How do I avoid discrimination in the work place?

Hi, today’s top tip for employers comes from the heart suite, which is all about employee relations. Today it’s the ten of hearts, which is specifically about discrimination. 

Well written policies and procedures, which are communicated and applied consistently, are the keys to ensuring that the risk of discrimination is reduced as much as possible. Employees, as well as workers and applicants, could bring claims against you for discrimination on the basis of age, gender, race, belief, marital status, disability, or sexual orientation. Care must be taken not to over-generalize, i.e. everyone must wear trousers or everyone must work on a specific day of the week. These in turn may discriminate while trying to treat everybody the same. 

So discrimination is an interesting situation because even when the employer may not perceive any discrimination as having taken place because they’ve treated everybody equally, what it doesn’t do is allow for individual differences. So if somebody feels discriminated against either directly or indirectly, they may still have a case against you. 

If somebody resigned and takes you to an employment tribunal, because there is no cap on the award for discrimination case, people will be advised by a solicitor or the citizens advice bureau, to include a claim for discrimination on top of any other case that they may be bringing against you as an employer or as a prospective employer in the employment tribunal.