of top earners from BME backgrounds. The report concludes that this particular performance indicator has seen no positive improvement since 2002-03.

Women fair considerably better, with 72% of authorities reporting an increase in female top earners last year. On average, 30% of the top 5% of earners were women.

Age Update

Acas Warns on Age Discrimination
The final draft of the age discrimination regulations, due to come into force in October, was published last month and conciliation service Acas is urging employers to address age-related policies now as it releases its guidelines for tackling age discrimination in the workplace.

Acas’ guide covers issues such as training, equal opportunities, recruitment, promotion, benefits and redundancy. The last of these is a key area of concern for employers since the regulations in their current form would mean employers that do not operate a statutory redundancy policy could be found to be discriminatory, even if they offer enhanced benefits. Employers can operate the same age bands as the statutory schemes, but if they do anything differently they will have to ‘objectively justify’ their actions.

Many organisations have revamped their redundancy schemes in advance of the legislation, but may yet find that they are exposed to risk

Sam Mercer, director at Employers Forum on Age, which worked with Acas to formulate its guidelines, said:
"We’ve had more calls on redundancy than anything else in the regulations. The DTI did not sufficiently research this."

Metropolitan Police Age Diversity 'Employer Champion'
The Metropolitan Police Service has been named an ‘Employer Champion’ by the Department for Work and Pensions’ Age Positive campaign.

The Met won the award for its success in demonstrating good age practices and commitment to tackling age discrimination in the workplace.

Examples of good practice included the removal of the date of birth from internal application forms, and the ‘30-plus scheme’, which enables the organisation to retain the skills and experience of officers who might otherwise retire.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Rose Fitzpatrick said the force hired people according to their skill, enthusiasm and experience, not their date of birth.

Age Legislation Impacts Careers in Football
It has emerged that football referees will be one of the more interesting groups to benefit from the forthcoming age discrimination legislation.

Referees in England will no longer have to retire at 48, the Football Association's compulsory retirement age, because of the age legislation which comes into effect on 1 October. The first Premiership official to benefit will be Dermot Gallagher, who was due to retire this summer.

Last month, employment lawyers warned that Arsenal Football Club’s policy of only offering players over the age of 30 one-year contracts would also fall foul of the new age laws.

Healthcare Benefits Must Comply with Age Regulations
HR consultancy Watson Wyatt have alerted employers to the fact that healthcare benefits are not explicitly exempted from the new age discrimination regulations that are due to come into force this October.

The firm point out that HR professionals need to start thinking creatively about extending healthcare benefits for employees beyond their normal retirement age. Although retirement, and therefore exclusion from health and risk benefit eligibility, can be objectively justified at 65, it is unrealistic to expect a two-tier health benefit system to develop which excludes older workers.

Employers should carry out comprehensive audit of employees’ health benefits and ensure that processes are in place for employees to apply to work beyond the normal retirement age, said David Cross, head of healthcare and risk consulting at Watson Wyatt. These should be introduced while at least considering the ‘fair and equitable’ extension of healthcare benefits, he said.

He added:
"Age discrimination legislation is an opportunity to design a healthcare support system for the future rather than a legislative burden. HR departments need to be aware of the impact of the new legislation on employees’ healthcare benefits and the business at large."

Ageism in Recruitment Ads
Consultancy Water for Fish has warned that a quarter of companies could face legal action if they do not take steps to review their recruitment policies ahead the new age laws that come into effect in October.

The consultancy conducted an audit of 75 recruitment ads in a national Sunday newspaper to coincide with Age Positive Week, which is being spearheaded by the government to help employers prepare for the new age legislation. It found that 27% would be potentially open to legal action when the new legislation comes into force.

Common pitfalls included:

• Asking for an applicant’s date of birth or other date-bound information which may reveal age
• Requesting a specific number of years’ experience for a position which may adversely disadvantage younger applicants
• Using particular words or phrases in adverts which might betray the intention to discriminate, such as ‘mature’ or ‘energetic’

Gender & Orientation Update

Sexual Harassment Major Problem in the Armed Forces
Research by the Ministry of Defence and the Equal Opportunities Commission reveals that:

• 15% of women in the Armed Forces have been subject to serious sexual harassment
• 99% of women said they had been in situations where sexual jokes, stories, language and material had been present
• 67% said they had been the direct target of sexual harassment

The survey was undertaken as part of an action plan agreed between the MoD and the EOC in June 2005. The MoD now has until June 2008 to provide measured proof of improvements in the number of reported cases of sexual harassment.

Secretary of state for defence, Des Browne, said the report showed there were serious issues that the government and the Armed Forces needed to address.

European Court of Justice Rules on Transsexual Pension Age
A transsexual worker has won the right to collect her pension as a woman although she was born as a man, after a ruling by the European Court of Justice. The court overruled the UK law which grants pension rights to transsexuals based on their original gender.

