Diversity News Blog

Jobs for disabled workers up 70%

2007-07-20T11:28:00.000+01:00

There has been a 70 per cent increase in the number of disabled workers recruited into mainstream jobs during the first three months of the year, representing a record high and indicative of changing attitudes towards disabled works in the UK.

The increase shows that more disabled workers are finding work alongside able-bodied colleagues, suggesting that employers may be doing more to accommodate disabled workers and exploit the talent that is available.

Bob Warner of Remploy, the company that published the statistics, asserted that positive change is being put into effect in the area of disability in the workplace."

These new figures show that investing in preparing and training disabled people for mainstream employment works," he said.

Mr Warner continued to state that on the whole, disabled workers prefer to work in a mainstream environment where they can make the most of their skills and assets."

Disabled people tell us that they would prefer to work in open employment with non-disabled colleagues and employers are now more aware of the skills and abilities disabled people bring to their business," he explained.

Visit the Remploy website

CRE launches 'Mixedness and Mixing: New Perspectives on Mixed-Race Britons'

2007-07-18T11:20:00.000+01:00

The CRE has today launched a website, 'Mixedness and Mixing: New Perspectives on Mixed-Race Britons'.

On the site, the CRE will be running an eConference from 4-6 September 2007 and is calling for written submissions from the public, academics and third sector organisations.

The website will mark the first in a series of events aimed at taking a closer look at issues relating to mixed-race and mixed families. Over half of mixed-race people are under 16 years of age, with 79% being born in the UK. This is the fastest growing, youngest and most diverse ethnic group in Britain today.

Kay Hampton, Chair of the CRE, said: "Britain is changing and our understanding of ethnicity must develop accordingly. This on-line event provides a valuable opportunity to explore the current issues faced by one of the least understood groups in the UK, mixed-race Britons."

It is through the personal accounts of individuals today that we learn to how to shape the future of racial equality tomorrow.

Submissions may cover anything from research summaries and case studies to personal accounts and fiction. To take part, please submit 1,000 words by 13 August on the subject of mixed-race or mixed families in Britain.

Visit the website

Employers plan positive diversity recruitment

2007-07-10T11:26:00.000+01:00

Employers in Britain are planning to more aggressively recruit gay, disabled, female and Asian workers in 2007 and 2008, a new poll reveals.

More than 215 hiring managers and 500 workers were surveyed for job site CareerBuilder.co.uk by Harris Interactive and 21 per cent said that they planned to enhance their recruitment process for women, 16 per cent for disabled workers, 13 per cent for Asian workers and gay/lesbian workers (eight per cent).

A quarter of employers polled (26 per cent) said that they planned to increase their staff numbers by more in the last six months of 2007 than the first, with nearly 49 per cent of bosses hiring more workers in the first half of the year.

Entitled 2007 UK Job Forecast, the study predicts that job growth in Britain will remain stable until the end of this year and employers will "remain committed to expanding the demographics of their staffs".

Dave Smith, Managing Director of CareerBuilder.co.uk. "UK employers will continue to struggle with a shrinking skilled labour force as Baby Boomers move closer to retirement and the smaller generations of replacement workers falls under quota."

The UK workforce can also expect to see employers become more creative in their recruitment and retention efforts, evident in higher salaries, increased training and more flexible work cultures."

A raft of new legislation protecting workers from age, racial, religious, gender and other forms of discrimination in Britain has highlighted the importance of workplace diversity in Britain.

This story was first published by Adfero

'Ginger' taunts about red hair could be next big form of workplace discrimination

2007-07-04T11:18:00.000+01:00

A tribunal decision has prompted new fears that 'gingerism' could be the next big form of workplace discrimination.

Last week, a waitress was awarded £17,618 compensation for unfair dismissal over taunts about her red hair.

Sarah Primmer suffered a series of lewd and embarrassing comments and was eventually sacked from her job.

Personnel Today research earlier this year revealed 81% of readers thought it was acceptable to tease people about ginger hair.

A culture of 'lookism' is now emerging in the workplace, with gingers often the butt of office jokes, the survey said.

This story was first published on Personnel Today

BBC executives praised for ditching £350,000 bonuses after failing to meet diversity targets

2007-07-02T11:15:00.000+01:00

Diversity experts have applauded the decision by BBC executives to forgo their bonuses collectively worth £350,000, after the broadcaster failed to meet its diversity targets.

The corporation set itself stringent targets in 2004 of increasing the percentage of black and minority ethnic staff to 12.5% and 7% at senior management level, to be met by 31 December 2007.

It said that while progress had been made, it would not meet some specific commitments on workforce numbers.

Sally Humpage, employee relations and diversity adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, said the BBC directors had taken a "positive step" that other organisations could learn from.

"This bold step sends out a message to the rest of the company that everyone is responsible," she said. "Organisations need to set out objectives on diversity and then measure performance around those objectives. The BBC has taken a strong lead where others can follow."

Atul Shah, chief executive of consultancy Diverse Ethics, and an adviser to the BBC, said the executives' action was laudable.

"Commercial business leaders rarely sacrifice bonuses under any circumstances and their remuneration is much higher than that of the BBC executive directors," he said.

But Luke Crawley, assistant general secretary at broadcast union Bectu, said the BBC should go further.

He said: "This is a positive and strong message it is sending out, but it would do no harm for this action to cascade further down the management board."

Mark Thompson, director-general of the BBC, who set up a diversity leadership council at the corporation in 2005, is still set to receive a bonus as determined by the remuneration committee of the BBC Trust.

This story was first published by Personnel Today

Gay students get death threats

2007-06-29T16:24:00.000+01:00

More than 150,000 students in the UK have been bullied at secondary school because they are gay, a new survey found.

Over two thirds of lesbian and gay pupils have been victimised by homophobic bullying, with abuse ranging from verbal abuse to violence to death threats at the hands of students and staff alike. Of those, 92 per cent (143,000) have experienced verbal bullying, 41 per cent (64,000) physical bullying and 17 per cent (26,000) death threats.

The study also discovered that that half of teachers did not intervene when students used homophobic language, using derogatory labels like "dyke", "queer" or "rug muncher".

Catherine, 13, from a single sex independent school (South East) explained that “ teachers join in on the joke’.

Ben Summerskill, Stonewall chief executive, said "These deeply disturbing figures should serve as a wake-up call to everyone working in education.”

"This is a damning legacy of Section 28, which deterred schools from tackling anti-gay bullying for so long. This remains one of the few sorts of bullying about which too many schools still take no action. It blights the lives not just of gay children but of thousands of pupils perceived to be lesbian or gay too."

The Stonewall survey polled 1,145 young people and found that 7/10 of those who have experienced homophobic bullying said it has adversely affected their school work. Half of those bullied say they have missed school as a result.

Ali, 17, from a secondary school in London said, “On three occasions I’ve been assaulted and had to go to hospital to be examined and get the police involved”.

‘People call me ‘gay’ everyday, sometimes people kick me and push me, they shut me out of games during school gym and they steal my belongings, “ said James, 17, from a secondary school in the South West.

Stonewall’s survey is the largest poll of young gay people ever conducted in the UK.

This story was first published on Gay.com

Survey reveals workers take colleagues less seriously if they have an accent

2007-06-29T11:12:00.000+01:00

It’s not what you say but how you say it that may cause judgement from your work colleagues, research has found.

A poll by hearing campaign Heal the World found that 15% of 4,000 respondents would take a work colleague less seriously if they had an accent, while 11% said an accent would influence whether or not they did business with them.

One-quarter of respondents said the Brummie accent was the most annoying, with a Scottish accent perceived as the most aggressive.
People who spoke the Queen’s English were thought to be the most intelligent, while seven in 10 respondents said it carried the most authority.

The Scouse accent was found to be the most untrustworthy according to one in three respondents, followed by Cockney, which received 22% of the votes.

Dr Glenn Wilson, a psychologist at Kings College, London, said: “Accents can play a huge role in our initial attitude towards others. This explains why some people are more likely to adapt their accent to avoid being stereotyped and to encourage a particular impression.”

“There are essentially two components to an accent – location and strength. The location of someone’s accent encourages particular stereotypes and we presume people with stronger accents are less intelligent and are educated to a lesser degree,” Wilson added.

This story was first published by Personnel Today

TUC lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender annual conference

2007-06-28T16:20:00.000+01:00

Several hundred lesbian and gay workers are gathering in central London over the next two days to debate a series of key equality issues at the annual TUC Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender conference.

Delegates attending the event at the TUC's Congress House HQ will hear speeches from TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber, Commission for Equality and Human Rights Chair Trevor Phillips and MP Angela Eagle.

Motions to be discussed by delegates include the portrayal of lesbian and gay people in the media, the monitoring of sexuality in the workplace and the potential conflict between religious belief and sexual orientation.

Addressing the conference today (Thursday), TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: 'Sometimes it's easy to forget just how far we've come in the past decade. Ten years ago, gay rights were seen as a minority pursuit - now they're part of the political mainstream. Ten years ago, the debate was about Section 28 - now we celebrate civil partnerships. And ten years ago, discrimination against the gay community in the provision of goods and services was quite legal - now, at long last, it has been outlawed.

'But as we celebrate that progress, we cannot afford to relax our guard. This is not the time for us to take of eye of the ball. Despite all the legal gains - despite our largely liberal, tolerant society - the ugly scar of homophobia continues to blight the lives of so many people in your community. The young student bullied at college, the lesbian taunted about her sexuality, the gay couple hounded from their home.

'However welcome they may be, changes on the statute book count for little unless they are matched by a corresponding change in attitudes. Think about our workplaces. We know from our own research that four in ten LGBT workers have faced abuse at work because of their sexuality.

'And let's not forget the challenges faced by LGBT people worldwide. From the casual murder of gay men in Jamaica to state-sponsored persecution in Iran, from the alarming rise in homophobia in Russia to the death squads of Iraq, members of your community are under attack as never before. None of us can afford to turn a blind eye - an injury to one is an injury to all. But where there is discrimination, unions will seek to remove it. Where there is inequality, we will tackle it. And where there is injustice, we will wage war on it.'

Wimbledon pays women equally - but will Gordon Brown?

2007-06-26T16:17:00.000+01:00

The Fawcett Society today issued a challenge to the new prime minister to be the first to ensure that women and men in the UK are equally rewarded for their work.

Although equal pay legislation has been in force for more than 30 years, there's still a pay gap women working full-time still earn on average 17% less per hour than men working full-time, and women working part-time earn 38% less.

Dr Katherine Rake said: “Women tennis players are finally enjoying equal pay at Wimbledon – it’s time for Gordon Brown to give all women a sporting chance and finally end the pay gap. The ball’s in his court.”

Practical steps to end the pay gapAs the leading campaign for equality between women and men, Fawcett has set out the practical measures that Government could take to end the pay gap. These include:

Safeguards: Compulsory pay audits for all organisations
Bold ambitions: The Government to set dates for finally closing the pay gap
Tackle long hours: Full sign-up to the EU’s Working Time Directive and other steps to tackle our long hours working culture, which limits the ability of women with caring responsibilities to compete on an equal basis with men.
Include men: Government and employers to encourage men - not just women - to engage with work-life balance issues.
New rights: a right to work flexibly for all employees, unless there is a strong business case against it

Research by Capital Consulting and Cranfield School of Management reveals UK companies are failing to develop top people

2007-06-26T16:15:00.000+01:00

Training and development experts have championed the importance of talent management after a new report found more than half of UK businesses are failing to develop their top people.

Research by recruitment outsourcing provider Capital Consulting and Cranfield School of Management, found that only 49% of UK businesses had implemented talent development programmes.

Having questioned 608 HR directors, the research pointed to a lack of financial investment and insufficient senior management support as the main obstacles to talent development.

It found that while six in 10 respondents said talent management was essential to increasing profit, only four in 10 strategically managed their star talent. One in five did not link the strategy to their business plan, while only 15% measured the return on investment.

Victoria Winkler, training, learning and development adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, told Personnel Today she was not surprised by the findings. However, she believed that skills awareness was growing, and was not only on the agenda of HR departments, but also chief executives and finance directors.

"HR teams need to put a talent management structure in place to get the most out of their employees," she said. "It can have a major impact on the bottom line and retaining staff."

Jeremy Tipper, group managing director of Capital Consulting, said: "Creating an effective talent management framework has the potential to make HR directors organisational heroes because of the ever-growing impact it will have on business performance."

Dr Emma Parry, research fellow at Cranfield School of Management, said the report should serve as a wake-up call to employers. "The disconnect between what senior managers are saying and what they are doing is very worrying," she said.

Suppliers with poor diversity records will fail in public sector procurement battle

2007-06-25T11:09:00.000+01:00

Government proposals to increase equality in the multi-billion pound public sector procurement process will see suppliers with poor diversity records shoved to the bottom of the pile, according to legal experts.

The Discrimination Law Review, published earlier this month, stressed that in carrying out procurement, public authorities must have regard to the need to eliminate discrimination and promote equality.

With public sector procurement in the UK worth more than £125bn a year, public authorities represent a major customer base.

Earlier this year, Personnel Today exclusively revealed that technology giant Microsoft ditched a supplier with a poor attitude towards diversity. The company's HR director Dave Gartenberg said: "In one case, we changed provider because they were cavalier towards the topic. They were supplying a perfectly good service, but we stopped using them."

Sandra Wallace, head of equality and diversity at law firm DLA Piper, said: "Companies with a strong equality and diversity record will have an immediate advantage when bidding for contracts.

"Just as the Microsoft case highlighted, the Green Paper confirms that companies that fail to recognise the importance of good diversity practice are placing themselves at a competitive disadvantage."

Critics have argued that firms with poor diversity performance should be excluded from bidding for contracts altogether. But Wallace said the government was unlikely to go that far.
"There is a debate as to whether a simple breach of discrimination law should disqualify a company from tendering for public contracts," she said. "What is more likely to emerge is practical guidance on how to factor equality into the procurement process."

The CBI said employers recognised procurement could be a "highly effective tool" for encouraging equality, as long as contracts focused on results, and not on "box-ticking".

This story was first published by Personnel Today

Suppliers with poor diversity records will fail in public sector procurement battle

2007-06-22T16:12:00.000+01:00

Government proposals to increase equality in the multi-billion pound public sector procurement process will see suppliers with poor diversity records shoved to the bottom of the pile, according to legal experts.

The Discrimination Law Review, published earlier this month, stressed that in carrying out procurement, public authorities must have regard to the need to eliminate discrimination and promote equality.

With public sector procurement in the UK worth more than £125bn a year, public authorities represent a major customer base.

Earlier this year, Personnel Today exclusively revealed that technology giant Microsoft ditched a supplier with a poor attitude towards diversity. The company's HR director Dave Gartenberg said: "In one case, we changed provider because they were cavalier towards the topic. They were supplying a perfectly good service, but we stopped using them."

Sandra Wallace, head of equality and diversity at law firm DLA Piper, said: "Companies with a strong equality and diversity record will have an immediate advantage when bidding for contracts.

"Just as the Microsoft case highlighted, the Green Paper confirms that companies that fail to recognise the importance of good diversity practice are placing themselves at a competitive disadvantage."

Critics have argued that firms with poor diversity performance should be excluded from bidding for contracts altogether. But Wallace said the government was unlikely to go that far.

"There is a debate as to whether a simple breach of discrimination law should disqualify a company from tendering for public contracts," she said. "What is more likely to emerge is practical guidance on how to factor equality into the procurement process."

