New regulations outlawing both direct and indirect discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation come into force on 1 December and on Religion or Belief on 2 December. The CIPD urges employers to review their equality and diversity policies to include these issues, or they will be vulnerable if complaints are taken against them when the new rights come into force.
CIPD’s Specialist Adviser on Diversity, Dianah Worman says: ìThe signs are that organisations are beginning to realise that valuing and managing diversity is about more than legal compliance and a must for remaining economically competitive. Nevertheless there is still a great deal of ignorance about diversity and a lack of appreciation of the benefits it can bring to business. The new regulations, which signal that diversity goes beyond gender, race and disability, should help to gear up action by employers.
ìGetting to grips with the new legal obligations will help employers to stamp out the kind of prejudices that stop organisations from accessing the talent they need and keep talented people out of jobs. Fairness is central to success in facing up to the challenges presented by the ’war for talent’. With more than 90% of employers reporting problems in filling job vacancies in the latest CIPD Recruitment survey, the need to be smarter at diversity is paramount. Encouragingly evidence shows that employers are beginning to cotton on that this is the case and that they are adopting different ways of attracting, recruiting and retaining people.
The CIPD has produced a special guide for employers Tackling Religious Discrimination: An introduction to the law, to help them to better understand the new responsibilities.
The guide makes the following four key recommendations to ensure that UK organisations do not fall foul of the law:
* Ask employees what their requirements are, and where appropriate, whether they would like to set up an advisory body on religion and belief.
* Review all policies and procedures, from recruitment to appraisal and leave arrangements.
* Give managers diversity training and provide them with guidelines on how to deal with workplace issues.
Adds Worman: ìEmployers need to ensure that their policies now cover harassment on the grounds of religion or belief and sexual orientation and that these are drawn to the attention of all employees.î
CIPD urges employers to expand their horizons as new equality legislation comes into force
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