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 Update
Equal Opportunities Commissioners Re-Appointed
Trade and industry secretary Alan Johnson has announced that Fiona Cannon, Jeannie Drake and Surinder Sharma will continue their roles as commissioners to the Equal Opportunities Commission for a further term from 9 February 2006.
Cannon is head of equality and diversity for the Lloyds TSB group. She is also a member of the CBI's equal opportunities panel. Drake is a deputy general secretary of the Communication Workers' Union and a member of the government-appointed Pensions Commission. She also sits on the TUC general council and its executive committee. Sharma is director, equality and human rights with the Department of Health. He was formally diversity director at Ford, head of equal opportunities at BBC Television and Littlewoods. He has also worked for the Commission for Racial Equality and is currently chair of the Leicester Racial Equality Council.
Equality Bill Gains Royal Assent
The Equality Bill, which establishes a single Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR), has gained royal assent.
The CEHR is designed to be 'a one-stop shop' for individuals suffering discrimination and to provide employers and service providers with improved advice and information.
The body will bring together the work of the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), the Disability Rights Commission and the Equal Opportunities Commission. The CEHR will also have responsibility for the new equality areas of age, religion and belief and sexual orientation, and will work to promote human rights. It will be established in October 2007 for all areas except those the CRE is responsible for. These areas will remain with the CRE until April 2009, when its responsibilities will transfer to the CEHR.
The CEHR will be required to produce a regular 'equality health check' for the UK and to work with individuals, communities, businesses and public services to find new, more effective ways to combat discrimination.
The Act also introduces a new gender duty, which will require public bodies to take account of the different needs of men and women to ensure equality of opportunity when preparing policies or providing services.
The public sector is pressing for a single equality Act to bring all the present discrimination law together to ensure that all the groups covered by the CEHR have the same degree of protection from discrimination. However, the CBI said employers would strongly oppose the creation of a single Act.
Race Update
Tribunal Rules Against Council
The employment tribunal has ruled in his favour of a black equal opportunities assistant employed by Doncaster Council who claimed that he was victimised and unfairly dismissed.
Richard Smith, who resigned after being refused checks by the council's own occupational health team, claimed he was being treated differently because of his race and after a previously-settled discrimination claim.
The council's Managing Director Susan Law said:
"Doncaster council unreservedly apologises to Mr Smith for the events that lead to this tribunal judgment. This has been a unique and very individual set of circumstances that is unlikely to arise again, and where we had tried our utmost to put the situation right. Despite our continuing efforts to improve the working environment and our previous apologies to Mr Smith, it is apparent Mr Smith experienced a fundamental breakdown in trust. It is unfortunate that it had to progress to a tribunal for resolution."
The amount of compensation will be decided at a future hearing.
CRE to Investigate Police Disciplinary Action
The Commission for Racial Equality is to investigate disciplinary action taken against Merseyside police officers and civilian workers who circulated racist e-mail images.
The images included one featuring the head of a gorilla superimposed on a black woman in a bikini and entitled "Miss Africa". Another featured white eyes and teeth on a black background with a caption suggesting that it depicted a night scene in Harlem, New York.
After an investigation by the Chief Constable of Merseyside, 10 uniformed officers and three civilian workers were issued with written warnings or fines, the highest being the loss of three days' pay.
The CRE described the outcome of the disciplinary process as "disturbing" and said that it would begin an inquiry into the affair. The disciplinary action was also criticised by the National Black Police Association, which labelled the punishments "derisory". Merseyside Police, however, defended its investigation into the incident and said that the inquiry, which took place in March last year, was a "cultural watershed" for the force.
15 Government Departments Failing to Deliver on Race
An investigation by the Commission for Racial Equality has found that 15 Whitehall departments have failed in their duty to put race equality at the heart of their service delivery. This is despite the fact that, under the Race Relations Amendment Act (2000), central government departments are required to assess new policies and legislation for their impact on race equality.
As a result, Whitehall departments are close to being subjected to enforcement action for failure to deliver on legal duties to ensure racial equality, according to the CRE.
Age Update
Lawyers Urge Action on Age Discrimination Laws
Employment law firm Lovells have warned that employers cannot afford to be complacent in preparing for forthcoming age discrimination laws. The government has denied suggestions that the new laws would be delayed until December and claimed that the guidance would be ready by spring.
Lawyer Adam Turner said:
"It would be dangerous for employers to be complacent. The age regulations will affect every stage of the employment relationship life-cycle, from recruitment through to termination. In many instances, they may require a complete shift in mindset when it comes to workplace practices and policies. We already know the main framework of the new requirements, as the government published draft regulations last July. Any 'last minute surprises' in the final version can be dealt with when they are put on the statute books shortly.”
Employers see Older Workers as Answer to Skills Shortages
A survey of 2,122 UK companies by Manpower employment consultancy reveals that 52% want to employ staff beyond the age of 65. However, 81% of 1,085 staff questioned said they would not want to continue working into their late 60s.
The survey also found that:
• 70% of employers would offer flexible working in the next 10 years
• 84% said it would improve staff retention levels
• 63% of workers expected to work flexible hours in the future
• 25% of employers said their workers would spend more time working from home
• 15% of workers said they would like to work from home
Gender & Orientation Update
Consultation on Gender Equality Duty
The Equal Opportunities Commission is encouraging public sector bodies to participate as fully as they can in a three-month consultation on the Gender Equality Duty.
