Ford
is concerned that an employment tribunal ruling last week has tarnished its
image as a leader in diversity.
The
motor firm was ordered to pay £150,000 damages to employee Shinder Nagra after
racial abuse at the firm’s Dagenham, Essex plant in 1995.
The
employment tribunal slammed Ford’s HR practices, describing them as
‘oppressive’ and an ’empty gesture’.
The
company accepts the tribunal’s findings but is worried the case will ruin the
hard work it has done to improve diversity.
Surinder
Sharma, director of diversity for Ford Europe, defended the company’s
equalities stance, claiming it has been mainstreamed in the company since the
case.
He
said Ford champions the benefits of diversity. It has led to 35 per cent –
around 3,500 of 10,000 applications for the graduate trainee scheme – being
black or Asian.
"We
have possibly done more than any other company in the country on diversity.
This case is not a true reflection of where Ford is today," he said.
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