Sarah Margaret Richards was born a male in 1942, but underwent a sex change operation in 2001. A year later, on her 60th birthday, she applied for her pension. But, under UK law, Richards was identified as a male and her pension was deferred to the age of 65.

The court said that:
"The right not be discriminated against on grounds of sex is one of the fundamental human rights. The unequal treatment in this case is based on Richards' inability to have the new gender which she acquired following surgery recognised."

Pension Refusal for Transsexual Breached Human Rights
Linda Grant, a transsexual, has been awarded £1,100 in damages and £19,000 in costs by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg following a ruling that being told she would have to wait until the age of 65 to collect her pension because she used to be a man breached her human rights.

The judges said the Government's refusal to recognise her female status and give her a pension from the age of 60 violated her "right to respect for private and family life", enshrined in European human rights legislation.

Grant applied for a state pension from her 60th birthday, but was told she would have to wait until she was 65, the current pensionable age for men, because the decision was governed by gender details on the birth certificate.

The verdict follows a ruling in the European Court of Justice, which said last month that the government’s refusal to give a woman who had had a sex change a pension at the age of 60 was illegal under EU equality laws.

Work Conditions Affect Small Baby Risk
Exposure to range of workplace risks in pregnancy can increase the likelihood of having an under-sized infant, according to a new report.

Researchers reporting in the American Journal of Public Health identify irregular or shift work schedules as key problems. They say eliminating these factors before the 24th week of pregnancy can bring the odds down to those of unexposed women. The report claims that 'Small-for-gestational' (SGA) infants are at increased risk for a number of problems, including low levels of oxygen and blood sugar at birth.

Dr Agathe Croteau, from Université Laval, Québec, Canada, and colleagues assessed the impact of occupational conditions on the risk of having an SGA infant by analysing data from 1,536 mothers with SGA babies and 4,441 mothers with normal babies. Factors that had a cumulative effect on risk included:

• Working night hours
• Irregular or shift work schedule
• Standing
• Lifting loads
• Noise
and
• High psychological demand coupled with low social support

Compared with the complete absence of these conditions, the risk of having an SGA infant ranged from 8% to 129% when one to all six of these conditions was present. Preventive measures before the 24th week such as reassignment to a safer job or withdrawal from work largely eliminated the increased risk.

Major Claim by Transsexual
A transsexual has launched the biggest ever legal claim to be brought over a sex change.

Jessica Bussert, formerly known as Josh, is seeking £500,000 from Hitachi Data Systems under the Sex Discrimination (Gender Reassignment) Regulations 1999. She is also suing Hitachi in the US for $3.6m (£1.93m) damages over claims the company demoted her from her high-level IT job after she had facial and breast surgery.

After taking six weeks off for the facial feminisation and breast surgery in March 2005, Bussert claims he was effectively demoted because he had to report to a different person who had previously been hired as his equal. He also claims that he was given basic administrative tasks normally performed by secretaries. His salary remained the same at £88,000.

A spokeswoman for Hitachi UK said:
"We don't think it's appropriate to comment, other than to say that we deny those allegations."

Gay Man Loses Sexual Orientation Case Against HSBC
A gay man who demanded £5m compensation from HSBC bank for discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation has lost his case at tribunal.

Peter Lewis, the former global head of equity trading at the bank, was dismissed from his £1m-a-year job in February 2005 for "gross personal misconduct". HSBC launched an investigation after one of Lewis's colleagues alleged that he had performed a lewd act and looked at him while they were at the bank's gym in November 2004. The company decided that the disputed glance constituted sexual harassment.

Lewis had argued that he was the victim of homophobic prejudice. However, the tribunal held the decision to dismiss was not in fact influenced by Lewis's sexual orientation.

The tribunal said the reasons given by the HSBC internal appeal panel to uphold the decision to dismiss Lewis reflected a "fair and proper consideration of the available evidence and there is no room to draw any inference from the circumstances of those reasons that they were influenced by the sexual orientation of (Peter Lewis)".

Disability Update

TUC Report on Improving Opportunities for Disabled Workers
The TUC has issued Jobs for Disabled People, a report designed to respond to the Government’s Green Paper ‘A New Deal for Welfare’ which discussed plans to reform benefits for sick and disabled people under retirement age.

The report, published to coincide with the annual TUC Disability Conference, urges the government to put additional resources into helping disabled workers and improving health and safety facilities at work. The report also suggests that the government should introduce disability leave for employees who are undergoing rehabilitation treatment.

TUC General Secretary, Brendan Barber, said employers were still reluctant to employ disabled people, saying:
"Half the battle in getting more disabled people into work is overcoming employer prejudice.When recruiting staff, many employers simply ignore job applicants with a history of long term sickness or those on incapacity benefit."

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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.