The new law, which will come into force in April 2007, will require public bodies to design their employment policies and recruitment practices, as well as their services and policies, with the different needs of men and women in mind. It has been described by the EOC as potentially the most significant change to gender equality legislation in 30 years. It could have a major impact on employment practice across the public sector, and, it is hoped, help close the pay gap between men and women which still exists in this sector.
Scheme Aims to End Homophobia at Work in Scotland
Stonewall Scotland, supported by the Scottish Executive, has developed Diversity Champions Scotland, an equality scheme to end homophobic bullying at work and improve working conditions for gay and lesbian employees.
Participating businesses, who will pay a fee of up to £2,000 to join the scheme, will take part in an 'equality index' to assess how they deal with homosexual employees. They will also be given access to awareness training, and a programme manager will advise them on setting up support networks for gay and lesbian workers.
Businesses will also be encouraged to advertise jobs in gay and lesbian publications to help improve diversity.
Only three employers in Scotland – HBOS bank, Strathclyde Police and Strathclyde Fire and Rescue – currently make it into the top 100 British employers for favourable conditions for gay and lesbian workers.
'Shaping a Fairer Future' Report
The Government-appointed Women and Work Commission has made 40 recommendations in its report aimed at boosting the pay and career prospects of women, and closing the wage gap.
However, unions and campaign groups have criticised the commission for not recommending that companies should carry out mandatory equal pay audits to make sure that women are not being paid less than men.
The report suggests action to tackle the culture in schools and workplaces that creates job segregation and leaves women lagging behind men on pay. It says that schemes should be set up to give schoolgirls a better understanding of pay and prospects in different careers, and improved training should be provided for women returning to work after having a child.
The commission, headed by Baroness Prosser, also called for a national World of Work programme to improve vocational training and offer work-taster days for primary school children.
Baroness Prosser said:
"Many women are working day in, day out far below their abilities and this waste of talent is an outrage at a time when the UK is facing increasing competition in the global marketplace - and an outrage for those women personally."
Ahead of the report’s publication Baroness Prosser had said that the blame for women being paid less than men lies on the shoulders of both employers and unions. She said initiatives such as the NHS Agenda for Change had highlighted just how big pay differences could be, because considerations about equality had historically been ignored.
"If you look at what's happened in the public sector, in the NHS and Agenda for Change,thousands of pounds have been paid out to women whose jobs have been traditionally undervalued. Those jobs were jointly evaluated and graded by management and union, so somewhere along the line they have not thought enough about equality."
Disability Update
DRC Accuses Government
Disability Rights Commission (DRC) Chairman Bert Massie has accused the government of failing to break the culture of low expectations surrounding disability. Speaking at the launch of an advertising campaign to highlight the impact of disability discrimination in the UK
he said:
"There is a lazy fatalism that too often shapes the perceptions that politicians have of disabled people. The inequality experienced by disabled people affects us all. For some reason, and despite all the facts, public policy makers are not thinking about disability.
It is considered something 'over there' for the specialists to deal with - something to do with wheelchairs and ramps."
The DRC's ‘Are we taking the Dis?’ poster, press, radio and online campaign depicts unfair treatment towards disabled people and aims to promote a better culture for disabled people.
The DRC points out that only 17% of people with learning disabilities are in paid work and disabled people in work earn 10% less on average than their non-disabled colleagues.
Compensation for Unfair Dismissal of Disabled Worker
A print worker targeted for redundancy after winning compensation for a disabling strain injury has received a £45,000 payout for unfair dismissal. Karen Sketchley claimed that managers at the West Midlands printing company Cradley Print had never forgiven her for taking legal action after she developed a repetitive strain injury affecting her wrist.
The company admitted unfair dismissal and unfair selection for redundancy on the second day of a Birmingham employment tribunal. Ms. Sketchley, who was classed as disabled as a result of the injury, won £64,000 in a settlement with the company.
Diabetic Settles Out-of-Court
A former bakery assistant who was sacked for having diabetes has accepted an out-of-court settlement, thought to be about £3,000.
Elizabeth Morrison said she was dismissed from Emma's Country Cakes in Gloucestershire after her manager claimed her medical condition made her a liability on the factory floor. Her case was taken up by the Disability Rights Commission as one of the first examples of direct discrimination under the amended Disability Discrimination Act, which protects people suffering with a disability from clear prejudice.
Morrison's manager had wrongly assumed that she would have frequent blackouts which could be potentially hazardous in terms of health and safety. But the only reasonable adjustment the factory would have needed to make was to ensure she had regular rest breaks, every four hours or so, to ensure her insulin levels were maintained.
Employers Guide on DDA Obligations
A free guide has been launched to advise companies on disability access and best practice under the revised Disability Discrimination Act.
Disability access consultancy Configure has designed the handbook to give companies a better insight into the access auditing process under the revised DDA, which states that every company must make "reasonable adjustments" to accommodate staff with a disability.
The guide offers practical information on how to carry out an access audit, modify premises and provide disability equality training to staff.
From December 2006, the DDA placed a new duty on public authorities to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people.
Flexible Working
Flexible Working on the Increase
A survey of 500 companies by research firm Computer Economics reveals that the proportion of employers offering flexible benefits rose from 30% in 2004 to 43% last year.
Findings include:
• The number of companies offering staff the ability to work from home is up from 63% in 2004 to 77% in 2005
And
• The proportion of firms offering childcare arrangements has risen from 19% to 29%
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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