Top Links
Promoting equality is good for your business!
Employing a diverse workforce and implementing effective equality policies is beneficial to your business. It means you get the best person for the job chosen from a wider pool of people and it may help you reach a wider audience or market for your services and goods. It can also help to avoid costly, time-consuming and stressful litigation.
Legislation about equality in employment
There is legislation to prevent discrimination in employment and in recruitment on the grounds of :
- age
- disability
- gender
- race
- religion or belief and
- sexual orientation.
There are different types of discrimination:
- direct
- indirect
- harrassment
- victimisation
- failing to make reasonable adjustments
- instruction and pressure to discriminate
- segregation
The Commission for Equality and Human Rights explains what each of these means and gives examples.
Liability and legal responsibility
Making equality work
Starting out
Review where you are currently and set out what you want to achieve and how you will do this. This will lead to your equality and diversity policy and an action plan of what steps you need to take.
Use an accurate job description
Be clear what you need the job holder to do and make sure the criteria for the post (person specification) matches this.
Recruit widely
Some companies recruit through people they know. This gives you a smaller group of individuals to select from. Advertising widely will give you a wider pool of applicants; and it need not cost you any more.
Selection
When recruiting ask questions or set activities that will help you see who can do the job best. Only ask questions that relate to the job.
Help job applicants
Make it clear that anyone meeting the criteria you have set for the job is welcome to apply. You can help those with a disability by asking them what help or support they may need when they attend an interview or start work.
Training
Make sure you let all your staff know about training and promotion opportunities within the company.
Create a positive environment for all staff
Introduce and enforce anti-bullying and anti-harassment policy and culture within your organisation. This will benefit all your staff.
Monitor and evaluate
Monitor your staff. For example, keep a record of their gender, ethnicity, disability etc. Monitor job applications, absence figures, disciplinary and grievance cases, pay ad training against your equality data. Look for any patterns.
You may be able to get help to purchase equipment, make adaptations to your premises or to help you put in place specific arrangements to support a current of potential employee with a disability. Contact the Disability Employment Adviser at your local Jobcentre Plus for more details.
Positive action
Positive discrimination (for example, selecting someone mainly because they are from an under-represented group) is not lawful in this country. However, you can take certain steps to redress any imbalance in your staffing. For example, you can offer specific training for staff from under-represented groups seeking promotion. Positive action can help combat any past discrimination. But is important that you appoint staff on merit, not because they fall into a particular category.
For more information
Commission for Equality and Human Rights
Department for Business and Innovation Skills
(Article updated August 2009)
Posted on 21 September 2009
