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
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW 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
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW 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+

Equality, diversity and inclusionRace discriminationMigrant workersRecruitment & retention

‘Polish speakers only’ job ad sparks EHRC investigation

by Personnel Today 15 Mar 2010
by Personnel Today 15 Mar 2010

British workers were reportedly refused jobs at a factory supplying Asda because they did not speak Polish.

According to newspaper reports the cooked meat manufacturer Forza AW would only hire British workers for its production line in East Anglia if they spoke Polish fluently.

The company said the Polish language requirement outlined in a job advert was necessary because the health and safety training was conducted in Polish, the Mail on Sunday reported.

The equality watchdog has said it will write to Forza about the allegations.

Neil Kinghan, director general of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), told the Evening Standard: “Any refusal to register an applicant because of their nationality is unlawful under the Race Relations Act.

“The commission will be writing to Forza AW this week to ask it to respond to the allegations made against the company and to confirm that it will comply with the Race Relations Act and not discriminate against British, or any other workers on the grounds of their nationality.”

The advert for factory workers at Forza was sent out via e-mail by East Anglia-based employment agency OSR Recruitment earlier this month. It said: “Transport provided. Applicants must speak Polish. Please call asap.” A Mail on Sunday reporter listened in as a 31-year-old man phoned OSR to ask about the jobs.

The first question he was asked was: “Are you Polish?” When he said no, but could speak the language a little, he was told: “Actually, you have to be fluent because the health and safety training is all done in Polish.”

But Forza claimed the advert was “a mistake due to a breakdown in communications and should never have gone out”.

Max Hillard, chief executive of Forza, said: “We employ many English workers as well as Poles and Lithuanians, though I can’t give you exact figures, and I assure you categorically that all our training and health and safety briefings are conducted in English, Polish or whatever the employee speaks.

“I cannot say how this error came about, perhaps a glib comment was made about the difficulty of operating in several different languages, I don’t know, but we would never turn down an English person for a job on the basis that they didn’t speak Polish or any other language.

“It should never have happened and I apologise to anyone who was put off applying for jobs as a result of this e-mail.”

Avatar
Personnel Today

previous post
Unpaid work experience interns exploited, warns TUC
next post
Sainsbury’s staff bonuses to be paid before 50% tax rate bites

You may also like

Nurses leaving due to pressure and workplace culture

18 May 2022

Ethnic diversity: report highlights disparities in school leadership

18 May 2022

Number of working people with disability up 1.3...

17 May 2022

Wages fall 1.2% behind inflation as cost of...

17 May 2022

Gender equality facing growing backlash from male managers

16 May 2022

Lack of flexibility pushes half of women to...

16 May 2022

How firms need to comply with sponsor licence...

16 May 2022

easyJet joins battle for cabin crew with £1,000...

16 May 2022

Ethnicity pay gaps: Not making reporting mandatory is...

16 May 2022

Fears over skills as visa application times double...

12 May 2022
  • What it really means to be mentally fit PROMOTED | What is mental fitness...Read more
  • How music can help to ease anxiety at work PROMOTED | A lot has happened since March 2020, hasn’t it?...Read more
  • Why now is the time to plug the unhealthy gap PROMOTED | We’ve all heard the term ‘health is wealth’...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 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 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
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW 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+