The CBI said employers recognised procurement could be a "highly effective tool" for encouraging equality, as long as contracts focused on results, and not on "box-ticking".

Story first published in Personnel Today

Remploy HR director hits back at claims she should resign over her handling of the factory closure announcements

2007-06-19T16:10:00.000+01:00

Remploy's HR director has hit back at union jibes that she should resign over the way her team handled the announcement of factory closures.

Last week the GMB union, which represents the majority of workers at Remploy, accused the HR team of mismanaging the announcement by using DVDs and failing to answer questions.

About 2,500 mainly disabled staff will be affected when 32 manufacturing sites are closed and 11 are merged with others. But Anne Jessopp, executive director of HR at Remploy, said the union's reaction was "very disappointing".

"We would rather the union wasn't making these kinds of comments, but it's our job to get on with things," she said.

Jessopp rejected the GMB's accusations of mismanagement by the HR team.

"We communicated with employees using [sign language] DVDs, on-site signers, face-to-face, and with leaflets and letters," she told Personnel Today. "Then we took staff into smaller groups and answered any questions they had."

She said professional counsellors were on hand to provide support, as well as senior managers, and a staff helpline had been set up.

Jessopp guaranteed there would be no compulsory redundancies among disabled staff, who would have the option to work for local employers on their existing terms and conditions.

Last week the GMB voted for industrial action at Remploy's factories. Jessopp described the decision as "premature", and said it would have a detrimental effect on the organisation's customers. A meeting between management and the union consortium is scheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday).

Former Remploy HR director hits out

The decision to close factories has been criticised by Remploy's former HR director Ray Fletcher. In a letter to the Guardian last week, Fletcher said the closure would "narrow the options" open to disabled people who want to enter the workplace.

Fletcher is now HR director at the Unite 'super-union' - which also represents Remploy workers - so perhaps should declare a vested interest.

This story was first published in Personnel Today

Government calls on employers to hire more disabled people and help aid their social inclusion

2007-06-11T16:06:00.001+01:00

The government has called on employers to hire more disabled people and help aid their social inclusion.

Employers can play a key role in ensuring that disabled people are able to play a full part in society through employment by preventing ill-health and injury, and providing appropriate support in the workplace.

Department for Work and Pensions minister Lord McKenzie said today: “Increasing the number of disabled people in mainstream employment has the potential to tear down the last barriers to social inclusion for disabled people.

“Just as important as getting disabled people into work is keeping people in work and preventing them from falling out of work in the first place.”

McKenzie said he wanted to see employers develop supportive cultures that allow staff with health problems and impairments to work, making the necessary adjustments to help them do so.

“Mostly these adjustments will be neither as difficult nor as expensive as people think. But clearly we have an important job ahead to engage, educate and support employers,” he said.

This story was first published in Personnel Today

Investing in disabled people’s skills could boost the economy by £35 billion

2007-06-11T16:06:00.000+01:00

Improving the skills of disabled people to world class levels by 2020 would boost the economy by £35 billion over 30 years, equivalent to 18 months growth, and help tackle child poverty, argues SMF Chief Economist Stephen Evans in a new report, Disability, Skills and Work: Raising our ambitions, published by the Social Market Foundation in association with the Disability Rights Commission.

The report argues that, as well as the benefits from raising the skills rate of disabled people to world class levels, improving the employment rate of disabled people to the UK average through skills improvements would give a boost to the economy of some £13 billion, equivalent to six months economic growth.

To achieve this prize Disability, Skills and Work recommends:
• A national commitment to reducing the relative skills gap between disabled people and the national average
• Employers be required to take greater responsibility, aided by improved support, but backed by tough new legal duties if progress falls short
• Out of work disabled people be given much greater opportunity to improve their skills as a route back to work

These proposals would not only result in increased productivity and employment, but also help tackle poverty, in particular child poverty.

Children from deprived backgrounds often risk becoming trapped in a cycle of disadvantage. Given one in three children living in poverty in Britain has a disabled parent, the report contends that transforming the employment prospects of disabled people by investing in their skills must be a central part of the Governments efforts to end child poverty by 2020.

Commenting, author of the report, Stephen Evans said:

“The size of the challenge is daunting. But the scale of the prize is huge and the cost of inaction is mounting by the day through wasted talent. The past decade has shown how empowering disabled people and supporting employers can work. The next decade needs to see a step change in this approach and a dramatic boost to the skills of disabled people.”

Agnes Fletcher, Director of Policy and Communications at the Disability Rights Commission, said:

“Despite rising levels of employment for disabled people over recent years, too many are still without jobs and living in poverty as a result. Supplying disabled people with the skills they need is the missing link between ending child poverty, boosting the economy and getting more people off benefits and back into work. As this report shows, investing in disabled people’s skills is a win/win situation for Government, creating massive dividends for the economy and delivering greater equality at the same time.”

International Day Against Homophobia

2007-05-17T08:13:00.000+01:00

Today is the International Day against homophobia.

The openly gay Liberal Democrat MP Steven Williams will be welcoming organisers of International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) events and their supporters at a meeting in the House of Commons.

The MP for Bristol West, who has already tabled a House of Commons Early Day Motion in support of IDAHO, will speak, along with Jason Pollock, executive director of Pride London who will explain the links with Riga Pride.

Other speakers include Maeve McGoldrick of the British Youth Council who will talk about threat to LGBT rights in Poland, and Joseph Healy of the Green Party who will talk about campaigns in Eastern Europe.

It is expected that several MPs will attend the meeting, indeed there is a rumour that a very prominent MP may look in, although Derek Lennard, IDAHO-UK organiser explained that in the event of this happening, he would presume it was Rory Bremner the impressionist.

Certainly the UK government has shown great interest in IDAHO this year. The joint statement of support by Ian McCartney and Meg Munn issued in April has boosted the IDAHO campaign worldwide with Louis-Georges Tin, IDAHO’s founder stating to IDAHO organisers that “it will bring hope and light in the world for all who support human rights”.

Support has also been strong from other political parties.

“There is much to celebrate this year on IDAHO,” said Eleanor Laing, Tory Shadow Minister for Women and Equality.

Eleanor Laing, Tory Shadow Minister for Women and Equality said “There is much to celebrate this year on IDAHO.

The passing of the Equality Act with its provisions to stop discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation is a vast step forward. Regardless of party political persuasion, attitudes are changing and I have every confidence that we are progressing towards a day when homophobia will be a thing of the past”.
The Liberal Democrat spokesperson for women and equality, Lorely Burt, said that homophobia and transphobia “ruined the lives of gay, bisexual and transgender people in the UK and around the world”.

“These prejudices can ruin a teenager’s education, lead to grotesque bullying at work, and are the source of discriminatory Government policies worldwide which ignore the problems LGBT people face or make these problems worse. It is imperative that these prejudices are urgently and proactively tackled, therefore the Liberal Democrats warmly and fully support the International Day Against Homophobia, she said.

Caroline Lucas, the Green Party MEP called for the United Nations to address the situation.

“It is time the UN condemned such injustice and set a signal to the governments of the world that the persecution of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people is a violation of fundamental human rights”.
The main point of this evening’s meeting is for campaigners to take stock of the highly successful national campaign which IDAHO-UK has become, with more than 80 events covering all of the country, and with support still growing, UK coordinator Derek Lennard said.

“Organisers of events in London, Surrey and Brighton will describe their IDAH0 events and why they organised them. One of the latest developments in the campaign was the news that the Queer Action Network special poster to celebrate IDAHO has been distributed to 2,500 schools and youth projects.

IDAHO-UK website

Communication style defines difference between how men and women work

2007-04-27T18:29:00.000+01:00

The commissioner for Public Appointments has highlighted the contrast in leadership and communication styles between men and women.

Speaking at the annual dinner of City Women’s Network Janet Gaymer said: “Men often prosper in hierarchical organisations, women in smaller groups.” Launched in 1978, City Women’s Network is a member group for senior business and professional women.

Gaymer called on women’s networks to put talent retention, the gender pay gap and a new contract at work at the top of their agendas. “Women have seen so many improvements. But there is plenty more to do. It is time to take networking to a new level,” she concluded.

Lesbian and gay trends in the City

2007-04-26T18:27:00.000+01:00

On the day the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) regulations come into force new research indicates how far the City has moved to overcome its traditional image as an inhospitable environment for gay and lesbian employees.

London is the unrivalled gay and lesbian capital of Europe and also the continent’s leading financial centre. The government estimates that 6% of the UK population is lesbian or gay. London’s population is nearer 10%, thanks to thriving gay scene.

Research carried out by financial services recruiter Joslin Rowe, surveyed 3,676 candidates for City roles and collated information on sexuality for diversity monitoring purposes over the last two years.

Two years ago, 5.9% of respondents anonymously identified themselves as gay or lesbian, but this had risen to 8.2% in the last twelve months as legislative changes and a diversity drive in the financial services industry encouraged more applicants.

These figures indicate that out of the 900,000 people working in banking, finance, and insurance in London, 73,800 are gay or lesbian.

Tara Ricks, Managing Director of Joslin Rowe Associates said: ‘Traditionally the City was perceived as white, heterosexual and male – which put off many gay and lesbian applicants."

"As a result, the proportion of gay and lesbian workers was far below the national average ten years ago - but it was extremely rare for firms to monitor their own performance in this area so it is difficult to benchmark quite how bad the situation was. Times have changed and diversity is now at the centre of recruitment and human resources policy."

"The City knows it must attract the best talent from all walks of life. Many firms now actively target gay undergraduates, for example, something that was not the case five or ten years ago. The trend has now seen City firms grow the proportion of their staff who are gay – up to 8.2% of the workforce and overtaking the current national average of 5.9%."

‘All the major investment banks now have gay networking groups and large sponsorship deals at gay events across the City . Across the industry, organisations such as Out in the City, the Interbank Gay and Lesbian Network and City Pink (which targets women only) provide opportunities for gay and lesbian employees to meet and mix. None of this existed five years ago. What’s more, investment banks now come top of Stonewall’s Corporate Equality Index as the best place to work for homosexual employees. Indeed, nine of the Top 25 organisations in the country are City firms .’

Although the City has narrowed the gap in the last four years, it still has some way to go.

There are 16,000 fewer gay or lesbian employees in the industry compared to the mix in London’s general population.

Furthermore, the extent to which people are ‘out’ in their firms is far smaller than the number who privately acknowledge that they are homosexual.

Arguably, City workers are more likely to keep their own counsel than those in other industries like the media with a traditionally more open attitude. This is particularly so for women. In Joslin Rowe’s research, women in the City were far less likely to identify themselves (even anonymously) than men as homosexual.

Tara Ricks said: ‘The City has made huge strides in recent years, but is still a challenging and competitive place to work. The reluctance of women to come out as lesbians possibly reflects the fact that women already feel they have to fight hard to maintain equality with men.’

‘Of course there is no reason why people should disclose their sexuality at work - it is irrelevant to their ability to do the job. In an ideal world we wouldn’t be counting anyone. But these are not exercises designed to label people. They have been created as positive tools to measure and encourage progress - rather than relying on mere compliance to drive change.’

This story was first published by Gay.com

Police chiefs have to prove all-white is not all right for applicants

2007-04-25T18:24:00.000+01:00

Police chiefs have admitted they face a massive task convincing officers of the merits of plans to push job applications from white males to the bottom of the pile.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) has called for a change in the law so that "priority could be given to minority ethnic and female applicants".
Liz Owsley, national co-ordinator for the British Association for Woman in Policing, said she hoped the government would take steps as soon as the autumn.

She said the official response to the Trevor Phillips-chaired Equalities Review later this year should welcome 'affirmative action' - but conceded that many officers were against it.

"I hope the government is open to some sort of discussion along these lines," she told Personnel Today. "It would be a blow if it was not.

"Acpo is hoping to educate people within the force, because there is a defensiveness there which comes from not understanding what [affirmative action] is all about," she said.

The Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, slammed the proposal, saying it went beyond positive action.

Chairwoman Jan Berry said: "These new proposals could be counter-productive. All officers, including black and female officers, want to be recognised for their skills and abilities rather than receiving preferential treatment."

The Police Service is under pressure to meet a Home Office target of 7% of officers coming from non-white backgrounds by 2009.

This story was first published in Personnel Today

Commission for Equality and Human Rights recruits key posts, including HR director

2007-04-24T18:22:00.000+01:00

The Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR) is ramping up its recruitment ahead of the body’s official start date in October this year.

The commission will enforce legislation on age, disability, gender, race, religion and sexual orientation, combining the current work of the commissions for racial equality commissions for racial equality, disability and equal opportunities.

The organisation is setting up a senior management team to work under new chief executive Nicola Brewer.

CEHR is advertising for an HR director and other senior positions, including directors of finance, communications, law and strategy.

According to the advert, the HR director’s initial focus will be more operational. But candidates will need to have the ability to take “a more strategic view” of HR issues and shift to a more strategic focus once line management responsibilities are established.

Chairman of the CEHR Trevor Phillips has repeatedly called for a change in the law to allow employers to take “special measures” in favouring ethnic minority job applicants.

In a speech last year he said: “We have to consider whether, when there is a clear public need, we must allow our institutions - even if temporarily - to take special measures with the aim of integrating their workforces faster than would otherwise be the case.”

This story was first published in Personnel Today

More work needed to deliver age diversity in workplace

2007-04-23T18:09:00.000+01:00

Six months on from the introduction of age discrimination legislation, UK employers and workers must work harder to build a truly age diverse workplace and to combat age discrimination according to Manpower.

Manpower believes this is of increasing importance as an ageing workforce, a shrinking labour market and growing talent shortage impact the UK’s ability to compete.

The call for action comes as Manpower releases findings from research of over 1,800 employers that shows that despite being more aware of the need to develop an age diverse workforce, few employers are taking proactive steps to ensure they have the formal processes in place to deliver this: only 24% of employers have developed strategies to retain older workers and only 13% have a strategy to attract such workers.

The research reveals that larger employers are significantly more likely to have developed strategies than smaller organisations: 49% of large employers have developed a retention strategy compared to 19% of micro-sized firms and 29% of small companies.

Manpower research also reveals a disparity between the mindset of employers and workers: 52% of employers increasingly expect their workforce to work beyond the age of 65 whilst just 35% of workers believe they will need to supplement their pension.

Mark Cahill, managing director of Manpower UK, says: “The world of work is changing - increased competition, the need to adapt to new technology, a shortage of skills – and employers and workers must recognise these changes and adapt. Older workers provide a valuable skills resource and one which enlightened employers are embracing. To make the most of an age diverse workforce, employers must ensure they have the right processes in place to encourage and support workers at both ends of the age spectrum – providing specialised training and flexible working opportunities, for example.”

Manpower research conducted at the end of 2006 shows that the introduction of the Government’s Employment Equality (Age) Regulations has had a positive impact on employee awareness with 36% of employers believing this has helped raise awareness of age discrimination in their workplace. Large employers (68%) are the most likely to report an increase in awareness with Utilities companies (48%) demonstrating the most impact on their business. Employers in the South West (48%) noted the greatest change whilst those in the East Midlands the least (24%).

Some employers may not have a formal policy promoting age diversity because they do not yet recognise the extent of the need to make the changes needed to attract older workers and to encourage them to work for longer. Or it may be that they feel this balance will right itself without specific intervention.

Mark Cahill continues: “Some attitudes towards age and diversity have changed, but it is clear there still needs to be increased understanding and awareness of the issues around age diversity from employers and workers alike. These attitudes will not change overnight. But with communication, training and a commitment from all involved, we can effect a serious and lasting change.”

