Laytons advises employers to stay on top of new discrimination laws

by adopting written policies on equality and equal opportunities

National law firm, Laytons, spells out the practical steps employers need to take to comply with new discrimination laws

Laytons are today advising employers to think seriously about revisiting their equality policies and practices before 1st December 2003. The date will see the introduction of new laws that will make it unlawful to discriminate against employees on the grounds of their sexual orientation, religion or belief.

Legislation already exists to protect employees from discrimination on the grounds of sex, race and disability. The new laws will, similar to existing legislation, protect employees from direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation whether they are in work, in training or seeking a job. Laytons have noticed that a number of employers have started taking quite unusual and unnecessary steps in preparing for the new laws. Laytonsí advice is that some straightforward and virtually costless ìhousekeepingî may be all that is required.

ìThere has been confusion and in some cases misinformation about what steps employers should take. Many employers fear the compensation claims that followed the introduction of the Sex Discrimination Act in the 1970s and are therefore sending out questionnaires to their employees as part of a so-called ëinternal audití to discover their sexual orientation.î Comments Joy Hankins, Solicitor, Laytons Solicitors ìTheir time would be much better spent reviewing their existing policies on equality and equal opportunities, or if such policies are not in place, drafting such policies.î

The new rules require employers to take reasonable steps to prevent employees discriminating against other employees; the existence of policies that tackle such matters could be evidence of a reasonable step. Hankins therefore believes that the starting point for employers should be to check that the new grounds of sexual orientation, religion and belief are included in their equality and equal opportunities policies.

ìEmployers need to ask themselves ëdoes the policy satisfy the requirements of the new rules?í and then review the policy on a regular basis to check it remains up to date.î Says Hankins ìIt will also assist the employer to refer to the different types of discrimination in both the organisationís disciplinary code and grievance procedure, so that new and existing employees can see that such behaviour will not be tolerated. Secondly, implementation of the code will act as a further example of the employer taking reasonable steps. This should also be backed up by staff training where possible and at a minimum posting notices or circulars on the organisationís intranet to maximise awareness.î

Employers are advised that the rules will have a wide application, protecting not just employees but also agency workers or those working on the employerís premises, for instance IT engineers. Employers will also have responsibility to staff to put mechanisms in place that protect them from being harassed by customers and clients.

ìThe real challenge employers face is maintaining an internal grievance procedure that employees feel they can trust and which works when tested by issues of religion and sexual orientation.î Concludes Hankins.