Employers
are becoming increasingly complacent towards discrimination legislation and are
running the risk of being taken to employment tribunals.
A
survey of 1,100 employers by law firm Pinsent Curtis Biddle found that although
the majority of companies had equal opportunities policies, they were rarely
reviewed, not communicated effectively to staff and failed to keep pace with
legal changes.
According
to the results of the poll, more than 30 per cent of firms don’t review
policies regularly, only 53 per cent have diversity training and just 2 per
cent report their policy was very effective.
Ashley
Norman, a partner at the firm, warned that simply having a policy wasn’t enough
and firms not complying with discrimination law would pay a high price.
The
number of disability discrimination claims has risen year-on-year for three
years, while the number of sex discrimination cases has doubled in the last two
years.
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