Today’s survey announcement coincides with the publication of a new Manpower White Paper, “The New Agenda for an Older Workforce”. The White Paper explores the increasing reality of the global ageing workforce, resulting gaps in workforce supply, and the demand that this is creating.

It proposes strategies that companies can adopt to circumvent these talent challenges; recommendations on how employers can help older workers extend their careers should they choose to do so; and suggestions for the role that governments can play to help solve the older workers conundrum.

Public bodies slammed over disability equality

2007-04-20T20:53:00.000+01:00

The Disability Rights Commission (DRC) has hit out at over 60 public authorities in a new report that warns that many organisations are still failing to produce a disability equality scheme.

Despite a government deadline of December 2006 for public bodies to provide a disability equality scheme covering a range of issues, including employment, many are failing to meet their responsibilities.

The DRC is warning organisations across the public sector, including health trusts, universities, museums, Channel 4, fire departments and local councils, that they could face sanctions and even court action unless they address their disability equality procedures immediately.

A total of 65 organisations that have failed to meet the disability equality scheme deadline have been put on notice by the DRC after warning letters were sent out at the start of March and they failed to provide evidence of meeting the required standards.

Sir Bert Massie, DRC chairman, said: "The disability equality duty is a real opportunity to transform disabled people's experiences of the society we live in. I'm really pleased that the public sector as a whole has done a great job in responding to the requirements of the duty, with more than 96 per cent of organisations producing a scheme."

An Ipsos MORI study for the Office for Disability Issues (ODI) was carried out in December 2006 to ascertain how many disability equality schemes had been published. A total of 3.7 per cent of 1752 organisations have still failed to produce a scheme.

Free event for gays to find out their legal rights

2007-04-19T20:50:00.000+01:00

A special free event designed to inform gay, lesbian and bisexual people of their rights has been organised by award-winning solicitors Russell Jones & Walker.

Pink Law - Know Your Rights At Home, At Work & At Play is sponsored by PinkNews.co.uk.

Members of the gay community will be able to get free access to information about the range of new laws affecting their lives.

An introduction from a leading member of the gay community will be followed by a short presentation by leading legal experts.

This free special event is designed to discuss the many questions that gay people have about their rights, such as:

Are pre-nuptial agreements legally binding?
Can I adopt my partner's kids?
How will the goods and services laws work?
How can I take action against homophobic businesses?
What kind of discrimination at work will result in compensation?
How do I complain about being victimised at work without being outed?

Solicitors and partners from Russell Jones & Walker will be on hand before and after the short seminar to discuss any questions you have over an informal drink.

Pink Law - Know Your Rights At Home, At Work & At Play is totally free, but registration is required.

It will be held in the Curzon Soho Cinema, Shaftesbury Avenue, London, on Thursday 31st May.

The presentation will take place at 7pm but Russell Jones & Walker solicitors will be on hand to discuss these issues and answer questions from 6.30pm to 10pm

For more information visit PinkNews.co.uk

Police chiefs deny discussing positive discrimination but admit to talking about talks

2007-04-19T20:48:00.000+01:00

Police chiefs have denied discussing the prioritisation of black and female job applicants – insisting they had only met to discuss meeting to discuss the issue.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) was reported to be talking today about plans to use affirmative action to create a more representative workforce.

Acpo is said to have been handed formal proposals to give preference to black, ethnic minority and female applications for police officer posts. It is understood that these plans come from work led by Suzette Davenport, vice-chairman of the British Association for Women in Policing.

But an Acpo spokeswoman told Personnel Today: “We have only been discussing whether to put this on the agenda for a future meeting.”

The Home Office has given the police force a target of ensuring 7% of officers come from ethnic minorities by 2009. The figure currently stands at 3.7%, and radical plans are being investigated to increase diversity.

This story first appeared in Personnel Today

isability Rights Commission names and shames 65 public authorities for failing to produce disability equality scheme

2007-04-17T20:47:00.000+01:00

Channel Four Television is among 65 public bodies that have been threatened with legal action for continuing to drag their heels in producing a disability equality scheme.

The Disability Rights Commission (DRC) has named and shamed 65 public authorities that have failed to produce the document - required under the Disability Equality Duty - despite a deadline of December last year and subsequent warning letters.

Local councils, health trusts, colleges, universities, museums and fire services were among those warned by the DRC at the beginning of March. But at the end of last month, 65 bodies had still not provided any evidence that the required schemes were in place.

The duty is meant to ensure that all public bodies pay "due regard" to the promotion of equality for disabled people in every area of their work, including employment.

DRC chairman Bert Massie said: "I'm really pleased that the public sector as a whole has done a great job in responding to the requirements of the duty, with more than 96% of organisations producing a scheme. The question is why have a small minority failed to do so?

"[The DRC] will now be considering issuing compliance notices to offending organisations, which could lead to court action."

The naming and shaming exercise follows an audit carried out by the government's Office for Disability Issues to check whether disability equality schemes had been published. The DRC, which is responsible for enforcing the duty, is currently revising its list of those that do not comply.

This story first appeared in Personnel Today

Survey shows employers believe fat people are 'lazy'

2007-04-16T20:46:00.000+01:00

Seven in 10 employers associate obesity with laziness and a lack of self-control, according to research.

Health consultancy Nuffield Proactive Health found that bosses admitted fat people were at a disadvantage in the workplace. It surveyed 497 line managers and directors on obesity at work.

Scientists from Oxford University and the Peninsular Medical School in Exeter last week uncovered evidence of a genetic element contributing to obesity. But the Nuffield research suggests UK employers believe obesity is instead linked to character traits.

Nine in 10 HR professionals told a Personnel Today survey earlier this year that there was a social stigma about obesity.

Pressure has since grown on the government to make "fattism" unlawful.

This story first appeared in Personnel Today

Publishing industry lags behind in recruiting black and ethnic minority staff

2007-04-13T20:44:00.000+01:00

UK publishers are failing to recruit enough black or minority ethnic (BME) workers to fully reflect the areas they operate in, a report has found.

The Diversity in Publishing Report reveals that a lack of cultural diversity still exists within the publishing industry.

While the majority of UK publishing houses are based in London, the ethnic origin of workers in publishing does not reflect the cultural balance of the capital's population.

The survey, commissioned by the Diversity in Publishing Network, found that while 28.8% of Londoners are BME, only 7.7% of those working in publishing have a BME background.

Crucially, only 4% of editorial staff are from a BME background and without a culturally diverse set of staff sourcing and mentoring new writers, non-white voices will struggle to be heard, the report concludes.

A spokesman for the network said: "While the moral and commercial reasons for greater ethnic diversity in publishing have never been so evident, this research proves that there is still a long way to go before the industry is truly representative of the culture it serves."

While recent initiatives to improve the diversity of the UK publishing industry are having a positive impact on recruitment, the report found the largest proportion of BME staff surveyed had been in the industry for less than two years.

This story first appeared in Personnel Today

Homophobic attacks can appear in many guises

2007-04-11T20:42:00.000+01:00

Allegations of bullying, physical assault and name-calling dominate tribunal claims for discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, research has found.

Complaints of less favourable treatment by managers were also present, including withholding informal benefits or giving menial work, the study by conciliation service Acas revealed.

Between January 2004 and September 2006, 470 individuals brought tribunal claims where the main allegation concerned discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation. Two-thirds of these were from men.
Where bullying or harassment in relation to sexual orientation was alleged, claimants usually said managers had been complicit in the bullying or had failed to act to prevent it.

The private sector was the worst offender in these types of cases, with 70% of claims made against private firms. "Managers may not deal effectively with problems when they occur. This may be due to a lack of training or support from HR departments," the report said.

The application of internal grievance procedures may make problems worse where claimants feel the procedures are used to cover up what has happened, the study found.

n Acas is looking for a successor to its chair Rita Donaghy, who steps down in October. The post has a salary of £63,470 for a three-day week, and will be for an initial term of three years.

This story first appeared in Personnel Today

Read the full ACAS report

Disability Discrimination Act does not make it easier for disabled people to find work

2007-04-10T20:39:00.000+01:00

Disabled people do not feel getting a job has become any easier since the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) gave extra responsibilities to employers, a leading MEP has warned.

Part III of the DDA came into force in October 2004, requiring all businesses and service providers to make reasonable changes to ensure they were accessible to the 10 million people in the UK with some form of disability.

But Richard Howitt, Labour MEP for the East of England, and president of the All-Party Disability Rights Group, told Personnel Today that physical changes to the workplace had not led to greater opportunities.

"Many disabled people think life hasn't changed for them since the DDA," he said. "It is easier for laws to be changed than to be implemented fully in spirit. Many companies have put braille in the lifts and installed a disabled toilet, but much of the prejudice is still there."

Howitt said many disabled people were victims of 'second-place syndrome' - being told they did everything right at interview, but an 'outstanding candidate' just beat them to the post.

The Disability Rights Commission said there had been slight improvements in employers' attitudes to disabled people, but there was "no room for complacency".

The commission said only half of disabled people were in work, compared to 86% of able-bodied people.

This story first appeared in Personnel Today

Gender Equality Duty could trigger equal pay claims in outsourced services

2007-04-10T20:37:00.000+01:00

The Gender Equality Duty could push up the cost to the public sector of outsourcing services, and could lead to more equal pay claims, experts have warned.

The legislation, which came into force on 6 April, requires contractors to reveal details about internal pay inequalities, and public bodies to actively promote gender equality, including equal pay.

It could mean an increase in wage bills for firms providing services to the public sector, as well as public authorities, said Emma Burrows, partner at law firm Trowers & Hamlins.

"The duty will push up the cost to public sector authorities of outsourcing services to the private sector, thereby undermining any cost savings outsourcing provides," she said.

The requirement for private sector suppliers to publish details of staff pay will increase the risk of exposing inequalities that were previously hidden, Burrows said. "The door would then be open to equal pay claims on a massive scale."

Tony Virdi, board member at trade body the National Outsourcing Association, said the duty might have far-reaching implications for the public and private sectors.

"The new legislation means that suppliers could now be forced to standardise salaries across the board," he said. "It could even potentially drive organisations in both the public and private sectors to use offshoring more widely."

But Norman Rose, director-general of the Business Services Association, which also represents companies providing outsourcing services, insisted that private sector suppliers already followed the public sector's lead.
"The public authority sets the rules and we follow," he said. "We seek indemnity from clients and do not practise discrimination."

Stephen Moir, director of people and policy at Cambridgeshire County Council, and lead on pay and workforce strategy for the Public Sector People Managers' Association, said outsourcing agreements should be about delivering more efficient services.
"If private sector providers are unable to offer this and give due regard to equality considerations, is that really how taxpayers want to see the public purse spent?" Moir asked.

This story first appeared in Personnel Today

Bullying is bad for business performance

2007-04-07T12:04:00.000+01:00

April 2007 special viewpoint from Ian Dodds Consulting, the D&I strategy consultants.

IDC’s monthly viewpoints have consistently highlighted situations which result in people feeling excluded by organisations. Bullying is one of these, and it is this month’s subject because to my great dismay IDC’s consultants have experienced this from a member of a diversity team in a public sector client organisation.

Persistent criticism, ignoring or deliberately excluding people, undervaluing effort, changing targets without discussion or notice and setting impossible deadlines are all examples of bullying cited by the HSE and the Andrea Adams Trust.

IDC’s consultants experienced all of these behaviours from one particular individual. Had it not been from a member of a diversity team I might have considered it just part of the range of good and bad experiences that come with providing services to clients. But surely members of a diversity team have a duty to behave inclusively in an exemplary way with all the people they interact with.

This is because bullying leads those on the receiving end to lose self-esteem and ultimately question their own self-worth. Clearly, this is likely to have a negative impact on their performance. They are likely to withdraw and disengage and, in extreme cases, leave their jobs.

It does not matter that the behaviour experienced by IDC’s consultants was probably unintentional. It is ethically and morally wrong for one person to behave in such a way towards another, and even more so if that person works in the field of diversity and should be most aware that diversity is founded upon the concept of respecting and valuing others.

In our work, bullying and harassment are sometimes not considered by clients to be important aspects of the diversity and inclusion agenda. However, they are and should be; because they cause exclusion and distress to those who experience them. Last month we considered micro-inequities, which have a similar impact. Both these and bullying should be mainstream considerations for diversity practitioners, because of the negative impact they have, both on individuals and on business performance.

IDC’s consultants have considerable experience of enabling clients to create a working environment where bullying and harassment are minimised.

Incidentally, in this instance IDC withdrew its consultants from the project and formally raised the issue with the client. I believed it was important for IDC as a diversity consultancy to take a stand on inappropriate behaviour by someone employed by a client in a diversity role.

Read more viewpoints from Ian Dodds Consulting

Ann Summers CEO Jacqueline Gold claims ban on men in work is only way for women to succeed

2007-04-07T11:21:00.000+01:00

The chief executive of adult retailer Ann Summers told delegates at the Brighton conference that the only way for women to succeed in business was to do away with men in the workplace.

And that is virtually what Jacqueline Gold has done in transforming the retailer from a turnover of £87,000 in 1987 to £155m this year, with 7,500 (all women) party planners and 141 retail outlets (mostly staffed by women).

Apart from a couple of exceptions, men are only employed at the company's head office. And even there the ratio is 60:40 women to men. But Gold justified this tactic by explaining that banishing men from most aspects of the organisation had created an environment in which women could thrive.

"Women [at other companies] will often say that they've had a fantastic idea, but they feel intimidated," she said. "The fact that we've got a female chief executive and a female managing director means we don't have that problem."

When asked from the floor how the public sector could be made to be more sexy, Gold replied that the way to create a dynamic workplace was to make it fun.

"But that has to come from the top. People at the top need to buy into it. [Your organisation] has got to be a fun place to work," she said.

This story was first created and published by Personnel Today

Public bodies head for sanctions as DRC pursues disability equality duty shirkers

2007-04-04T20:35:00.000+01:00

The Disability Rights Commission (DRC) is putting organisations from across the public sector on notice after publishing the names of more than 60 public authorities which have failed to produce a disability equality scheme, despite a deadline of December last year and subsequent warning letters from the Commission.

Local councils, health trusts, colleges, universities, museums, fire departments and Channel 4 Television are among those to whom the Commission wrote to at the beginning of March, but 65 (as of 27 March 2007) still have not provided any evidence that the required scheme is in place.

Sir Bert Massie, chairman of the DRC, said:

“The disability equality duty is a real opportunity to transform disabled people’s experiences of the society we live in. I’m really pleased that the public sector as a whole has done a great job in responding to the requirements of the duty, with more than 96% of organisations producing a scheme. The question is: Why have a small minority failed to do so?”

The naming and shaming exercise follows an audit carried out by Ipsos MORI for the Government’s Office for Disability Issues (ODI) of 1752 organisations in December 2006 to check whether disability equality schemes had been published. The ODI passed on the audit findings to the DRC, which has the responsibility for enforcing the duty. A follow up check by the DRC revealed 66, or 3.7%, still do not have a scheme.

Sir Bert added: “We’ll now be considering issuing compliance notices to offending authorities, which could lead to court action.”

Women’s minister Ruth Kelly spends £500,000 from Quality Part Time Work Fund in bid to reduce gender pay gap

2007-04-03T11:11:00.000+01:00

Minister for women, Ruth Kelly, will grant nearly £500,000 to a number of organisations to create more quality part-time jobs at senior level, in an effort to reduce the gender pay gap.

