Lecture 2- legistation

Question 1

What does equality legistation provide?

Answer 1

legislation provide a legal framework to:
* Protect individuals from discrimination (being treated unfairly because of who they are)
* Advance equality of opportunity for all
* Promote a fair and more equal society
* Every organisation is obliged to ensure that it complies with current legislation, or it potentially faces litigation (sued)

Question 2

What is the equality act (2010)

Answer 2

• A new Equality Act came into force in the UK on 1 October 2010
• Replaced over 116 separate pieces of anti-discrimination laws with a single act
• Everything from equal pay, sexual orientation, age, religion or belief

Question 3

What are protected charactoristics

Answer 3

• The Equality Act sets out 9 of protected characteristics
• Discrimination based on any of these protected characteristics is against the law

Question 4

Examples of protected charactoristics

Answer 4

Sex, sexual orientation, region or belief, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, race, age, pregnancy and maternity, disability (mental or physical)

Question 5

What is legal protection?

Answer 5

• The Equality Act (2010) legally protects everyone in Britain from discrimination:
• In the workplace
• While in education
• As a consumer of goods and services (e.g. shops, restaurants, cinemas)
• When using public services (e.g. visiting a doctor or hospital)
• When using transport
• When buying or renting a property
• As a member of guest of a private club or association

Question 6

Who does the equlaity act cover in the workplace?

Answer 6

everyone who works for payment (employees and self-employed) as well as people seeking work (applicants).

Doesnt cover volunteers

Question 7

In terms of recruitment, what does the equality act prohibit discrimination of

Answer 7

• Recruitment
• Interview arrangements
• Decisions to dismiss or discipline
• Other matters relating to employment (e.g. access to training and promotion)

Question 8

What forms of discrimination does the equality act inhibit?

Answer 8

• The Equality Act (2010) prohibits six forms of discrimination:
• Direct discrimination
• Perceptive discrimination
• Associative discrimination
• Indirect discrimination
• Harassment
• Victimisation

Question 9

What is direct discrimination?

Answer 9

• When someone is treated less favourably than another person because of a protected characteristic they have (i.e. because of who they are)
• That is, someone is treated differently and worse than someone else because of a protected characteristic
• For example, not promoting someone because they are too old. = age discrimination

Question 10

What is perspective discrimination?

Answer 10

• When someone is treated less favourably than another person because of a protected characteristic they are thought to have
• Direct discrimination because of who someone thinks you are
• Not promoting someone as you assume they are gay because of how they look

Question 11

What is discrimination by assoiciation?

Answer 11

• When someone is treated less favourably than another person because they associate with someone who has a protected characteristic
• Direct discrimination because of someone a person is with or someone they know (e.g. a family member or friend)
• Someone in applicants family is very ill, not hiring them as you know they’ll need to look after this family member

Question 12

What is indirect discrimination?

Answer 12

• Occurs where all staff are treated the same (i.e. the employer imposes the same requirement on all employees), but that treatment puts some groups (defined by a protected characteristic) at a particular disadvantage compared to others
• Job ad specifies applicant has to be clean shaven, indirectly discriminates against someone whose religion doesn’t allow them to shave

Question 13

What is objective discrimination?

Answer 13

• Under the Equality Act (2010) organisations are allowed to:
• Reserve certain jobs for people with a protected characteristic (occupational requirement)
• Apply a policy or practice that would otherwise be unlawful indirect discrimination
• Use a practice based on someone’s age that would otherwise be age discrimination
• If they have a good enough reason for doing so
• They would need to be able to prove this in court, if necessary

Question 14

Examples of objective discrimination

Answer 14

• A television company advertises for an actor who’s black and male to play a specific role
• A refuge for women who’ve experienced domestic violence advertises for a female support worker, as the residents would feel safer if the worker is female

Question 15

What is legitimate aim?

Answer 15

• When an organisation shows what could be discriminating behaviours
  The organisation would have to show that the discrimination is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim, for example:
• Health, safety and welfare of individuals
• Running an efficient service
• Requirements of a business
• If the aim is simply to reduce costs this will not be legitimate

Question 16

What is harrassment

Answer 16

• Defined as unwanted conduct
• It must be related to a relevant protected characteristic or be of a sexual nature
• It must also have the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual
  Examples: spoken or written abuse, offensive emails, physical gestures, facial expressions

Question 17

What is bullying

Answer 17

• “Characterised as offensive, intimidating, malicious, or insulting behaviour, or an abuse or misuse of power, through means intended to undermine, humiliate or injure the recipient” (ACAS, 2021)
• Not covered by the Equality Act (2010)
• Not related to a protect characteristic
• Employers have a legal ‘duty of care’ for all their employees, are usually responsible for the acts of their employees, and are accountable for taking all reasonable steps to prevent both bullying and harassment

Question 18

What is victimisation?

Answer 18

• Treating someone badly because they have done a ‘protected act’ (or because you believe that a person has done or is going to do a protected act)
• A ‘protected act’ is:
• Making a claim or complaint of discrimination (under the Equality Act 2010)
• Helping someone else to make a claim by giving evidence or information
• Paul-ina makes a complaint because she feels he has been discriminated against because of her age
• The complaint is resolved but Paul-ina subsequently finds that she is ignored her colleagues and excluded from work-related social events

Question 19

How high were reports of discrimination in the UK and across Europe?

Answer 19

UK- 38.1%, EUROPE- 30% (ADP, 2019)

Question 20

What were the most frequent types of discrimination reported in the UK?

Answer 20

were age (11%), gender (9%), appearance (7%) and race/nationality (7%), ADP (2019)

Question 21

What are Employment tribunals

Answer 21

• If a problem of discrimination at work can’t be resolved informally at work, employees can take action at an employment tribunal
• If the employee wins their case they could get compensation
• The tribunal could recommend that the employer stops the discrimination
• If someone has been dismissed because of discrimination, then the tribunal may recommend that the employer allows the employee back to work

Question 22

It is hard to prove discrimination, what is done to combat this?

Answer 22

• This can make it difficult to collect and provide evidence to prove it in practice
• The Equality Act (2010) addresses this by ensuring the burden of proof in discrimination cases is placed on the employer to prove that there was not discrimination

Question 23

What is positive action?

Answer 23

• The Equality Act (2010) allows an employer to take measures to assist certain groups of people who possess a protected characteristic to:
• Overcome disadvantage
• Increase participation

Question 24

Examples of positive action?

Answer 24

• Including statements in job adverts to encourage applications underrepresented groups
• Requiring one or more candidates from underrepresented groups on all vacancy shortlists

Question 25

Why is positive action controversal?

Answer 25

• Positive action measures may bring benefits to organisations (e.g. wider pool of talent, skills and experience) however it is controversial
• It is argued that after 50 years of equality legislation we still do not have an equal society and therefore more active steps are needed
• However positive action is seen as positive discrimination (e.g. preferential treatment) which is unlawful

Question 26

Negative consequences of bullying at work

Answer 26

Meta-analysis- effect of psychological agressiona and workplace bullying had more sereve psychological effects than sexual harrassment (Herscovis & Barling,2009)

limitations- different scales were combined into one meta analysis accounting for some vairence leading to larger confidence intervals (Hunter, 1990)