Disability Equality Duty guidance published

The Disability Rights Commission (DRC) has published employment guidance on the forthcoming Disability Equality Duty for publicly funded organisations.

Around 45,000 public bodies will be affected by the new duty when it comes into force on the 4 December.

The guidance gives advice and information to public bodies on how they can meet their responsibilities under the new duty, including practical tips and case studies.

Marie Pye, head of the Disability Equality Duty at the DRC, said: “The public sector employs millions of people, but there aren’t as many disabled employees in the sector as there should be.

"The new duty requires all public sector bodies to review their employment policies and procedures for their disability equality schemes, which must be in place by 4 December. This will, however, be a long-term programme for change – the hard work continues beyond December.”

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Reid outlines new EU work curbs

Limits on Bulgarians' and Romanians' right to work in the UK have been unveiled by Home Secretary John Reid.

The only unskilled working allowed will be in food processing and agriculture.
The countries join the EU in January and Mr Reid is keen to avoid the large influx seen from the eight ex-communist states which joined the EU in 2004.

EU rules mean Romanians and Bulgarians will be free to live in the UK, and to take any job if self-employed. Critics say Mr Reid's plans are unworkable.

The curbs contrast with the "open door" policy when another eight former communist states joined in 2004.

At that time the Home Office expected about 15,000 migrant workers a year - but 600,000 arrived in two years.

Read the full story on the BBC website

Two in five UK jobseekers suffer discrimination

Forty per cent of UK jobseekers believe they have been discriminated against when applying for work in the last five years, international research has found.

The Kelly Global Workforce Index sought the views of about 70,000 people in 28 countries, including almost 6,000 UK respondents.

The survey found 31% had experienced discrimination in their day-to-day working life.

The major source of discrimination identified by respondents was age, which was cited by 17%. This was followed by race (8%), gender (6%) and disability (2%).

More than half of workers aged 45 or older felt they had been discriminated against on the basis of their age. However, 16% of younger workers aged up to 24 also believed they were victims of age discrimination.

UK sectors with above average levels of discrimination included engineering, IT, transport, manufacturing and utilities.

However, the level of discrimination in the UK was found to be low by global standards. The country was ranked 25th on the list of 28 countries worldwide, and 14th among the 16 European countries in the survey.

This was first published in Personnel Today

Equality chief backs veil ruling

The UK's equality watchdog has urged a Muslim teaching assistant to drop her case against the school which suspended her for wearing a veil in class. A tribunal last week rejected Aishah Azmi's claim of discrimination against Headfield Church of England Junior School in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.

Trevor Phillips, head of the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights, urged her not pursue an appeal. He said "she would be doing the nation a favour" by dropping the case.

Mrs Azmi lost her employment tribunal case for discrimination and harassment, but was awarded damages for victimisation by Kirklees Council.

'Comply or quit'

Her legal representative said on Friday that she intended to take the case to "a higher court".
Mr Phillips told the BBC on Sunday: "Most people would say, honestly, this is not one where we need to pursue it.

"She would be doing everybody, including herself, a great favour were she to decide either that she were to comply with the requirements for teaching in the classroom or to decide that she didn't want to do that job.

"It's up to her, but I think she would be doing the nation a favour, and we would all feel very warm towards her, if she were to say I understand the issue here and I'm going to take a solution which doesn't involve more working through the courts.

"I would very much support her MP, Shahid Malik. She has made her point."

Mr Malik, the Labour member for Dewsbury, said on Friday that the employment tribunal ruling has been "absolutely spot on".

"I would appeal to Mrs Azmi now just to let this thing go," he said. "There is no real support for it."

However, Mr Phillips also warned that the debate on Muslim women wearing veils was becoming too polemic.

"I was disconcerted by the turn it took," he said. "I think what started as a perfectly reasonable and timely discussion about how we deal with aspects of diversity in this society seems to have turned into something quite ugly.

"I, this morning, would not want to be a British Muslim because what should have been a proper conversation between all kinds of British people seems to have turned into a trial of a particular community and that cannot be right.

"My job, I guess, is to be a referee here and say it's time to stop."

TfL launches press office BAME internship programme

Transport for London is launching its first Press Office Internship scheme for aspiring young media and PR professionals from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds.

The move aims to help tackle the longstanding under-representation of people from BAME communities in the PR industry across the country.

The interns will be recruited for six-month placements in one of the busiest press offices in the UK, covering a city where nearly one-third of the population is from Black, Asian or minority ethnic backgrounds. They will work on stories highlighting core aspects of TfL including buses, tubes, rail and development work around the Mayor's £10 billion investment programme.

Anti-ageism laws could trigger reduced pension benefits

Employers could be forced to reduce pension benefits or set up a costly trust because of the shake-up of age discrimination rules, consultancy Mercer warned.

