Ten years on and the Equality Act 2010 celebrates an anniversary but are we celebrating additional protections and its impact on our society and workplace?

In the webinar we examine the cornerstones of the Equality Act and how it affords protection to those with protected characteristics.

Todays Covid world has exposed cracks and fractures in our society, workplaces and working practices and demonstrates the need for anti discrimination legislation as we have seen women and people from ethnic backgrounds more affected by employment measures, gaining access to health care and their role in the family than other sectors of the population.  It is a real and relevant issue for all employers who have a responsibility to educate themselves about the Equality Act 2010; to train and educate all employees by sharing policies and procedures and embedding it in management practices throughout the whole of the employees life cycle.

A discrimination claim can be brought before a potential employee even before they join a business as pre employment practices such as recruitment and selection are open to scrutiny.  All claims can be persued in through the tribunal system and the awards, if proven, can be very punitive towards employers.  In this scenario a defence of “I didn’t mean it” or I did know that this could cause discrimination or offense” means very little.  What can be offensive is defined by the view and opinion of the person to whom it is intended – it is not for a white, women of Scottish origin to comment or define what may or may not be offensive to a male, man of colour and Scottish decent.

The rewards of a diverse and inclusive workplace go beyond the management of risk.  A culture that welcomes employees from diverse back gound, ethnicity will enrich the skills and experiences that you can tap into; may allow you to connect with a broader audience and customer base and build in resilience to your workforce.  It starts from:

  • Understanding what you have got by employing a diversity audit
  • Review of your policy and procedures to make sure they are up to date and relevant to our contemporary expectations.
  • To train your managers and employees about what this means in practice.
  • Embed into your way of working and dealing with exceptions and departures from policy provisions.

Coming soon – new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion e-learning course!

We will soon be launching our brand new EDI e-learning course where you and your team can train in a variety of issues receiving a certificate at the end of the training. It’s a very practical action you can take as a business towards creating an equal, diverse, and inclusive business.