The scheme comes a year after the Women and Work Commission report, which was commissioned by the prime minister to help women reach their full potential.

Royal Mail is one of the first beneficiaries - it was awarded £25,000 in funding from the Quality Part Time Work Fund. The company will need to match the grant to develop job-share and part-time managerial posts in two sorting office sites in London.

It aims to make 10% of management jobs on these sites part-time within 18 months.

Other successful bidders for the fund include Kelloggs, Tesco, three local authorities, Durham constabulary, and four voluntary sector organisations.

Kelly said: “The part-time pay gap is still too wide with women working part-time earning 40% less than men working full-time. Working with a range of employers across business, local government and the voluntary sector, we can kickstart the process of enabling more women to work part-time in senior posts.”

Small businesses under misconception of being fully compliant with age discrimination legislation could face tribunal claim02 April 2007 Small businesses are risking tribunals as they fail to make changes to employment policies following age discrimination laws, research has suggested.

A survey of 750 small businesses by conciliation service Acas revealed that only 17% have introduced changes to their employment and recruitment practices. Respondents said they had not made changes because they believed their organisations already complied, or that the regulations did not apply to their business.

Two-thirds of employers in the survey thought they were fairly or very well informed about the age discrimination regulations. However, fewer than 30% gave a correct response to a question about whether it is still lawful to have a retirement age.

Acas chair Rita Donaghy said: “These results are worrying as they highlight a potential timebomb in smaller companies in terms of tribunal cases. Age discrimination can affect all employees, young and old and to comply can be very simple and quick.”

This story was first created and published by Personnel Today

Stigma over HIV still rife despite changes to law

2007-03-28T11:08:00.000+01:00

The majority of workers living with HIV still feel unable to tell their employer about their condition, despite increased legal protection, the National Aids Trust (NAT) has warned.

A 2005 revision to the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) extended protection to employees living with HIV from when they are first diagnosed.

"However, a survey of 760 gay men, carried out by Professor Jonathan Elford at City University, found that more than two-thirds of white and 84% of non-white gay men living with HIV did not feel able to tell their employers about their condition."

Employers are still uncertain about what their obligations are to HIV-positive employees, according to Deborah Jack, chief executive of the NAT.

"At present, the workplace can be a very difficult environment for people living with HIV, as unfortunately discrimination and harassment are still very real concerns for many," she said.

The NAT has launched a guide for employers on recruiting HIV-positive employees. "By putting practices in place to avoid discrimination in recruitment, employers can encourage applications from people living with HIV and benefit from the skills of these individuals," Jack added.

This story was first created and published by Personnel Today

Royal Mail and Remploy pilot scheme for disabled workers set to roll out nationwide

2007-03-23T11:04:00.000Z

A partnership between Royal Mail and Remploy - the provider of employment services for disabled people - is set for a national roll-out following a successful pilot programme in the South East.

Over the past year, 32 Remploy candidates with disabilities or health conditions have been employed as postal workers. Eleven are based at the Jubilee Mail Centre in Hounslow, while candidates have also been placed into administration, sorting office and delivery roles.

The scheme is now being extended to Essex, Chelmsford, Chiswick and Guildford, prior to a national roll-out in April.

Mike O’Donovan, mail centre manager at the Jubilee Mail Centre, said: “Many people’s perceptions of disability have been turned around by working with Remploy and it’s great to know that the partnership will now be rolled out nationally.”

This year, Remploy aims to find 5,600 jobs for people with disabilities and health conditions in mainstream employment.

This story was first created and published by Personnel Today

Half of dyslexics hide the condition from their employer to protect their image in the workplace

2007-03-22T11:06:00.000Z

Almost half of people with dyslexia are hiding their condition in the workplace for fear that it will change the way their colleagues perceive them, according to research.

The study by the British Dyslexia Association (BDA) and Business Link for London advisory service found that 45% of the 103 respondents felt unable to disclose their dyslexia to their employer.

The most common reasons for respondents hiding their dyslexia were that it could have a negative effect on their image at work, act as a barrier to business success and hamper their career opportunities.

More than half (56%) did not believe their employer could cater for their needs if they were to reveal their condition, and eight in 10 (82%) also believed their dyslexia would prevent them from setting up their own business.

Vicki McNicol, director of development at the BDA, said: “When an employer is able to support the dyslexic individual’s differences and not see them as a threat, the individuals abilities and talents are able to shine through. Many employers/managers are not able to celebrate difference but, more commonly, want to penalise employees for it. At the BDA, we find that many highly intelligent, dyslexic individuals fail to reach their full potential due to ignorance and lack of understanding among employers and HR professionals.”

Keith Gilbey, director of strategy at Business Link for London, said: “Creativity and tenacity are just some of the traits associated with dyslexics, so they have huge potential to become successful entrepreneurs. Equally, employers need to create a supportive environment so that they can harness the skills that dyslexics typically possess.”

This story was first created and published by Personnel Today

Firms warned to develop diversity policies after Microsoft ditches supplier

2007-03-20T11:01:00.000Z

Employers have again been warned to tighten their diversity practices after it emerged that Microsoft UK stopped using a supplier due to its poor policy on the issue.

Dave Gartenberg, HR director at Microsoft UK, told Personnel Today that the global IT firm was increasingly looking at its suppliers' diversity policies.

"In one case, we changed provider because they were cavalier towards the topic," he said. "They were supplying a perfectly good service, but we stopped using them."

Microsoft's UK arm is learning from its experiences in the US, where many private companies insist on good diversity policies from their suppliers.

"We just think it is the responsible thing to do," Gartenberg said.

The decision follows moves by Barclays last year to request diversity statistics from its legal advisers as part of its corporate social responsibility policy.

The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) confirmed that private firms were now increasingly insisting on good diversity practices from their suppliers.

CIPS director of marketing Brian Ford told Personnel Today: "It is a growing trend for suppliers to be asked for their diversity policies. We have seen this grow over the past few months and we can't see that changing. It would be sensible for employers to put policies in place so they can't be caught out."

The Institute of Business Ethics (IBE) agreed that private firms were increasingly looking at the make-up of the companies they do business with.

Simon Webley, research director at the IBE, said: "More than 200 of the FTSE 350 companies now have codes of ethics. These include core values of the company, and diversity is beginning to appear on these plans."

The Equalities Review last month recommended that a company's diversity policies should be a key factor when awarding public service contracts.

But business groups have long insisted that contracts should be awarded on value for money, rather than diversity policies.

This story was first created and published by Personnel Today

Disability campaign urges employers to recruit people with Down's Syndrome

2007-03-20T10:58:00.000Z

Employers are being targeted by a new campaign that aims to get them to look again at jobseekers with Down's Syndrome.

The Down's Syndrome Association (DSA) is sending mail alerts to businesses across the UK in the form of a job application, covering letter and CV. The fictional applicant writes that he has Down's Syndrome, and for the remainder of the letter the word 'disabled' is repeated over and over.

The mock CV follows the same format, with 'disabled' replacing the candidate's career overview, qualifications and work experience.

There are approximately 15,000 working-age adults with Down's Syndrome in the UK. Of those, just 16% are in some kind of employment - mostly voluntary and unpaid work - according to the DSA.

Carol Boys, the charity's chief executive, said people with Down's were particularly discriminated against because they were "easily identifiable". Employment levels among people with the condition are lower than those with other physical disabilities, she said.

"Their expectations of some kind of employment are high and so it makes it all the more depressing when they are not able to find a job," she said. "The DSA is asking employers to 'look behind the label' and see the potential of a person with Down's Syndrome."

Boys said fear of the unknown and a lack of understanding about the condition were preventing employers from hiring more candidates with Down's Syndrome. The DSA is starting to work with more companies that are keen on hiring people with the condition, and is producing guidance to help employers.

This story was first created and published by Personnel Today

Women and Work Commission chairman Baroness Prosser pleased at pace of progress on gender pay gap

2007-03-20T10:56:00.000Z

One year on from the publication of the Women and Work Commission's report into closing the gender pay gap, its chair Baroness Margaret Prosser said she was "surprised" with the progress that had been made.

At a trade and industry sub-committee hearing last week on the commission's Shaping a Fairer Future report, published in March 2006, Prosser was asked what she thought about the government's action plan on her 40 recommendations.

"I was pleased that [the government] produced an action plan at all," she replied. "I'm surprised so much has been done already. I'm certainly not unhappy with the pace."

Prosser cited the Department of Trade and Industry's £500,000 part-time work fund and the Exemplar Employers initiative as significant achievements.

"More than 100 companies have taken part in the Exemplar Employers scheme, and are trialling more women managers and providing better careers advice," she said.

However, Prosser said she had some concerns that many schools still stereotyped women when it came to work experience and career guidance.

"The Department for Education and Skills accepted our recommendations on work experience, but I'm not sure how carefully [the department] is monitoring it," she said.

Norma Jarboe, director of Opportunity Now, which oversees the Exemplar Employers programme, said: "Lots of government reports have not had that much impact and have simply been shelved, but the government has reacted well to this one."

Jenny Watson, chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission, said the gender pay gap remained a stubborn 17% for women working in full-time roles.

"We are glad the government is taking this forward and look forward to seeing the report," she said.
But Prosser warned that the gender pay gap would remain a complicated and difficult issue to overcome.

his story was first created and published by Personnel Today

Women get to break through glass ceiling to senior management but only to do dirty jobs

2007-03-19T10:54:00.000Z

Business leaders are more likely to appoint a woman to a senior-level post during times of crisis and poor performance than their male colleagues, according to a report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

However, the CIPD-commissioned study by Exeter University found that, as women are more readily appointed to tough roles during times of change, they are at greater risk of suffering from the “set up to fail” syndrome than men.

Dianah Worman, CIPD diversity adviser, said: “Due to the limited opportunities open to female leaders, many are forced to take the more difficult jobs in organisations with a history of poor performance, perpetuating the myth that women are poor performers in senior positions, and covering up the true extent of discrimination for the most desirable senior management positions.

"But the growth in the number of successful small businesses owned by women goes some way to indicate their business and leadership capabilities and highlights the talent other large organisations are missing. So old-fashioned attitudes are not only unfair and discriminatory towards women but they leave organisations shooting themselves in the foot.”

The Change Agenda, Women in the boardroom: the risks of being at the top report included more than 80 employers.

This story was first created and published by Personnel Today

Significant numbers of public bodies break Disability Equality Duty law by failing to publish details of disability schemes

2007-03-16T10:51:00.000Z

Almost one-third of public authorities still have not published the details of their disability practices and policies, despite the government’s Disability Equality Duty becoming law in December 2006.

The Public Bodies’ Response to the Disability Equality Duty report found that only half (54%) of authorities had included any evidence of involving disabled people in their Disability Equality Scheme.

The study of more than 1,750 public authorities by the government’s Office for Disability Issues and the Ipsos Mori Social Research Institute included government departments and central government bodies, police authorities, NHS Trusts and Strategic Health Authorities.

Anne McGuire, minister for disabled people, said: “Implementation of the Disability Equality Duty is the key to improving the lives of disabled people. It’s a huge step forward that just over half of all public bodies audited by the Office for Disability Issues were found to have given disabled people a real opportunity to influence and shape the policies and services which have an impact on their lives.

“But it’s disappointing that a significant number of public bodies missed the December deadline to publish a scheme - and the Office for Disability Issues, working with the Disability Rights Commission, will be taking appropriate action to ensure all public bodies are playing their part in promoting equality for disabled people.”

Most public authorities, with the exception of schools in England and Wales, were required to produce and publish their Disability Equality Scheme by 4 December 2006.

This story was first created and published by Personnel Today

Equal Opportunities Commission says fundamental cultural shift is key to employment opportunities for ethnic minorities

2007-03-15T10:49:00.000Z

A fundamental cultural shift in the way black and Asian women are treated at work and by public policy makers is needed to increase their employment opportunities, according to a report by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC).

Moving on Up: Ethnic Minority Women at Work, a two-year study of the issues, has established that Pakistani, Bangladeshi and black Caribbean women face significantly greater penalties than white women in the workplace.

Those who want to work are finding it more difficult to get jobs, progress within them and are more likely to be segregated into certain types of work, despite leaving school with the same career aspirations as white girls and similar or better qualifications than white boys.

In areas with above-average numbers of black and Asian women participating in the local labour market, women are entirely absent from a third of workplaces and under-represented in almost three out of five workplaces.

However, the EOC’s report found 28% of employers surveyed said they intended to introduce steps to improve the recruitment and progression of black and Asian women. However, the same percentage said they were unsure what action to take.

Between 2001 and 2020, ethnic minorities are expected to account for more than 70% of the growth in the UK population aged between 16 and 59, according to the report.

With UK employers facing skills shortages, the report concludes it is crucial to tap into a growing and increasingly well-qualified pool of young Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Black Caribbean women’s talent to maintain economic growth.

Jenny Watson, chair of the EOC said: “Young Pakistani, Bangladeshi and black Caribbean women are ambitious and equipped for work. But they are still suffering even greater penalties at work than white women. Time after time women told us about the ‘unwritten rules’ in their workplace, the hidden barriers that prevent them from realising these ambitions. Without tackling these unwritten rules, change will never come.”

John Cridland, the CBI’s deputy director-general, said: “Employers will welcome the examples of good practice highlighted by the EOC’s investigation, on which others can draw. As the report says, employers are keen to employ more women from ethnic minorities, but better guidance is needed to support them.

“The EOC’s call for better careers advice is also to be welcomed Ð this is something the CBI has repeatedly pressed government on.”

This story was first created and published by Personnel Today

Employers Forum on Age warns national minimum wage band for younger workers is ageist

2007-03-13T10:45:00.000Z

The national minimum wage (NMW) band for younger workers constitutes age discrimination and must be brought into line with the adult rate, the Employers Forum on Age (EFA) has warned.

Last week, the government announced a 3.2% increase in the adult rate, from £5.35 to £5.52 per hour, with effect from October 2007. But staff in the 18- to 21-year-old bracket will only be paid a minimum rate of £4.60 per hour.

EFA director Sam Mercer said this sent out "completely the wrong message" to employers about the consequence of making decisions based on age in the workplace. "We are frustrated by the refusal to address the fact that under the current bands, 18- to 21-year-olds are paid less, simply because of their age and irrespective of their capabilities or responsibilities," she said.

The EFA call for action follows a warning from lawyers that the NMW flouts the new age laws and that apprenticeships specifically targeted at younger people would eventually be proved illegal.
Age discrimination in employment became illegal on 1 October 2006. The EFA is lobbying the government on the issue of minimum wage age bands. An Early Day Motion has been tabled in Parliament and now has 88 signatures representing cross-party support.

"The current argument from the government that employers might potentially avoid taking on younger workers if they had to pay them the same amount as workers over 21 is simply reinforcing the discriminatory practices that the legislation was designed to eradicate," Mercer said.

Employers' and unions' views on the NMW rise
EEF: "We are pleased the government has recognised the additional costs that many employers will face when statutory annual holiday entitlement increases in October."

CBI: "The NMW has brought real benefits to many lower-paid workers, but it is right that this year's increase took account of business reality."

CIPD: "If the NMW is to succeed, it must be set at a rate that improving pay at the bottom of the labour market does not have adverse consequences for jobs, inflation or the wider economy."

T&G: "We are concerned that the progress that has been made in tackling inequality could be rolled back if the minimum wage fails to even keep pace with inflation."

