Changes to the law to prevent inequality on the grounds of gender, sexual orientation and maternity are coming into force next month. HR consultants Richard Plaster and Vic Tanner Davy explain what this will mean
DO any of these things happen in your work place…
Do people tell blonde jokes?
‘Does your boss ask you to attend compulsory training at a specific time?
‘Does your social committee arrange drinks on a Friday night?
‘Do employees put up pictures of scantily clad models?
Maybe these types of behaviour go on where you work, maybe they don’t – but what do they all have in common?
The answer may surprise you – each of the above could be considered discrimination against certain members of staff and from the start of next month could be grounds for employers to be taken to a tribunal which has the power to fine them up to £10,000.
From 1 September sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity will all become protected characteristics under Jersey’s new anti-discrimination laws, following on from the introduction of anti-racial discrimination regulations last year.
Employers need to think about what they are doing
Human resources consultants Law At Work (LAW) have been helping firms prepare for the introduction of the new regulations.
Executive director Richard Plaster, who has nearly 30 years of experience in HR-related issues, believes that a lot of employers in the Island may be discriminating against employees without realising they are doing so, and training is essential for businesses to be ready when the laws are introduced.
‘If you discriminate against someone because of the newly protected characteristics in benefits, recruitment, promotion or selection then you have a problem from 1 September,’ he said.
‘Something as simple as an application form could discriminate.
‘I had a case where an employer was asking for a spouse’s details on their application form – they were not deliberately or maliciously doing anything wrong but it had not occurred to them that what they were doing could be considered discrimination.
‘There are also phrases we use or certain attitudes which are a problem, like blonde or gay jokes.
‘We will need to train on those things.
‘With the new protected characteristics, it might be harder for people to know whether they are discriminating – and I expect we will see a lot more tribunals than we have for race.’
Under the new laws, individuals who feel discriminated against on the grounds of the protected characteristics will be able to take their employer to tribunal and apply for compensation.
Women with child care commitments
Mr Plaster’s colleague at LAW, Vic Tanner Davy believes that a key area of discrimination which will be protected by the new legislation is against women with children.
He added that employers could often be discriminating without realising it.
‘Employers can put policies in place that disadvantage women with child care responsibilities without realising it,’ he said.
‘For example saying everyone can go for drinks on a Friday could be viewed as discrimination against women with child care responsibilities.
‘It could make a woman with children feel isolated and also the benefit doesn’t extend to her.
‘Something which an employer might consider of benefit to their employees or company as a whole, could quite easily discriminate unwittingly.’
Maternity, paternity and adoption rights
From 1 September employees will also have new ‘family-friendly’ rights, which will entitle them to maternity, adoption and parental leave.
New mothers will be entitled to two weeks of compulsory fully-paid maternity leave plus six weeks’ unpaid leave, fathers will be entitled to two weeks’ unpaid parental leave and anyone who adopts a child will be entitled to eight weeks’ unpaid leave.
Mr Plaster thinks that the biggest challenge for businesses, aside from not discriminating against people with parental responsibilities, will be ensuring that their policies and procedures are in line with the new laws.
‘Trying to match maternity policy to the new legislation and keeping it in line with the employer’s needs can be very complex,’ he said
‘Company’s maternity policies as they stand will be different to the the legislation – in some respects they will be better and in some respects they will be worse, and what we are finding is that they are different for every employer we have spoken to.’
He added that the maternity policy applies to the week of birth, so for any children born after 1 September the new legislation will apply.
Benefits to business
Despite their warnings that employers will need to be careful when the new laws are introduced, LAW believe the new regulations will ultimately benefit business.
Mr Tanner Davy said: ‘The big employers like UK companies – banks and supermarkets – are very proud of their equality and diversity laws, which are well ahead of what we have in the Island.
‘By creating a diverse workplace, where no one is discriminated against, it creates the right atmosphere where staff are interested and engaged and they will be more productive as a result.
‘And you will have more skills to draw upon – for example you may take on staff who have language skills you didn’t know about and that can help generate new business.
Mr Plaster said that he believed many businesses were losing custom through having discriminatory attitudes – for example workshops who make female customers uncomfortable.
He said: ‘There are shops my wife will not go to because they treat women like idiots – businesses will benefit from treating customers as customers, not discriminating against women.
‘As retail is under threat from online business, they are going to lose custom if they have customer service environments that are unwelcoming.’
Cultural change
Discrimination laws have been in place in the UK for 40 years but discrimination still persists in British workplaces decades after the laws were introduced. LAW believe that changing people’s attitudes takes time.
‘Social change takes a long time but it is driven by the introduction of legislation – an example is the drink-driving laws in Jersey,’ said Mr Plaster.
‘The legislation came in and did its job and then social change followed, but it took a long time.
‘It took two generations for people’s attitudes to drink-driving to change from, “I’ll take a risk” to “I won’t do it all”.’
‘It takes time, it takes legislation and it takes strong social messages but society has changed.
‘As a generation gets older things become more of a social norm.
‘When the first tribunal happens after 1 September there will be a jump and it will cause change to take place.
‘In ten or 20 years time we will look back and say what was that fuss all about and why were these things so hard for society to get to grips with?’
Mr Tanner Davy pointed out, however, that employers will have the defence that certain behaviours, such as workplace banter, are part of their working culture if they are taken to tribunal.
He said: ‘There’s an argument that can be brought in tribunal, that certain banter was normal in this workplace, so then you are not discriminating because everyone is subject to it.’
