Race discrimination

04/08/22 • 29 min

Can an employer really claim to have strong ESG credentials if they aren’t addressing societal issues like race equality and discrimination, and if they’re simply relying on policies and training?

How can employers meet the changing expectations of regulators, investors, employees, job candidates and clients?

The legal definition of race is much broader than many people realise. In this episode, Kanika Kitchlu-Connolly, co-chair of TLT’s BAME network, joins our employment team to discuss:

Why this is so challenging but important for employers to get right
The role of employee networks, from sharing information and lived experiences to raising issues, offering solutions, acting as a sounding board and holding employers to account
The role of data, from helping employers to achieve their goals, to demonstrating what’s working, revealing barriers and defending claims
Other ways to embed an anti-racism policy, from induction processes and exit interviews, to reverse mentoring and enabling people to become allies
Complex legal issues, including those arising from “zero tolerance” policies, “banter”, harassment, indirect discrimination and positive discrimination

Our news update covers fire and rehire practices and the rights of agency staff.

Further reading:

Send us your questions and we'll answer them in a future episode – email [email protected] or Tweet us using the hashtag #TLTemploymentpodcast and tag @TLT_Employment

You can find out more about our employment team at tltsolicitors.com/employment

If you’ve enjoyed listening, please rate us and write a review.

How can employers meet the changing expectations of regulators, investors, employees, job candidates and clients?

The legal definition of race is much broader than many people realise. In this episode, Kanika Kitchlu-Connolly, co-chair of TLT’s BAME network, joins our employment team to discuss:

Why this is so challenging but important for employers to get right
The role of employee networks, from sharing information and lived experiences to raising issues, offering solutions, acting as a sounding board and holding employers to account
The role of data, from helping employers to achieve their goals, to demonstrating what’s working, revealing barriers and defending claims
Other ways to embed an anti-racism policy, from induction processes and exit interviews, to reverse mentoring and enabling people to become allies
Complex legal issues, including those arising from “zero tolerance” policies, “banter”, harassment, indirect discrimination and positive discrimination

Our news update covers fire and rehire practices and the rights of agency staff.

Previous Episode

Five new challenges with returns to work

Returns to work are set to become even more challenging with the advent of hybrid and remote working, to the extent that the traditional toolkit may no longer be fit for purpose.

In this episode, our employment and regulatory teams discuss five new challenges for HR and legal teams, and share their insights and advice surrounding:

Occupational stress
Supervision and performance management
Personal injury
Training and career development
Long Covid

There are some recurring themes, including:

The risk that employers underestimate their legal obligations;
The need to think about the individual employee and take a tailored approach;
The importance of effective employee communications; and
Maintaining a complete record of steps taken to support employees and minimise health and safety and other risks.

Our listener question addresses the timely topic of mandatory vaccinations at work, and what we’ve been seeing and advising clients.

Useful link: HSE guidance on home working

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Send us your questions and we'll answer them in a future episode – email [email protected] or Tweet us using the hashtag #TLTemploymentpodcast and tag @TLT_Employment

You can find out more about our employment team at tltsolicitors.com/employment

If you’ve enjoyed listening, please rate us and write a review.

Next Episode

Gender equality: a work in progress

50 years on from the Sex Discrimination Act, sexism is unfortunately still common at work. And yet studies repeatedly show that more diverse workplaces are more successful.

In this episode, we discuss questions like:

Do workplace policies sustain gender stereotypes?
Has the pandemic successfully de-coupled gender from flexible working?
Will the UK government reform gender pay gap reporting this year?
Does a holiday really allow for “rest and relaxation” if the employee is suffering from menopause symptoms, menstrual pain or undergoing early-stage IVF treatment?

We look at how gender equality issues are changing, and help HR and legal teams to navigate the risks, challenges and debates. We also highlight a story that considers: when is a sex discrimination case not a sex discrimination case?

As employers continue to face challenges with recruitment and retention, it’s more important than ever that they’re able to show a strong hand with regards to ESG and ED&I issues.

Useful links:

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Send us your questions and we'll answer them in a future episode – email [email protected] or tweet us using #TLTemploymentpodcast or @TLT_Employment

You can find out more about our employment team at tltsolicitors.com/employment

If you’ve enjoyed listening, please rate us and write a review.