GMB: "The figure of £5.52 is still well short of half of the UK average hourly rate for full-time workers."

TUC: "Everyone stands to gain from making the minimum wage as robust as possible, so the government should use this year to continue moving its enforcement work up a gear."

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Number of female senior managers in FTSE 350 firms falls by 40% in five years

2007-03-08T10:42:00.000Z

The number of female senior managers working in major UK businesses has fallen sharply by more than 40% in the past five years, according to figures from professional services company Pricewaterhouse Coopers.

In 2002, 38% of senior manager level posts in the FTSE 350 were occupied by women, but this has now sunk to just 22%.

The news will come as a surprise to many companies that have introduced flexible working arrangements and appointed heads of diversity in an attempt address equal opportunities in the workplace and retain talent.

At the most senior level, the figures show an improvement, but progress is painfully slow. The ranks of FTSE 350 female full-time chairmen or chief executives have grown, but can still be counted on one hand.

The study suggests one possible reason for this is the growing cost of childcare. The cost of a typical full-time nursery place in England has increased by 27% in the last five years, according to the Daycare Trust.

There is also evidence that more women are going into business for themselves. The number of self-employed females in the UK recently rose above a million for the first time according to the Labour Force Survey.

Sarah Churchman, head of diversity at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said: “At the top, things are moving slowly in the right direction but our middle management data paints a very different picture.

“Businesses tend to pay more attention to gender issues in senior positions and there appears to be an assumption that a supply from the middle ranks will eventually feed through. For big companies at least, this pipeline is shrinking at a worrying rate.”

The report is based on figures from PricewaterhouseCoopers Monks pay database which records pay benchmarking information on more than 10,000 UK management roles.

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Equalities review recommends public service contracts should be awarded on basis of diversity

2007-03-06T10:39:00.000Z

Multi-million pound contracts could soon be won or lost on the diversity of a company's workforce.

The government-commissioned Equalities Review last week recommended that diversity policy should be a key factor when awarding public sector contracts. It said the law should be changed to place greater responsibilities on public bodies, including "a specific requirement to use procurement as a tool for achieving greater equality".

Panel member Sir Robert Kerslake told Personnel Today that private firms bidding for public service contracts should be made to provide details of their workforce make-up, and an outline of the steps they are taking to improve diversity.

"This can and should be an important factor in the decision to award contracts," said Kerslake, chief executive of Sheffield City Council. "It is a duty of the public body to actively take into account equality of employment."

Communities secretary Ruth Kelly signalled the government's willingness to act on the report, commissioned by prime minister Tony Blair in 2005. "This review makes clear that further progress will not happen without government action," she said. "We must remain prepared to take tough decisions."

A formal response is expected by the autumn, but the CBI insisted that public service contracts should be awarded on the basis of value for money, rather than the diversity of a workforce. It said employers should not be subjected to additional bureaucracy or legal risk.

The Equalities Review was led by Commission for Equality and Human Rights chairman Trevor Phillips. He warned that unless drastic action was taken, inequality in the UK would remain at an "intolerable level". At the current rate of change, it would take nearly 100 years for the ethnic employment gap to be closed.

10 steps to equality
Defining equality
Building a consensus on equality
Measuring progress towards equality
Transparency about progress
Targeted action on persistent inequalities
A simpler legal framework
More accountability for delivering equality
Using procurement and commissioning positively
Enabling and supporting organisations in all sectors
A more sophisticated enforcement regime

This story was first created and published by Personnel Today

Equalities Review recommends legalising ethnic minority job adverts

2007-03-06T10:36:00.000Z

Job ads specifically targeting ethnic minority applicants will be legalised if the government adopts the recommendations of the Equalities Review.

The review called for "the repeal of existing legislation that limits positive action". It said an Equalities Act should be drawn up to cover all diversity issues, to provide for better targeting of disadvantaged groups.

"There are some areas where inequalities are so deep-seated, or where conventional means will take so long to make an impact, that not taking alternative action is condemning a whole generation to living with disadvantage," said the report.

"There is a case for introducing time-limited, proportionate, balancing measures of a type not currently permissible under UK law," it said.

Review chairman Trevor Phillips said organisations wanting to use these proposed powers should be able to do so "if they can make a case that it is in the best interests of the community".

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Government report admits link between lack of job opportunities and ethnic and religious backgrounds

2007-03-02T10:33:00.000Z

Ethnic minorities and women with religious convictions have the toughest time when it comes to finding work, according to research published by the Department for Work and Pensions.

The research analyses the probability of being in employment based on different combinations of ethnic and religious group.

It finds that for women, the employment penalties faced by Muslims of all ethnic backgrounds are higher than the penalty for any ethnic group of no religion.

Work and pensions secretary John Hutton said: "We simply cannot afford to ignore the specific discrimination that exists in the UK labour market.

"Along with improvements in training and skills - such as the increased emphasis on English language training for benefit recipients [the government] announced earlier this month - ethnic minority employment rates can be improved," Hutton added.

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Dawn Atkinson has been appointed in a new role as England's nursing officer for diversity

2007-03-01T10:30:00.000Z

A nurse for 22 years, she will be seconded to the Department of Health for two days a week for a year, advising the chief nursing officer about all issues relating to diversity.

Chief nursing officer Christine Beasley said: “There were a high number of good applicants that we considered for this role, highlighting the value the Department of Health and the NHS place on developing and promoting leadership and diversity.”

Atkinson is currently assistant director of nursing for quality and standards at Newham University Hospital NHS Trust, and will continue this role throughout the duration of the secondment.

This story was first created and published by Personnel Today.

Commission for Equality and Human Rights sets out programme to increase fairness in UK

2007-02-28T10:13:00.000Z

A new approach is needed to tackle discrimination and disadvantage in the UK, the final Equalities Review report has recommended.

The inquiry that produced the report, led by Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, proposes a 10-step programme to help make the UK a fairer, more equal country at ease with its diversity.

It recommends new flexibility for employers to use positive action – which will allow firms to assist people from previously excluded ethnic minority groups to compete on equal terms with other applicants.

Employers will breathe a sign of relief as the report does not argue for positive discrimination.
Phillips said that unless efforts to produce change are drastically stepped up, it could take until 2085 to close the pay gap between men and women; and on current trends, the employment ‘penalty’ facing disabled people may never be eliminated.

The report’s recommendations include:

a new framework to measure progress towards equality, including an ‘Equalities Scorecard’ which employers can use to get a true picture of equality gaps
a broader positive duty for public sector bodies to tackle inequality - both as service providers and as employers
a simpler legislative framework which will enable groups as well as individuals to take action
a more sophisticated and proportionate enforcement regime, overseen by the Commission for Equality and Human Rights
targeted action against persistent inequalities in education, employment, health, and crime and criminal justice

The review recommends that the commission, which will become operational in October 2007, should report on progress against the 10 steps to greater equality every three years.

Phillips said: “The past few years have seen inequality reduced in many ways. But as the tide of disadvantage recedes, the rocks of persistent inequality have been revealed. People face inequality in many forms – not only on the grounds of race, gender or disability but also sexual orientation, age, gender identity, and religion or belief.

“They struggle because of outdated attitudes and systemic failures. It will take many years to remove the remaining barriers to equality. In some cases, unless we accelerate progress, it is unlikely that disadvantage will ever be overcome. We have to act now.”

Communities minister Ruth Kelly welcomed the review. “This review makes clear that further progress will not happen without government action – working with others, including communities and businesses, we must remain prepared to take the tough decisions needed,” she said.

“Trevor Phillip’s report rightly challenges us to go further. I look forward to analysing the review in detail and to responding formally on behalf of the government in due course.”

The government response to the review is due in autumn 2007.

This story was published by Personnel Today

Bailiffs face CRB checks and diversity training under Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill

2007-02-23T15:46:00.000Z

Bailiffs and other enforcement agents will be regulated more strictly under new laws announced this week.

The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill creates a national framework to regulate all enforcement agents, including bailiffs, who are not Crown employees.

In future, they will all have compulsory criminal record checks, be subject to the same complaints system and all have to hold a certificate issued by a county court judge.

Bailiffs will have to undergo rigorous training to get a certificate, including diversity awareness and handling vulnerable people, the government said.
Under the Bill, enforcement agents who break the law could face a fine of up to £5,000 or damages, as well as suspension or cancellation of their certificate to prevent them continuing to operate.

In the longer term, the government is looking at regulation by an outside body, with the preferred option of using the Security Industry Authority.
The Bill had its third reading in the House of Lords earlier this week and has begun its passage through the House of Commons.

Gay employee wins £120,000 at tribunal after being bullied about his sexuality

2007-02-13T15:49:00.000Z

A gay employee who lasted just eight days in a job after being bullied about his sexuality has won almost £120,000 compensation.

Jonah Ditton, 32, from Paisley, was sacked as media sales manager for Glasgow-based listings producer CP Publishing after being told he was psychologically imbalanced.

An employment tribunal has awarded £79,937 for pecuniary loss, £10,000 for injury to feelings, £26,081 for the firm’s failure to follow statutory procedures and £5,291 interest.

Tribunal chairman June Cape said: “The conduct of the respondent was high-handed, malicious, insulting and oppressive,” reports the BBC.

“While the claimant was only employed for a short period, the respondent overtly abused and humiliated him on the grounds of his sexual orientation persistently over that period of time,” she added.

Ditton said: “I was truly hurt and upset. I do not feel my sexuality had any bearing on my ability to do my job. They are foul individuals and they should be punished as much as possible.”

Wal-Mart faces $11bn bill in equality battle

2007-02-13T15:43:00.000Z

The biggest sexual discrimination case in US history advanced against Wal-Mart last week when a top court ruled that more than 1.6 million women could join a class-action law suit.

Legal experts have estimated that Wal-Mart's liability in the case could run as high as $11bn (£5.5bn) and involve as many as two million women who have worked for the retail giant since 1998.

The suit claims female employees were discriminated against in pay and bypassed for promotion, something strongly denied by the company.
US district judge Martin Jenkins ruled that lawyers for the women had enough anecdotal evidence to warrant a class-action trial. He argued that it was "impractical" to have individual hearings for each plaintiff, and planned to use a statistical formula to compensate each of the women.

Wal-Mart had argued that granting the lawsuit class-action status was inappropriate because its 3,400 US stores operated as individual businesses, and issues of pay and promotion were decided on a local basis.

But David Nassar, executive director of campaign group Wal-Mart Watch, said: "Despite Wal-Mart's efforts to stonewall, delay and obfuscate, today's judgment brings us miles closer to justice and vindication for two million victims of the company's immoral and illegal gender discrimination."

Minister for communities Ruth Kelly launches commission to boost diversity in local government

2007-02-12T15:40:00.000Z

Communities secretary Ruth Kelly has announced the establishment of a new commission to look at how diversity in local government can be improved.
The Councillors Commission will look at ways to better support councillors and encourage more people from a wider range of backgrounds to play a leading role in their communities.

The commission – led by Dame Jane Roberts, a prominent local government figure – will look at what barriers are preventing ordinary people from becoming councillors, and what steps can be taken to get more people involved.

The commission will report to Kelly by November 2007. A recent survey of councillors in England revealed that 96% are white, compared with 2.7% Asian and 0.5% black.

The average age of a councillor is 58, with more than 50% aged over 60. Just 0.3% are under 25, and fewer than 8% are aged under 40.

The commission will consider:

Working with local business to promote more part-time and flexible working and encouraging employers to value people serving as councillors by providing time off for their duties and recognising their experience.
Reviewing the time commitments needed to be a councillor and timetables of local meetings.
Encouraging councils to look at better childcare support Providing better information on how to become a councillor and what the job entails, such as work shadowing schemes, information and awareness campaigns in black and minority ethnic communities.
Increasing support for councillors to develop the necessary skills for the role and ensure they are retained.

Kelly said: “This is a big task, but I am confident that the commission will provide vital input on how we get the best people for our councils - and the best councils for our people.”

Stonewall publishes guide to preventing harassment of gay employees

2007-02-09T15:38:00.000Z

Gay rights group Stonewall has produced a guide for employers aimed at stopping the bullying and harassment of lesbian and gay employees.
Bullying: preventing the bullying and harassment of gay employees offers practical advice on how to tackle anti-gay behaviour.

The guide outlines the difficulties gay employees can face when reporting bullying and features practical examples of best practice currently being developed by a range of Stonewall's partner organisations, including telecoms giant BT, global services supplier Accenture, Manchester City Council, the Royal Navy and the Barnado's charity.

Guide author Katherine Cowan said: "Bullying and harassment impacts badly, not just on an individual, but on their colleagues and the wider organisation too. It's estimated that more than two million people in the UK are experiencing bullying at work, which costs the UK economy £1.3bn a year. Our new guide is specifically designed to help employers find practical help for their workplace."

Earlier this week Chris Martin, a gay worker at poultry distributor Parkam Foods, won £17,000 in compensation after a Yorkshire tribunal ruled that the company had failed to tackle homophobic harassment in the workplace.

Gay activists welcome first EU equality summit

2007-01-30T22:01:00.000Z

European and UK gay rights organisations have welcomed the first EU summit on equality, which began in Brussels today.

450 delegates from across Europe launched the 2007 European Year of Equal Opportunities for All at the summit, which is a joint initiative by the European Commission and the German Presidency of the EU.

Representatives from the European branch of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) are attending.

The association works for equality and human rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Europe.

Last week the Commission released recent Eurobarometer data on discrimination in Europe. It revealed that 50% of EU citizens consider discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation to be widespread.

Patricia Prendiville, Executive Director of ILGA-Europe, said:
"We believe the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All is a great opportunity to address prejudice and discrimination."

ILGA have set three targets for 2007:
1. To extend protection against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation to social protection (including social security and healthcare), social advantages, education, access to goods and services, including housing.
2. To achieve full recognition of same-sex unions registered in one EU member states by all other members states.
3. To give visibility to LGBT people and challenge their invisibility and exclusion in society by involving them in actions and decision-making at national and European level.
The Eurobarometer data for the UK found that 48% of respondents felt that discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation is widespread in this country.

43% of UK citizens said they were aware of their legal rights if they were subject to any form of discrimination.

UK Government: Industry shows commitment to enabling women to succeed

2007-01-29T21:59:00.000Z

Minister for Women, Ruth Kelly, launched a new drive today to step up efforts to reduce the gender pay gap and promote better work-life balance throughout the workplace.

She announced that more than 100 companies and organisations have signed up to a Exemplar Employer scheme since its launch in September.

The Exemplar Employer scheme requires organisations to give a clear commitment to reducing the gender pay gap through projects ranging from encouraging women to find out and enter into jobs traditionally done mostly by men, to supporting mothers to return to work, to creating better quality opportunities for staff working part-time.

The first wave of organisations signed up range from high street names such as Asda to city companies such as Goldman Sachs to Parcelforce to construction firms.

Schemes include:
* on line job share registers to support women returning from maternity
* projects to retain women at a senior management level through mentoring schemes
* support groups for parents
* flexible working intranet sites
* parent support groups to help make childcare arrangements easier
* behind the scene days and apprentice schemes in engineering and construction

Ruth Kelly also launched and opened bids for a new Quality Part-Time Work Fund, available to employers to finance trouble shooters who will advise on how to create and retain more part time jobs for women at a senior level.

Both the Exemplar Employer and Quality Part Time Work schemes have been created by the Government in response to the Women and Work Commission report, which looked at the causes of the gender pay gap.

