Discrimination

4. Equal Treatment

Even when you have a policy and consciously apply it, you still need to take steps to prevent unconscious discrimination. The main danger areas are recruitment, dismissal, redundancy, and choosing people for promotion or training.

4.1 Focus on the requirements of the job when hiring or promoting employees, or setting conditions of employment.

• Establish objective criteria for selection.
• Establish what you expect the new employee to do, not be.
• Offer equal pay and conditions for equal work.

4.2 Be aware of what affects your own reactions, particularly when hiring or promoting people.

• Look at all the evidence, not just that which supports your instinctive reaction.
• Involve other people in the process.
• Gather information about an individual's performance from a range of sources.

4.3 Maintain records as you go along.

• For example, be prepared to explain why you chose one person rather than another.

4.4 Consider monitoring the composition of your workforce against the population as a whole and carry out an equal pay audit.

• This will enable you to check on which groups are under-represented and paid differently. Investigate why.

4.5 Make sure all dismissals (including redundancies) are justifiable on legal grounds (see Dismissing employees).

• Damages for discrimination are potentially much higher than for unfair dismissal. No qualifying service is needed.