With the consultation period on the Department for Work and Pensions proposals for pension treatment under age discrimination rules set to close tomorrow (Friday), Mercer Human Resource Consulting warned that if the regulations were implemented in their current form, at least a third of pension schemes could be affected.

Dr Deborah Cooper, principal at Mercer, said the draft regulations would severely restrict employers' ability to have more than one section in their pension scheme.

For example, she said it would make it difficult for employers to have some staff signed up for final salary pension schemes while others were reliant on the performance of the stock market through their money purchase plans.

Cooper said: “This is because it is deemed indirectly discriminatory for members of the same scheme to receive different levels of benefits, since new employees are generally likely to be younger than existing scheme members.

“Consequently, employers may be forced to either set up a new scheme under a different trust, which can be complicated and expensive, or offer all scheme members the same benefits in future.
“In many cases, this will mean all employees are moved into a defined contribution scheme, which is likely to result in benefits being reduced.”

This was first published in Personnel Today

Employers ill-equipped to take on staff with mental health problems

Government efforts to move people off benefit and into work risks failure unless employers get more support to recruit and retain staff with mental health problems, the Disability Rights Commission has said.

A poll by GfK NOP for the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) of small and medium businesses found that two thirds of those surveyed have no procedures in place for managing staff with mental health problems. The survey also indicates that managers are more reluctant to provide workplace adjustments for new staff with a mental health condition than they are for existing employees.

The DRC's findings are a wake-up call for the government aiming to get one million incapacity benefit claimants - forty per cent of whom have a mental health condition - back to work.

Bert Massie, Chairman of the DRC said: "We need to recognise that mental ill health is now operating as a badge of exclusion from the labour market in the same way that race and gender once did. If the Government's welfare reform programme is to succeed it needs to tackle this lack of confidence among employers about recruiting staff who have a mental health condition. If employers had better advice and support they would have less fear about employing someone with a mental health problem - and employees in turn would be less fearful of disclosing their condition. Workplaces infused with fear are not good for anyone - the employee, the employer or the bottom line."

More information from the Disability Rights Commission

Conservatives join gay diversity scheme

The Conservative Party has over the last year aimed to change its image amongst the gay community. This has included inviting more gay and lesbian politicians to join the party and backing laws such as civil partnerships and the new Equality Act. Now, the party has become the latest major British employer to join Stonewall’s Diversity Champions programme.

The programme promotes good practice around sexual orientation issues and assists employers in recruiting and retaining lesbian and gay staff.

Conservative Party Chairman Francis Maude said: “This seems to us absolutely the right thing to do. It’s not just about gay, lesbian and bisexual people. People should see us as a party that is inclusive and respectful of everyone in society.”

Ben Summerskill, Stonewall chief executive, said: “We’re delighted that the Conservative Party has agreed that it is the time to embark on this work. In order to recruit the very best people in the UK labour market in 2006, it’s necessary to demonstrate that you are a progressive employer.”

Membership of Stonewall’s Diversity Champions programme is not an endorsement of good practice; the accolade of being one of the country’s most “gay-friendly” employers is only awarded by Stonewall through its annual Workplace Equality Index. However, Stonewall develops a work plan with each programme member after being convinced that there is a commitment within an organisation to make progress.

“After lengthy discussions with Francis Maude and his senior staff, we were persuaded that there is a real commitment to change and progress,” said Mr Summerskill. “The challenge for the next two years will be to transform that commitment into practical outcomes.”

Stonewall’s Diversity Champions programme now has 240 members – including the Royal Navy, British Airways and Sainsbury’s – who between them employ nearly four million people. Recent recruits include McKinsey, Manchester City Football Club and Ikea.

Activities developed with Stonewall Diversity Champions members include training in ‘diversity awareness’, benefits reviews and reviewing recruitment practice. The Conservative Party employs more than 200 staff across Britain.

Firms urged to help mentally ill

Employers are far less likely to employ people with mental illnesses than those with physical ailments, a report shows.

Just 20% of those with severe mental health problems have jobs, compared with 65% who have physical problems. The government is launching an initiative urging employers to improve conditions for people with a mental health problem.

A spokesman for the Confederation of British Industry said the majority of businesses offered staff support.

It is estimated one in four people will suffer a mental illness at some point in their lives. And even for those with more common types of mental illness, such as depression, only about half are competitively employed.

However, up to 90% of people with mental health problems want to work, compared to 52% of disabled people generally.

Read the full story on the BBC website

We're a nation of victims

We are all officially oppressed, according to a new report. The vast majority of people in Britain are 'victim groups', including the disabled, ethnic minorities, women and homosexuals. The study, by think tank Civitas, claims 73 percent of Britons fall into groupings that are given government support.

The report says: "We have become a nation of victims. Victimhood is sought after because of the advantage it brings including preferential treatment in the workplace, the possibility of using police power to silence unwelcome critics and financial compensation. To be classified as a victim is to be gievn a special political status which has no necessary connection with real hardship.