Creating a more flexible working world was one of the key recommendations made by the Commission as a way to way to increase the number of women - and the quality of roles available part-time and flexibly - in the workplace.

Fury at Standard Life executive's racist comment

2007-01-27T21:56:00.000Z

A chief executive at one of the UK's largest financial services companies has apologised for using the phrase "nigger in the woodpile".

Trevor Matthews, head of Standard Life's life and pensions business, made the comment at a staff presentation at its Edinburgh headquarters on Monday.

Matthews has posted an apology on the company's internal website and said the comment was "a terrible mistake".

He made the remark while he was setting out the firm's employee pension proposals. A formal complaint is understood to have been made by a member of staff.

Matthews told staff: "I deeply regret saying what I did - it is not in any way a reflection of what I think. As soon as the words came from my lips I realised that I had made a serious mistake by using a colloquialism that is not in any way acceptable today."

Willie Gibson, regional officer at Amicus, said: "This is absolutely scandalous. Remarks of this nature are not welcome in any walk of life, let alone at presentations of a flagship Scottish insurance company."

The union is planning to submit a formal request to Standard Life to discuss a future relationship with the company.

Olympic Delivery Authority sets out equality and diversity demands for contractors

2007-01-26T21:55:00.000Z

Budding Olympic contractors without a clear equality and diversity strategy need not apply to take part in the 2012 Games.

That is the message the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) sent out to employers with the publication of its draft equality and diversity strategy last week.

The strategy, which sets out how the principles of equality and diversity will be incorporated into the Olympic project, specifies that contractors must be able to demonstrate an equality driven recruitment process.

Companies should have a suitably diverse workforce with reasonable numbers of workers from black, Asian and ethnic minority groups to help achieve the ODA's key objectives.

Employers that engage with diverse groups from local communities will also be favoured, in addition to organisations that promote opportunities for disabled people.

Sir Roy McNulty, acting chair of the ODA, stated in the draft consultation: "Our goal is to be an organisation that delivers real and practical outcomes for equality and diversity alongside the park, venues, infrastructure and transport which we will deliver for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games."

The ODA said it would try to ensure equality and diversity practices were incorporated into its business processes.

An ODA spokeswoman said: "We will be seeking to work collaboratively with our suppliers and partners to achieve the aims outlined in our draft equality and diversity strategy.

"Equality requirements will be built into procurement and contract management and we will require all suppliers to monitor their recruitment process with this in mind."

The consultation period for the draft strategy runs until 23 February.
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) is also in the process of developing an equality strategy for the project.

Diversity award for trend-setting scheme

2007-01-26T21:53:00.000Z

Shaw Trust’s ground-breaking ethnic employment scheme, which helped to earn the national charity a coveted diversity award, looks like being a trend setter.

The two-pilot Careers Visits innovation, which doubled Black Minority Ethnic (BME) applicants at a stroke, is to be rolled out as a nationwide provision, and other organisations are watching with interest.

“We have tried every which way to engage more fully with the BME community, including the usual routes of advertising, but the Careers Visits’ scheme, where people were invited in to see what we do and the sort of projects and jobs on offer, were a resounding success,” said Di Barber, National Equality & Diversity Adviser for Shaw Trust.

“We are the the leading provider of employment and independence services for people disadvantaged in the labour market by disability, ill health or social circumstance - so naturally we want to ensure that our own employment doors are wide open to everyone.”

Shaw Trust, which has also recently been named as one of Britain’s Top Employers, has just received a QED/JCP award for employer diversity. The QED-UK's Employer Diversity Project, endorsed by Jobcentre Plus, and sponsored by Bradford and Bingley, establishes Shaw Trust as achieving the highest standards of good practise in terms of diversity management. Some 250 businesses from public, private and voluntary sectors are registered on the QED/JobCentre Plus benchmark, but only 27 gained an award.

“What was once unique in diversity management is now ubiquitous, and so we wanted a challenging benchmark for our own employment practices,” said Di. “The JobCentre Plus/QED Employer Diversity benchmark provided this and we are very proud indeed to be singled out for special mention in terms of our Equality and Diversity Action Plan.”

'Core British values' should be on citizenship curriculum, says government

2007-01-25T21:51:00.000Z

UK schools should teach cultural diversity and "core British values" as part of citizenship lessons, according to a government report.

The study, by Sir Keith Ajegbo, former head teacher of a London school and a Home Office adviser, found that UK schools did not put enough emphasis on British identity and history.

The review recommended that secondary schools should make cultural diversity a compulsory part of the citizenship curriculum.

Ajegbo said that more needed to be done to engage white children on the issues of identity and diversity.

"Many indigenous white pupils have negative perceptions of their own identity," he said.

"It makes no sense in our report to focus on minority ethnic pupils without trying to address and understand the issues for white pupils. It is these white pupils whose attitudes are overwhelmingly important in creating community cohesion.

"Nor is there any advantage in creating confidence in minority ethnic pupils if it leaves white pupils feeling disenfranchised and resentful."

Education secretary Alan Johnson described his concept of "Britishness" in an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning.

"It involves the values that we hold very dear in Britain which is free speech, which is tolerance, which is respect for the rule of law," he said.

Ministers versus Catholics in UK gay rights row

2007-01-21T19:52:00.000Z

Labour ministers were tonight campaigning against conservative Catholic groups seeking to opt out of gay rights laws amid reports of a Cabinet rift.
Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly was said by the Independent on Sunday to be engaged in an internal battle to allow Catholic adoption agencies to turn away same-sex couples.

Ms Kelly has been criticised for her links to the Catholic movement Opus Dei - which opposes abortion and artificial contraception and is accused of being secretive and elitist.

The row centres on the Equality Act passed last year, which bans discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services on the basis of sexual orientation in a similar way to rules on sex and race discrimination.
Detailed regulations being discussed now should give "full effect" to that legislation, Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer said today.

He told the BBC Sunday AM programme: "We have introduced laws which prevent discrimination against people on the basis of their sexual orientation; those laws should be given full effect.

"We do take the view in this country that you shouldn't be discriminated against on that basis and think that applies to everybody, whatever your religion."

According to reports, Ms Kelly had the backing of Prime Minister Tony Blair but was facing stiff opposition from other senior colleagues.

Critics have suggested Ms Kelly's links with Opus Dei render her unsuitable for a Cabinet role tackling discrimination.

Ms Kelly has repeatedly refused to say in interviews whether she thinks homosexuality is a sin, while insisting that her adherence to the group is a "private spiritual" matter that has no bearing on her job.

Keith Porteous Wood, executive director of the National Secular Society, said: "The Catholic Church has been exerting enormous pressure on Ms Kelly.

"The Archbishop of Birmingham, Vincent Nichols, even went so far as to threaten to close Catholic adoption agencies if gay couples were permitted to adopt.

"If Ms Kelly does give in to the demands, the regulations will be seriously undermined."

He added: "We now know that her adherence to Opus Dei is completely incompatible with her job in a government department that promises to protect people from the very discrimination the Catholic Church wants to practise."

Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain - who introduced similar laws to Ulster -said there was no need to water them down for other parts of the UK.

The Cabinet had not yet made a decision, he said, but added that banning discrimination on any grounds was "a fundamental principle".

"We do not need to do something different in England and Wales because there is very, very clear legislation to protect the rights of children," he told ITV's Sunday Edition.

Openly gay Environment Minister Ben Bradshaw told the BBC Politics Show: "I'd be very surprised if the government was thinking of bowing to pressure from conservative Catholics.

"This Labour Party has an excellent record on equality, we've got rid of most of the discriminatory laws against lesbian and gay people."

Dr Evan Harris, president of the Liberal Democrat campaign for gay and lesbian equality, said the Government must "call the bluff" of religious groups.

He said: "The Catholic Church have threatened to stop their adoption work and even close homeless shelters if they are not allowed to discriminate and harass citizens who are gay or lesbian.

"So the Government must call their bluff and refuse public funding or public contracts to such organisations unless they agree to non-discrimination."

The Department for Communities and Local Government said there were "strong views" on all sides of the debate and it was "premature" to speculate on the regulations.

A spokesman said: "We are absolutely committed to bringing forward effective protection from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and fully recognise the value of gay and lesbian parents.

"The debate around better protection on the basis of sexual orientation has been beset by wild speculation on all sides.

"There have been absurd claims, for example, that ministers of religion will be forced to bless same-sex couples. Equally, there is no question of preferential treatment for an individual faith."

Employment Appeal Tribunal rules 'jealousy sacking' of ex-lover did not amount to sex discrimination

2007-01-18T19:50:00.000Z

A solicitor who had a sexual relationship with his personal assistant, and then sacked her when he found out that she was seeing someone else, has won his appeal against a sex discrimination charge.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) found that the 'jealousy sacking' amounted to unfair dismissal, rather than discrimination. Legal experts believe the decision is a boost for employers as it removes an avenue for costly discrimination cases.

The unnamed East London law firm now faces a maximum compensation charge of £58,400. The solicitor, whose identity has been protected by the tribunal, was originally convicted of sex discrimination, which carries an uncapped compensation limit.

Lawyers acting for the personal assistant claimed she was a victim of sex discrimination due to what is known as the 'but for' clause. They argued that but for her being a woman, she would not have been sacked, as she would not have had a relationship with her boss in the first place. However, the EAT ruled that the dismissal itself was not connected to her gender, but to her actions.

"Big companies have regular problems with employee relationships, and many outlaw them for fear of what happens if they break down," said Greg Campbell, head of employment at law firm Faegre & Benson.

"This decision emphasises that as long as you treat male and female employees equally, there is no sex discrimination case."

HR believes older staff offer 'lower return on investment' in training

2007-01-17T19:49:00.000Z

HR professionals are guilty of age discrimination towards older workers when it comes to training and development, in-depth research has revealed.

The study, by the University of Surrey and the British Psychological Society, found that HR managers regarded employees over the age of 50 as "poor investments" when allocating training provision.

The research analysed the decision-making process of 48 HR managers asked to allocate a training budget of £6,000 across employees. The list included both older and younger workers, with the managers asked to justify their decision.

Employees under the age of 30 were significantly more likely to be favoured by employers and provided with more generous training, the study concluded.

Dr Almuth McDowall, co-author of the report and professor of occupational psychology at the University of Surrey, said: "We looked at what HR managers are basing their decision on when it comes to training, and found that older workers were perceived to offer a significantly lower return on investment.

"HR managers simply do not recognise they are discriminating against older workers but there is a clear bias towards younger workers when it comes to training."

Sam Mercer, director of the Employers Forum on Age, said employers were risking legal challenges. "In our experience, the older you get, the less likely you are to be trained," she said. "But training is critical to motivation and engagement, and employers could be opening themselves up to age discrimination claims by giving older workers fewer opportunities to train."

Sue Gill, head of skills and training at Tourism South East, said the government needed to provide employers with more incentives to train older workers. "There is very little government funding for older workers, whereas people under the age of 25 have a range of options, including apprenticeship schemes," she said.

Richard Smelt, group HR director at Carphone Warehouse, said he was surprised by the findings.

"I certainly can't see HR managers deliberately discriminating against older workers, but maybe there's a perception that older employees will be more expensive and difficult to train," he said.

Ian Russell named as new head of disabled people recruiter Remploy

2007-01-12T19:47:00.000Z

Ian Russell has been appointed as the non-executive chairman of Remploy, which provides employment opportunities for disabled people.

Remploy is a non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions. It receives a grant-in-aid each year in exchange for delivering employment opportunities for about 9,000 disabled people.

Announcing the three-year appointment, work and pensions secretary, John Hutton, said: "I am delighted that Ian Russell has agreed to the appointment at this crucial time in Remploy's history.

"He will play an important role in agreeing proposals for a five-year strategy for the company with ministers and leading the company through its implementation."

Russell was chief executive of utility firm Scottish Power from 2001 until 2006. He has had a career in finance, working for companies such as HSBC bank, confectionery giant Mars, and professional services firm KPMG.

IBM is UK's most gay-friendly employer for 2007

2007-01-10T19:40:00.000Z

IBM has been named the UK's most gay-friendly employer, according to an annual survey.

Gay equality group Stonewall has published its annual Workplace Equality Index, showcasing the UK's top 100 employers for gay people.

Top employer for 2007 is technology firm IBM. In second place is last year's winner, Staffordshire Police. The Greater London Authority and Manchester City Council tie for third place.

Lloyds TSB was named the most improved employer in the index.
Larry Hirst, country general manager at IBM UK, said: "To be recognised by Stonewall as the leading UK employer for workplace equality is a source of tremendous pride. I'm convinced that the principles of diversity, inclusion and equality must sit at the heart of any truly modern, successful and confident organisation."

Employers were ranked according to criteria ranging from implementation of an effective equality policy to demonstrating how they engage with their lesbian and gay staff, customers and service users.

The index assesses actual practice, such as recruitment and mentoring activity, as well as just policy.

"Employers actively engaged in the talent market take workplace equality very seriously," said Stephen Frost, Stonewall's director of workplace programmes.

"They know Britain's 1.7 million gay staff and their colleagues now use this information in their career planning."

Army fails to attract Muslims in £90m diversity recuitment drive

2007-01-10T19:38:00.000Z

The Army is facing a recruitment diversity crisis after failing to encourage Muslim recruits to sign up.

The service launched a £90m national recruitment campaign last year specifically aimed at boosting the number of soldiers from the Islamic population in the armed forces.

But only 15 Muslim people from the Midlands region, which has an estimated 200,000-strong Islamic population, have since joined, the Birmingham Post reports.

The campaign, which included activity days and promoted the use of headscarves for female Muslim soldiers, hoped to target 1,200 new recruits by April 2007.

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are thought to be the main deterrent for Muslim recruits. There are only an estimated 330 Muslims in the entire armed forces.

Equality rules have only managed to raise women's representation on company boards to 10%

2007-01-05T19:36:00.000Z

Progress for women company directors is being made, despite the discouraging findings of the Equal Opportunities Commission’s (EOC) latest Sex and Power report, according to the CBI.

The report found that only 10% of women were on the board at FTSE 100 companies and claimed that it would take 60 years for women to match their male colleagues.

However, Susan Anderson, the CBI’s director of HR policy, said: “Women are still under-represented in senior positions and more progress must be made, but it is encouraging that an increasing number of women are becoming directors, particularly from the younger age groups.

“While the EOC draws attention to the fact that only 10% of directors of FTSE 100 companies are female, women make up 23% of directorships across all companies and 28% of directors aged 18 to 29 are women. This bodes well for the future.”

Nine in 10 UK employers offer flexible working policies which are attracting more women back to the workplace, Anderson said.

Helen Ackroyd, business services director from the Adecco recruitment firm, also dismissed the report’s findings.

“During my 20 years in recruitment I have never experienced any form of discrimination or ‘glass ceilings’ for simply being a female. That is not to say, however, that statistics do not currently suggest otherwise for a number of female workers,” she said.

Jenny Watson, chair of the EOC, described the report – which also estimated that it would take 200 years for women to reach senior-level roles in the House of Commons – as troubling. “It just shows how slow the pace of change has been in powerful British institutions,” she said.

“In business, no-one can afford to fish in half the talent pool in today’s intensely competitive world,” Watson added.

Government "open to discussion" on homophobic incitement

2007-01-03T19:24:00.000Z

A Home Office minister has vowed to review homophobic incitement laws amid calls for anti-gay remarks to be made illegal.

