UK Employment Law\ Employer \ Sexual Discrimination.
Sexual Discrimination.
Recruitment.
As an employer, you will frequently be required to hire new staff, and you should be aware of the pitfalls of including discrimination on grounds of sex in the placement of your adverts whether you are using an agency, internal or external advertising or through schools and colleges.
There are certain exceptions where a person's sex is a genuine occupational qualification, for example for reasons of physiology such as female modelling. an exception also exists where it is necessary to preserve decency and privacy because the job will involve physical contact with people of the opposite sex and the objections may be raised by the clients. An exception also exists for jobs which are live in types on premises provided by the employer, where it is unreasonable to expect workplace adjustments in accommodation and passivity is. Also included in the list, are single sex establishments or the provision of personal services which can only effectively be provided by a member of a certain sex, or where the job is overseas in a country where laws and customs forbid duties by a certain sex.
A company's policies and procedures should include a section on equal opportunities within the company and the management's aims and expectations of such. This information should also be included in any staff handbook that exists within the company, so staff have a fair expectation of what is expected from them in terms of behaviour and this should include disciplinary guidelines in the event of a breach.
Positive Discrimination.
If an employer identifies that within the workplace one sex is not fairly represented they may try to encourage members of that gender to apply for certain positions through the normal advertising channels. However, the employer must be able to show that in the previous 12 months, the work involved has had no members of that sex carrying out those duties. Failure to do this will mean that the positive action will be discriminatory
Under The Sexual Discrimination Act, an employer is liable for or the actions of its employees in the course of their employment, even if it is done with out the employers knowledge or approval. This means that an employer must actively take responsibility for the mention of discrimination in the workplace. It is a legitimate defence if an employer can demonstrate that they took positive steps, where practical, to prevent employees from doing certain acts.
If you wish to have legal advice on creating equal opportunity policies, you can talk to one of our solicitors by simply completing the legal enquiry form on this page and submitting it today.
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