Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Economics, government & businessLatest NewsEquality, diversity and inclusionHR practiceHR strategy

Equality Bill: Tribunals to have power to set policy on pay and recruitment if firms discriminate

by Guy Logan 30 Jun 2008
by Guy Logan 30 Jun 2008

Tribunal panels will be given powers under the Equality Bill to order organisations found guilty of discrimination against a single employee to make sweeping changes to their hiring and pay practices.

Employers that fail to heed these warnings could face massive fines, along with other tough sanctions, in the crackdown led by equality minister Harriet Harman.

The first draft of the long-awaited Equality Bill, laid before Parliament last week, stated: “The Bill will allow employment tribunals to make wider recommendations in discrimination cases.

“This will mean that, for example, where a female employee had left her employer because of discrimination, and had subsequently won the case, the tribunal could recommend that the employer should introduce an equal opportunities policy, or review its policies on pay.”

If an employer does not comply with this recommendation, warns the Bill, and reoffends, the subsequent tribunal would be able to hand out tougher penalties.

“We will also explore how we can ensure employers learn from tribunal judgments by looking to spread learning from individual cases in a systematic way,” said the Bill. “These measures will help achieve a shift in corporate culture.”

Julie Quinn, partner at law firm Nabarro, said the Bill’s wording could allow employment tribunals to force employers to make policy changes.

“What we see now is that tribunals are becoming more involved in the business decisions of an employer,” she said.

Employment law firm Peninsula claimed that more than 10% of its 21,000 clients called on Wednesday and Thursday with fears over the Bill’s implications for private firms.

Equality Bill in brief



  • Tribunals will be given power to recommend organisations change their equality policies
  • Employers will be able to choose a job candidate from an under-represented group over one from an over-represented group if they are equally qualified
  • Public sector bodies will have a new ‘equality duty’ to actively promote diversity on the grounds of race, disability, gender, gender reassignment, age, sexual orientation and religion or belief
  • Public sector employers will have to publish statistics on gender pay differences, as well as the numbers of ethnic minority and disabled people employed

Avatar
Guy Logan

previous post
US practices: overhyped and over here – and over the hill
next post
Employee reporting let-off for private sector

You may also like

Employers hit by payroll cyberattack receive ultimatum

7 Jun 2023

Personnel Today Awards 2023: entry deadline extended

7 Jun 2023

Oxfam video depicting ‘JK Rowling’ with Terf badge...

7 Jun 2023

CBI members vote to support renewal plans

6 Jun 2023

Government responds to umbrella company call for evidence

6 Jun 2023

Gender pensions gap is more a ‘gaping chasm’

6 Jun 2023

UKG buys global payroll provider Immedis

6 Jun 2023

BBC, Boots and BA see employee data hit...

6 Jun 2023

Why embracing big data is HR’s key to...

6 Jun 2023

Portugal launches four-day week trial

6 Jun 2023

  • The HR Bundle: Your one-stop guide to building a successful global HR Department PROMOTED | Get your hands on Deel’s free HR bundle...Read more
  • The Benefits of an Employee Assistance Programme PROMOTED | EAPs support employees in a range of ways...Read more
  • Intergenerational working and how to manage up and down the generations PROMOTED | The benefits and challenges of intergenerational workplaces...Read more
  • Bereavement in the workplace: How training can help HR get it right PROMOTED | HR professionals play an essential role...Read more
  • UK workforce mental wellbeing needs PROMOTED | The mental wellbeing support employers are providing misses the mark...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2023

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2023 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+