Speaking exclusively to PinkNews.co.uk, Police and Security Minister Tony McNulty said that the issue is under review and vowed that once religious and racial incitement laws are implemented it will then be easier to see how to follow up with a law against homophobic harassment.

"It's still something we will put under review, by 2008 we hope to be in a position where we know the right way of going forward with race, religion, and homophobia,” he said.

"The new incitement laws will help inform other parts of hate crime, we will see how religious hatred incitement goes and this will inform our thinking in terms of verbal abuse in terms of homophobias, things are fairly new but I'm open to discussion."

Gay charity Stonewall has recently listed a law against homophobic incitement as a key part of its campaign for equality in 2007, and Mr McNulty said the government should be open to discussion on the issue.

There are currently no laws against homophobic incitement, although anti gay remarks can be brought under Public Order Offences, as seen in the conviction of Conservative Councillor Peter Willows in Brighton last month after he described gay people as paedophiles.

However, while racial, sexist and religious incitement are due to be outlawed in a law, there is currently little that can be done to stop homophobic remarks such as in music or the media.

First published in PinkNews.co.uk

Amicus to link with unions in Germany and the US to create global super-union

2007-01-02T19:23:00.000Z

The union Amicus has signed a deal with three international unions in a move to create a global trade union.

Amicus, the UK's largest private sector union, has signed agreements with the German engineering union IG-Metall and two of the largest labour organisations in the US, the United Steelworkers and the International Association of Machinists.

It said it wanted to prevent companies playing off their workforces in different countries against one another.

Amicus is due to merge with the Transport and General Workers Union in May, creating a super-union of two million UK workers.

Derek Simpson, Amicus general secretary, said: "The world is changing and the new global realities involve transnational companies being able to trade-off countries and workforces against each other.

"Our aim is to create a powerful single union that can transcend borders to challenge the global forces of capital and I envisage a functioning, if loosely federal, multinational trade union organisation within the next decade.

"As a single union we will be able to focus on delivering better pay and conditions for our members and have the organising strength to reach out to new trade union members in our existing work places, as well as in new industries."

German publisher flouts EU regulations by excluding males

2007-01-02T19:22:00.000Z

A German publishing company has been threatened with legal action for breaking EU discrimination law by refusing to employ men.

Alice Schwarzer, editor-in-chief and founder of Emma magazine, said she was proud of the feminist journal’s rigid gender policy.
Schwarzer ensures that all new recruits, from cleaners to art directors, are women.

A male journalist from Stern, one of Germany’s biggest news magazines, claimed he repeatedly tried to get a job at Emma, but was turned down specifically because of his gender.

The journalist, who wished to remain anonymous, said Schwarzer eventually offered him work experience after he threatened legal action against the bi-monthly publication.

The magazine, established in 1977, is thought to be the only organisation in Europe that refuses to employ men, which is a breach of EU regulations on discrimination.

Schwarzer, an influential figure in Germany, is author of the feminist novel The Little Difference and its Huge Consequence, which has been translated into 11 languages.

Tribunal awards transgender ferry worker £65,000 compensation

2006-12-18T19:18:00.000Z

A transgender P&O Ferries crew member has been awarded £65,000 in compensation after a tribunal ruled that she has been driven out of her job by taunts from co-workers.

Drusilla Marland said she was accused of flirting with her male colleagues and frequently undermined after joining the maintenance team at the Pride of Bilbao ferry in October 2002. Marland had started her gender reassignment programme six months before joining the company.

She said she was referred to by her former colleagues as “he, she, it, whatever” and told to use a male changing room.

The Southampton employment tribunal found that P&O had failed to protect Marland from “an atmosphere of intimidation and hostility caused by the fact that she was undergoing gender reassignment”.

The senior management team had also failed to provide employees with adequate guidelines on dealing with transsexual workers and destroyed Marland’s trust and confidence in her employers.

P&O admitted sexual discrimination but denied unfair dismissal, as Marland had been offered alternative work at the company.

First published in Personnel Today

Public sector professions fall foul of anti-discrimination laws says DRC

2006-12-18T19:16:00.000Z

Current guidelines used to determine whether people can train and practise as teachers, nurses and social workers are likely to fall foul of anti-discrimination laws, an independent legal review reveals today.

The review forms part of the Disability Rights Commission’s (DRC’s) investigation into the legal framework governing entry and progress in nursing, teaching and social work. The review also found significant variations in the criteria used for entry in the three professions in Scotland, England and Wales.

In the first assessment of its kind to examine the criteria used to determine entry to the professions against the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), the review found that there was no recognition of the DDA in some sectors’ statutory documents. This is despite the fact that the regulations governing training and entry were compiled after 1995 – the year the DDA was passed by Parliament.

The review also found that ‘health’ and ‘fitness’ are defined in a confusing variety of ways across countries and sectors. In some cases, such as the teaching profession in Scotland, the focus is on competence and conduct and not on attempting to define and assess health.

Bert Massie, Chairman of the DRC, said: “Our investigation has uncovered over 70 separate regulations and pieces of guidance across these three sectors, yet the overwhelming majority of them take no account of the DDA.

"This means that despite the minefield of regulations governing teaching, nursing and social work, disabled people are in severe danger of experiencing discrimination, both at the point of entry when they undertake training and also later on, once they start working.”

'Train to Gain' scheme attracts attention of 15,000 employers in just five months

2006-12-15T19:15:00.000Z

More than 15,000 employers are now using 'Train to Gain', the new service offering advice on training for businesses, according to the Learning & Skills Council (LSC).

Demand for the service, which is run by the LSC, has soared, with an eight-fold increase in the number of employers that have started training since it was rolled-out across England in August.

Train to Gain provides employers with access to free skills brokers who offer independent advice and match skills needs with appropriate training providers.

The Leitch Report, published last week, acknowledged that the UK's skills shortages continue to have a crippling effect on the economy. More than a third of adults do not have a basic school qualification, while five million adults do not have any qualifications at all.

The LSC estimates that illiteracy and innumeracy cost the nation £10bn in lost revenue each year.

David Way, national director of skills at the LSC, said: "Train to Gain is playing an instrumental role in tackling this crisis head-on by providing employers with expert advice on how and where to train staff to increase productivity.

"Employers told us this is what they need to succeed and Train to Gain is now helping more than 50,000 employees to get qualifications."

With £1bn committed to Train to Gain until 2010 in this year's Budget, the service is forecast to benefit 33,000 employers in 2006-2007, rising to 53,000 employers in 2007-2008 and in successive years to 2010.

Number of women moving into management roles increases by a third

2006-12-14T19:08:00.000Z

The number of women moving into managerial and professional roles has increased significantly over the last decade, according to research.

The amount of women in managerial jobs has grown by almost one-third (30%) in the past 10 years, compared to 15% in professional roles, the report by The Work Foundation think-tank showed.

There was also a significant increase in 'associate professional' roles (such as nurses and computer technicians) for both men and women. The number of women in associate professional jobs has more than doubled, growing by 57%, in the last decade, compared with 17% for men.

Managerial roles for men were found to have grown by 13% and the number of professional jobs increased by 8%, the report showed.

Ian Brinkley, director of the knowledge economy programme at The Work Foundation and co-author of the report, said the report challenged a number of popular theories.

"In the 1990s, it was widely claimed that work and society were becoming more divided, while breaking into the elite would be nigh on impossible. That story no longer looks right," he said.

"Instead, what seems to be happening is that, if anything, the world of work is upwardly mobile. Among women in particular, there seems to have been a fairly smooth transition into higher skilled, higher paying work."

Top five high-paying jobs for women:

Marketing and sales managers
Hospital and health service managers
Personnel managers
Primary and nursery teachers
Management consultants, actuaries, economists and statisticians

Top five high-paying jobs for men:

Marketing and sales managers
IT managers
Construction managers
Medical practitioners
Software professionals

Top five low-paying occupations for women:

Sales assistants
Care assistants
Educational assistants
Kitchen and catering assistants
General office assistants

Top five low-paying jobs for men:

Sales and retail assistants
Goods handling and storage occupations
Kitchen and catering assistants
Cleaners and domestics
Labourers, builders and woodworking trades

First published in Personnel Today

Trevor Phillips' push for positive discrimination dismissed as unworkable by business

2006-12-08T19:06:00.000Z

Diversity tsar Trevor Phillips' bid for positive discrimination to be legalised has been dismissed by businesses.

Phillips, head of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, last week insisted "special measures" were needed to ensure diversity in certain professions.

It seems likely that Phillips will call for a change in the law to allow positive discrimination when he reports to government in the New Year as chairman of the Equalities Review.

But Susan Anderson, director of HR policy at the CBI, told Personnel Today that business did not want the powers.

"In our view, positive discrimination means not recruiting on the basis of ability," she said. "It may be needed in exceptional circumstances, such as in the police and the security services, but we would not want to see it extended into mainstream business."

More than eight in 10 respondents to Personnel Today's barometer question said positive discrimination should not be legalised.

But Phillips said last week: "There are problems we have yet to find the tools to crack - where we may need to go beyond the reach of the current law.

"We have to consider whether, when there is a clear public need, we must allow our institutions - even if temporarily - to take special measures with the aim of integrating their workforces faster than would otherwise be the case."

EU gay group tackles diversity error

2006-11-28T07:23:00.000Z

The European Parliament's Intergroup on Gay and Lesbian Rights has vowed to seek an amendment to a statement from the European Parliament Bureau on diversity after it was revealed that sexual orientation was removed from the document.

The decision has been criticised by LGBT activists working at the European level as a dangerous precedent in the light of efforts to stop the creation of a so-called hierarchy of discriminations within the European Union.

The Intergroup has acted pro-actively in this matter, raising the point with individual Bureau members in order to reach a positive outcome.

"Our information reveals that there is a lot of confusion on the exact details of the meeting. Because detailed minutes are not available of these meetings, it makes it all the more difficult to determine the events that led to this omission with certitude," Michael Cashman, President of the Intergroup on Gay and Lesbian Rights said.

"I believe the intentions of having a statement of principles was meant to highlight political will in favour of diversity within the Parliament's secretariat, which, of course, I support, however, I feel that the text as it now stands leaves too much to interpretation."

Dutch MEP Sophie In't Veld remarked that conflicting interpretations of the statement of principles made it too easy for the text's spirit to be misinterpreted, placing the Parliament in an awkward position despite initial good intentions, "We need to remember the European Institutions have well-developed policies on diversity, the resolutions passed by the Parliament on homophobia further highlights the commitment of our House to diversity. We welcome initial feedback that the Bureau may be willing to revisit this issue to improve the text."

The International Lesbian and Gay Association expressed surprise at the omission after reports that a draft resolution of the European Parliament’s Secretariat, the administrative arm of the political body, had initially included sexual orientation, but was defeated by four votes to two, with two abstentions.

Deborah Lambillotte, co-chair of ILGA-Europe Executive Board said: “We are more than surprised by such a decision. The omission of sexual orientation by the Parliament seems to be matching recent bad scores on diversity, equality and anti-discrimination by some of the member states.

“The principle which is now an integral part of the EU body of law and compulsory for the member states was completely disregarded and ignored by a disgraceful vote by the European Parliament's secretariat.”

The resolution details anti-discrimination principles within the workplace of the European Parliament. It states that employees should not be discriminated against based on sex, disability race, colour or ethnicity.

£10bn government initiative aims to get women jobs in male-dominated industries

2006-11-27T07:20:00.000Z

Employers in male-dominated industries are being encouraged to take part in a £10m government initiative that aims to boost the representation of women in the workforce.

Five Sector Skills Councils are spearheading the Women and Work project which includes personal development programmes, managerial training, mentoring schemes and bursaries for technical qualifications.

The two-year initiative, led by the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA), is targeting employers in the construction, environmental, food and drink manufacturing, and logistics sectors.

Fiona Mortimer, women and work project manager at the SSDA, told Personnel Today: "The main benefits for employers are a better skilled and more diverse workforce. We hope to start a culture of change in the male-dominated sectors and get them to take diversity more seriously."
The programme aims to help up to 10,000 women find a new career or progress in their current roles.

Rebecca Jenkins, sales director at logistics firm Wincanton, which is taking part in the project, said she hoped it would make the working environment more appealing to women.

"The industry is moving in the right direction and I expect the climate for women to improve year on year," she said.

The initiative follows the government's Women and Work Commission report, published in March this year, which estimated that increasing women's participation in the labour market could generate between £15-23bn for the UK economy.

This story was taken from Personnel Today

Senior execs ignore benefits of anti-ageism

2006-11-22T07:18:00.000Z

More than one-quarter (28%) of HR managers still do not believe that their board or senior management team is fully committed to eliminating ageism in the workplace, exclusive research has revealed.

The latest quarterly Recruitment Confidence Index (RCI) by Cranfield School of Management, which is published today in association with Personnel Today, found that the attitude of members of the board was regarded as the most important factor in eliminating age discrimination.

Almost 80% of respondents said support from the top executives in the organisation was important in being successful at eliminating ageism. Yet only 9% of respondents had the chief executive or the board championing the issue on a company-wide basis.

And only 28% of the 600 HR managers surveyed believed their chief executive or board was fully aware of the benefits a workforce that included all ages could bring to an organisation, such as a wider skills base, greater flexibility, and reduced recruitment pressures.

Shaun Tyson, professor of HR management and director of the HR research centre at Cranfield University, said he was surprised that so many HR managers admitted their CEOs and senior team had not prioritised the tackling of ageism.

“I think senior managers are regarding it as a compliance issue when it’s really a case of how you want your business to run. And the business should reflect the customer base,” he said.

Half of the company boards that took part in the survey were only considered to be ‘somewhat’ aware of the risks of allowing age discrimination in the workplace. And almost half (46%) said they did not provide age discrimination training to managers within their organisation.

Tyson said training was crucial to raising awareness of diversity and equality in the workplace. “Training on age discrimination is fundamental, so boards should be meeting regularly to review their diversity policies,” he said.

One in 10 (11%) also admitted that they still do not have age policies or practices in place. One-third (33%) of employers said they had introduced age-related policies more than a year ago, while 29% had introduced them in the past three to six months.

Only half of employers (48%) said they monitored the age of job applicants, and less than 20% had a project or task group on age.

Harassment and jokes, health issues, career structures, flexible working issues and the integration of different age groups were all perceived as difficult factors in the employment of older employees.

Tyson said eliminating ageism would be a gradual process. “It’s a matter of time. There is not a clear moral case against ageism, and it’s endemic in society. So it will be a long and difficult process to get people into a different mindset at work.”

This story was taken from Personnel Today

Top jobs at English councils still held by whites despite diversity agenda

2006-11-22T07:16:00.000Z

English councils have rebutted union accusations that they are failing to promote staff from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds to senior roles.

Figures published by the GMB union last week revealed that in 22 local councils, less than 1% of the top 5% of earners came from BME communities.

Wiltshire, North Tyneside, Hartlepool, Redcar and Cleveland, Blackpool, East Riding and York all fared badly in the report, with none of the top 5% of earners directly employed by these councils coming from non-white communities.

Most councils were significantly below the English employment average of 8.6% for BME workers, the GMB's study showed. The union used figures from the Audit Commission's best value performance indicators in 2004-05, which were supplied by local councils.

Susan Thompson, head of HR and equality at Cumbria County Council, which came in the bottom 10 in the table, said the figures were an accurate reflection of its local community.

"The council is actually above the percentage for the local population in Cumbria and is working to increase that," she said.