Read the report from Civitas

Black and minority ethnic mental healthcare 'unethical and unlawful'

Mental health services for black and minority ethnic communities in England 'are discriminating in a way that is arguably both unethical and unlawful', according to Rosie Winterton, minister of state for health services.

Her comments, made in a letter to strategic health authority chief executives, come on the back of revised targets and firmer performance management for primary care trusts around the recruitment of community development workers for BME mental health.
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Asda scraps separate rate of pay for under 18s

Asda is scrapping its "under 18" pay rate to offer equal rates of pay for all employees doing the same job, regardless of their age.

The supermarket chain has more than 5,000 colleagues who are under 18 working in its stores across England, Scotland and Wales and is investing more than £1.7m in upping their pay rate to match the pay of older workers.

This will see the average worker under the age of 18 take home an extra £300 over the next year.

The move comes in the same week that new age discrimination legislation comes into effect, although the new rules do not force employers to level the playing field for pay in this way.
Until now, it has been common practice for retailers to pay under 18s a lower rate of pay for doing the same job as someone who is over the age of 18.

Findings of local government ethnic and religious diversity revealed

Only seven per cent of local authorities have high ethnic diversity.

The London borough of Brent was the most ethnically diverse local authority area in England and Wales in 2001, while Easington in the north east of England was the least ethnically diverse, according to new analysis published by the Office for National Statistics.

This new analysis of diversity is based on the likelihood that two people at random will belong to different ethnic groups. In Brent the likelihood was 85 per cent while in Easington it was 2 percent.

Brent's predominant ethnic groups were White British (29per cent), Indian (18 per cent), Black Caribbean (10 per cent),Other White (9 per cent) and Black African (8 per cent).

The report, Focus on Ethnicity and Religion, brings together statistics from the Census on the key demographic, geographic, household and labour market differences between the main ethnic and religious groups in Great Britain.

It analyses factors that contribute to these differences and shows new analysis on ethno-religious groups, changes between 1991 and 2001, and thediversity of different areas. Because of its large size the Census isused for detailed analysis of small population groups.
Read the full report

Cancer sufferers still face discrimination at work despite amendments to Disability Discrimination Act

Employers are still discriminating against women with cancer despite changes in the law aimed at protecting workers from unfair treatment.

Figures from the Disability Rights Commission's (DRC) helpline show that this year the DRC has taken on average two calls a week from women with breast cancer complaining of unfair treatment at work.

In total, more than 70 women with breast cancer and 103 people with other forms of cancer have called its helpline complaining of problems with their employers.

An amendment to the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) in December 2005 means people with these conditions receive legal protection from the point of diagnosis.

Among callers with other cancers, most (82%) cited employers failing to make reasonable adjustments that would keep them in work; nearly one in five callers reported having been dismissed; a further 13% of callers complained of facing threats of dismissal; and nearly 6% of callers were facing disciplinary action.

For workers with cancer, reasonable adjustments could include flexible working, alterations to working hours and time off for medical treatment.

Agnes Fletcher, assistant director of communications at the DRC, said: "Despite changes in the law to protect people with cancer and long-term health conditions from unfair treatment at work, many employers still haven't got the message.

"Direct discrimination and failures to make adjustments is turning the world of work into a very hostile environment for workers with these disabilities."

First published in Personnel Today

Women opt for financial services and IT in quest for better pay and flexibility

Women most want to work in financial services, IT, retail, the public sector and academia, according to The Times.

The newspaper's Top 50 Places Where Women Want to Work revealed women were keen on these sectors because of equal pay, flexible working, employee satisfaction and overall approach to diversity.

Among the companies cited as top places for women to work were Barclays Bank, Friends Provident, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland Group and Lloyds TSB.

Sarah Emery, group diversity manager of Britannia Building Society, said she was delighted to have her company included in the list, which was compiled in association with Aurora.

Emery said: "Part of Britannia's strategy is to be a great place to work, grow and develop and this award demonstrates how we are striving to achieve this."

Royal Mail was also recognised as one of the best businesses in the UK for women to thrive.
From diversity training and mentoring schemes to family-friendly policies, Royal Mail was deemed to be creating better opportunities for promotion for women.

Denyse Busby-Earle, director of engagement and inclusion for Royal Mail, said: "Royal Mail has come a long way, with more flexible working being introduced and greater opportunities emerging for women.

"Our inclusion in this survey is a big plus. It's recognition for the efforts we are making to develop female colleagues and offers an attractive picture to those women thinking of applying to work for Royal Mail.

"Over the next two years, we will focus on key areas, such as wellbeing, in support of work-life balance, and talent management and career development as part of the drive to recruit, retain and develop talented women."

Read the full report on the Times website