A diverse mix of people live and work in the UK. It’s important that businesses reflect a proportionate mix of this diversity by promoting equal opportunity employment.
Any accusation of discrimination should be taken seriously and not simply dismissed. If an individual can present a plausible case that they have been treated differently on the basis of their protected status they can take action against the company.
Discrimination can often take the form of bullying or harassment, both of which have fairly precise definitions with regard to workplace treatment, as follows:
Definition of bullying
Offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, an abuse or misuse of power which is meant to undermine, humiliate or injure the person on the receiving end. Examples of bullying would include picking on someone or setting him or her up to fail or making threats or comments about someone’s job security without good reason or giving someone unrealistic performance targets.
Definition of harassment
Unwanted conduct related to sex, race or ethnic or national origins, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age or any other personal characteristic which:
- has the purpose of violating a person’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that person; or
- is reasonably considered by that person to have the effect of violating his or her dignity or of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for him or her, even if this effect was not intended by the person responsible for the conduct.
Each design company is advised to have an Equal Opportunity policy. A request to see these is becoming more prevalent in proposals for work, particularly to public sector organisations.
Here are some further things to consider in this area:
Policy
Write an equal opportunities policy. This should list all minority groups, your equal opportunities policy on advertising, recruitment, employment, your commitment to observing religious occasions, your expectations of all employees to respect the policy and the procedure if an employee feels they have subject to discrimination.
Advertising
Advertisements should not specify the desired age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, nationality or religion of an applicant.
Recruitment
Application forms should contain an ethnic monitoring section so that, if required, you can prove you are an equal opportunities employer
Logging
Once ethnic monitoring information is obtained, it should be logged so that an overview of the company’s ethnic mix can be analysed and data can be passed on, if requested.
Using the information
Ethnic monitoring and equal opportunities policies are a frequent requirement when preparing bids. Ensure your policy and ethnic monitoring log is up-to-date at all times.
Grievance
If an employee feels they have been discriminated against, the matter should first be discussed informally. If after the meeting they wish to raise a formal grievance then the normal grievance procedure should commence.
Third party discrimination
Any form of discrimination or harassment towards any other employee or a third party on the basis of race, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, age, religion or similar belief is unacceptable and may amount to gross misconduct leading to the employee’s summary dismissal.
Employee responsibility
Every employee is required to assist the company in meeting its commitment to provide equal opportunities in employment and avoid unlawful discrimination. Employees can be held personally liable as well as, or instead of, the company, for any act of unlawful discrimination. Employees who commit serious acts of harassment may be guilty of a criminal offence.