But she admitted the council was in a precarious situation, with just 0.9% of its top 5% of earners coming from BME backgrounds. "If one senior BME manager left, it would make a big difference to our figures," she said.
Wiltshire County Council was found to have no BME staff in its top 5% of earners, but a council spokesman disputed the figures.

"The council's latest figures show that 1.55% of the top 5% of earners at the council are from BME communities," he said.

"Equality and diversity training is now included in our corporate induction programme for new starters, and we have a diversity course as part of our management development programme."

London councils generally fared well in the league table, with at least a quarter of the top 5% of earners from Haringey, Hackney and Lambeth coming from BME communities.

Amendments to anti-age discrimination regulations laid before Parliament

2006-11-17T07:15:00.000Z

The Employment Equality (Age) (Amendment No.2) Regulations 2006 have been laid before Parliament. Coming into force on 1 December 2006, the regulations make substantial amendments to Schedule 2 of the main age regulations.

They clarify and extend many of the exemptions relating to trustees and managers of pension schemes. The CBI has hailed these amendments as a victory for common sense.

John Cridland, deputy director-general of the CBI, said: “We are relieved the government responded to our concerns about the previous set of regulations concerning pensions and age discrimination.

“They would have been an administrative nightmare for employers and ultimately left many employees, especially older workers, worse off."

Concern remains that employers have just two weeks to comply with the new regulations. The Cabinet Office’s Better Regulation Guidelines state that organisations should have a minimum of 12 weeks to comply with new regulations.

Remploy warns better employer attitudes towards disabilities does not extend to mental ill health

2006-11-17T07:14:00.000Z

Attitudes towards disabled people in the workplace are improving, but those with mental health problems are missing out, according to Remploy’s HR director.

The non-governmental public body, which finds employment for disabled people, has placed a record 5,000 disabled people into mainstream employment this year, and is making a big push to hit its target of 20,000 per year by 2010.

This week Remploy declared it was confident of meeting its aim after being encouraged by discussions with businesses.

“We have had really encouraging feedback from employers,” said Remploy’s HR director Anne Jessopp. “Attitudes are changing. We are now really positive about helping disabled people back into work.”

However, she sounded a note of caution.

“While the opportunities have expanded for people with physical disabilities, they are still much more limited for those with mental health problems,” said Jessopp. “This is an area where we really want to work with employers.”

Remploy, which receives an annual government grant of £111m, traditionally found disabled people work within its own factories. But with the decline in British manufacturing and the changing expectations of disabled people, these jobs are under threat.

However, the body has committed to redeploying any factory workers whose jobs are made redundant into mainstream employment when it produces its ‘modernisation plan’ early next year.

EOC welcomes key milestone in path to biggest change to sex equality law in 30 years

2006-11-16T07:11:00.000Z

After the Gender Equality Duty Code of Practice was laid before Parliament on Wednesday, the Equal Opportunities Commission has made the Code available on its website today. It represents a key milestone in the path towards the biggest change to sex equality legislation in 30 years.

The Gender Equality Duty, which comes into force in April 2007, has been introduced in recognition of the need for a radical new approach to equality – one which challenges public bodies to provide services and adopt policies that promote equality for women and men, rather than leaving it to individuals to challenge poor practice.

Many public authorities in England (and those with functions in both England and Wales) must have gender equality schemes in place by the end of April 2007.

Jenny Watson, Chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission, said:"This is an exciting time for equality in Britain. The gender equality duty will be a powerful tool to deliver real change and practical improvements in the lives of women and men through helping public services tackle gender inequality, which remains persistent and widespread.

"The duty will help public sector managers to make public bodies more responsive to the realities of how we live our lives – in addition to making more efficient use of tax payer's money. It should be a catalyst for real change in the way public bodies think about their work, and the way policies and services are designed and delivered.

"who deliver services are realising that a one-size-fits-all approach to design and delivery no longer meets the needs of 21st century Britain. The duty will help the public sector understand and address the different needs of women and men -- leading to more user-friendly services as well as making better use of the talents of both women and men in the workforce."

Go to the Equal Opportunities Commission website

Stonewall to propose anti-gay incitement law

2006-11-15T16:28:00.000Z

Gay charity Stonewall has vowed to keep a close eye on the new Criminal Justice Bill announced today as the campaigners aim to have homophobic incitement added to the law.

The Queen’s speech at the state opening of Parliament today promised a Criminal Justice Bill with new powers to put victims at the centre of the law and order system.

A spokesman for Stonewall, which recently raised £10,000 of donations to campaign for a law against incitement of anti gay hatred, welcomed the announcement.

“We are pleased that there will be a new Criminal Justice Bill. Stonewall believes there should be an extension for the offence of incitement to homophobic hatred, so will be making the case for this and keeping an eye on th4e bill’s progress,” he told PinkNews.co.uk.

Read the full story on PinkNews.co.uk

Workplace pressures push equality off agenda in NHS

2006-11-15T16:21:00.000Z

Equality and diversity issues are slipping off the NHS agenda as managers face increasing financial pressures and job cuts, according to the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).

Josie Irwin, head of employment relations at the RCN, told delegates at the NHS Employers diversity and equality conference last week that the government's diversity policies had not had a significant impact.

"The reality is that the grand policies designed by the Department of Health and board-level discussions haven't really changed anything," Irwin said.

Staff are too busy coping with additional workloads to worry about diversity as hospitals and trusts face massive job cuts, she added.

But Surinder Sharma, national director for equality and human rights at the Department of Health, said diversity issues were clearly reflected in the department's business agenda.

"Each member of our board has personal equality objectives related to their business areas," Sharma said.

But he admitted the NHS needed to start taking equality issues more seriously.
"It's no good playing at this," he said. "In time, the NHS will have a single equality scheme and we have to set ourselves some clear goals."

Carol Baxter, head of equality and diversity at NHS Employers - the body responsible for pay negotiations across the health service - said it recognised that more work needed to be done within the NHS.

"We need to continue building the business case for diversity and equality and keep the spotlight on the legislation," she said. "We have to win the hearts and minds of staff and leaders."

First published in Personnel Today

EC considers issue of TUPE and cross-border transfers

2006-11-15T13:20:00.000Z

Rules to protect workers' employment rights when their company is bought by a foreign business are being reviewed by the European Commission (EC).
John McMullen, head of employment law at legal practice Watson Burton, said although the UK only brought in its new TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations) in April, the growing number of cross-border deals was causing concern in Brussels.

Speaking at the IRS TUPE and Staff Transfers Update conference in London, McMullen said the commission was now working on rules for what happens when there is a transfer of a business or an outsourcing deal from the UK, either to a country within the European economic area or outside.

McMullen said the EC was conducting a survey with member states on the issue and consulting on whether the Acquired Rights Directive - the overarching EU staff transfer directive - should be amended to apply across borders.

It is expected that a report looking at the way various countries treat staff transfers will be published before the end of this year. The commission will then decide whether to amend or propose a new directive - all of which could take from 18 months to two years.

McMullen said: "Nobody is quite sure what the transnational effect of TUPE is, so it is up to the EC to make it clearer what happens to employees when there is a cross-border staff transfer.

"This is important as these transfers are becoming increasingly common.
"Any organisation currently involved in having to work out whether TUPE applies to a transnational transfer or a cross-border acquisition will be pleased to receive this clarification."

UK workers are the most pessimistic in the world about job security

2006-11-14T16:16:00.000Z

UK workers are the most pessimistic in the world about their job security, according to a major global study published on Tuesday.

About one-third (30%) of UK employees fear redundancy in the coming year, according to the bi-annual Global Career Confidence Index by HR consultancy Right Management.

This is the highest figure recorded across the 18 countries surveyed worldwide, and an increase of nine percentage points since May 2006, the largest rise globally. The number of UK workers who believe it would be difficult to find alternative employment of a similar grade if they were made redundant, has risen from 71% six months ago to 77% now. Only France, Germany and Italy have less optimistic workers.

Out of a perfect confidence score of 100, the UK experienced the world's sharpest drop, falling 6.9 points to stand at 45.3 points, significantly lower than the global average of 58.6.

Peter Coles, director at Right Management in the UK, said: "The drop may appear unusual with the UK economy remaining strong and the recruitment market relatively buoyant. However, the continuing restructuring of the labour market with the growth in outsourcing, particularly in the public sector has led to increased uncertainty for many about their future job security."

The Norwegians are the most optimistic in the world, with only 4% of workers believing there is a chance they could lose their job. Japan and Denmark ranked second and third respectively.

Boardroom diversity is good for business and society

2006-11-06T19:43:00.000Z

The stereotypical white male middle-class board serves most companies at a time when nearly all significant businesses face intense competition. Market forces are encouraging chairmen to take a critical look at the profiles around the table.

Both commercial and public organisations are under fierce pressure to deliver value. For commercial enterprises, this is profit and profitability; in the public sector it is the efficient and effective delivery of universal services.

The emphasis on diversity in the Higgs corporate governance code two years ago stimulated a fresh focus on the composition of commercial boards. The public sector has shown the way. Though political correctness is frequently derided, government has led the commercial world in placing qualified people from diverse backgrounds into leadership roles.

Are boards changing for the better? The evidence is only moderately encouraging. Too many boards remain staffed by men of similar education, career paths and social tribe. An effective board must understand and respond to the markets it serves. A monoculture tends to look inwards and fails to test its own assumptions. Better to look out of the window than in the mirror.

The old Marconi board was widely seen as uncritically homogeneous, leaching Lord Weinstock's capital on a series of high-technology acquisitions, egged on by the City and the media. Its board members were highly skilled, yet failed to ask whether the emperor had any clothes. Collective responsibility matters but group-think, however good the group, can wreck value.

There is an internal imperative, too. Companies no longer offer merely employment but membership. They expect commitment, not just work, from their staff. If a company is to engender loyalty, employees want to be led by people whose values they share.

There are sound commercial reasons for promoting diversity in the boardroom. We should be clear, though, what we mean. Legislation addresses age, gender, race, religious belief, disability and sexual orientation but there are other dimensions such as education, place of residence, social class, occupational status and life experience.

There are some notable examples of women in leadership roles spanning a wide range of business sectors. But there are still very few men or women of minority ethnic backgrounds in visible leadership positions. Many are in family and unquoted businesses.

Change is coming, but slowly: we are far from embracing difference in its widest sense. The temptation to recruit known and trusted people is strong. According to IMD, the Swiss business school, the percentage of women on FTSE boards has risen from 10 per cent to 11.4 per cent in the past two years. France has seen a rise from 6 per cent to 7.6 per cent but in Germany it has dropped from 10 per cent to 7.2 per cent - where two-thirds of those are employee representatives.

Try a different way of looking at diversity. A multiplicity of ideas and approaches emerges when boards absorb people from different fields and backgrounds. In the past year, Andrew Harrison, former chief executive of the RAC, became chief executive of EasyJet; Paul Deighton, chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs Europe, became chief executive of the London organising committee for the Olympic Games; and Luqman Arnold, ex-chief executive of Abbey National, became chairman of the Design Museum.

As headhunters, we see moves like these with increasing frequency. Many organisations seek people from outside their sector. There is an acceptance of the need for a fresh approach.

The CBI employers' group went for diversity of the deeper kind when it appointed Richard Lambert, former editor of the Financial Times, as its new director-general. In time, the culture change that appointments like his represent will gain impetus.

The most forward-looking organisations recognise changing demographic trends, availability of skills and the benefits of a more diverse workforce. Valuing diversity emphasises inclusion and mutual respect. Nothing illustrates an organisation's attitude to the future more clearly than its choice of new board members. By this measure, boards are starting to turn away from received wisdoms. They are looking out of the window for new members. This is good for business and society.

By Virginia Bottomley and Margaret Sentamu
Virginia Bottomley heads the Odgers, Ray & Berndtson board practice. She co-chairs the firm's diversity working group with Margaret Sentamu, who was formerly head of the Church of England's Ministry Division selection unit.

This story was first published in the Financial Times

Amicus calls for a new single equality act

2006-11-02T19:41:00.000Z

Amicus has launched its negotiators guide on equality for their workplace reps at their annual Equalities Conference in Blackpool.

Amicus representatives will be discussing how to achieve equality at work for Black and minority ethnic, disabled, LGBT and young members at Amicus' National Equality Conference in Blackpool.

Derek Simpson, Amicus General Secretary said: "The Government must take more action to create equality in the workplace. The pay gap is still too big, women are still concentrated in lower paid jobs and it is clear that the voluntary approach is not working. It is time for a real change in the workplace."

Amicus representatives have been working hard to negotiate equality in the workplace and Amicus continues to build on this work by recruiting more BME, disabled, LGBT and young members to the union.

Siobhan Endean, Amicus Head of Equalities added, "Amicus demands that the Government takes action to reduce the 50% unemployment rate for disabled people. Our Amicus Disability Champions are working hard to reform the workplace and negotiating disabled access, but could do so much more if equality representatives had statutory rights."

The Government has implemented a whole new agenda in the field of equality since coming to power in 1997, but there is still a long way to go and much more to be done to make equality a reality for working people in the UK.

Amicus has also got a strong campaign to tackle homophobia in the workplace and our negotiators' guidelines in this area emphasises the importance of employers developing policies in this area and ensuring that they are implementing them in practice.

UK in top three in least biased table

2006-11-02T19:39:00.000Z

Levels of workplace discrimination in the UK are low by global standards, a major survey has found.

The UK is ranked 25th on the list of 28 countries worldwide, and 14th among the 16 European countries in the survey. In Europe, the highest rates of workplace discrimination were in Sweden, Hungary and Italy, while UK, Denmark and Luxembourg had the lowest.

The Global Workforce Index, by employment agency Kelly Services, surveyed 70,000 people in 28 countries, including almost 6,000 UK respondents.
It found that 40% of UK jobseekers believe they had been discriminated against when applying for work in the past five years.

One-third (31%) had experienced discrimination in their day-to-day working life. The major source of discrimination was age, cited by 17%. This was followed by race (8%), gender (6%) and disability (2%).

The survey also highlighted the range of potential problems that might arise as a result of the age discrimination legislation, introduced on 1 October.
More than 50% 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.

Discrimination was highest in engineering, IT, distribution, manufacturing and utilities in the UK.

Stonewall launches job guide for gay and lesbian students

2006-11-01T19:38:00.000Z

Gay charity Stonewall has launched the second edition of Starting Out, Britain’s only national lesbian and gay recruitment guide, designed for graduates and job-seekers.

The guide, sponsored by investment bank Credit Suisse and being launched at the University of London Union (ULU), is targeted at the 150,000 lesbian and gay students in Britain and includes 174 major employers.

Ben Summerskill, Stonewall chief executive, said the guide helps organisations reach an untapped market, “Employers working with Stonewall are seeking to attract the very best talent and skills. Reaching out to Britain’s lesbian and gay graduates is a natural extension of this.

“Organisations featured in Starting Out are able to reach untapped markets of lesbian and gay recruits.”

Read the full story on PinkNews.co.uk

Disability Equality Duty guidance published

2006-10-31T19:35:00.000Z

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.”

Read the full report

Reid outlines new EU work curbs

2006-10-24T13:58:00.000+01:00

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

2006-10-23T17:31:00.000+01:00

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

2006-10-22T17:27:00.000+01:00

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

2006-10-20T17:26:00.000+01:00

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

2006-10-19T17:25:00.000+01:00

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

2006-10-16T17:23:00.000+01:00

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

2006-10-16T17:21:00.000+01:00

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

2006-10-11T12:36:00.000+01:00

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