Rolling back on equality, diversity and inclusion
- Discrimination
Peninsula Team, Peninsula Team
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Peninsula Team, Peninsula Team
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Across the pond, under the leadership of Donald Trump, big name companies are choosing to roll back on their equality, diversity and inclusion programmes stating they have gone too far. But what does this mean for GB businesses?
In GB, there are several laws that govern what businesses must do when it comes to equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace. To start with, the Equality Act 2010 protects people from being discriminated against based on a protected characteristic which include, age, sex, and race, some of the key areas that equality and diversity initiatives aim to support. In practice this means that decisions in areas such as recruitment and internal promotions must be made on the individual’s capability and not on their protected characteristics.
The Equality Act 2010 also enforces that men and women, in the same employment, performing equal work must receive equal pay. Coinciding with this, there is legislation in GB aimed at reducing the gender pay gap. Currently organisations with 250 or more employees must report annually on their gender pay gap and are strongly encouraged to produce an action plan. As part of the government’s Employment Rights Bill, it is proposed that the action plan will become a mandatory requirement alongside the report.
In October 2024, the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act, enhanced employee protections with a new legal duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. This new duty, in addition to the above, further cements the need for employers in GB to ensure that equality, diversity, and inclusion is a focus of their culture. This is an area that will only grow as the new government intend to build on and increase these protections in the future.
When it comes to deciding what kind of culture an organisation has in terms of equality, diversity and inclusion, more than just the law should be considered. Topics like this can be just as driven by societal views and pressures. Whilst there appears to be a retreat happening over in America, in the GB, it may not be the case. In a survey conducted by Occupational Health Assessment, less than 40% of employers agreed with the roll back of measures to improve diversity and inclusion, with almost a quarter saying they would like to see the current measures go further. The latter is a view that is held by the current Labour government, and across Europe. Alongside the government’s Employment Rights Bill, they also intend to improve equality in the workplace by extending equal pay rights and the requirement for pay gap reporting to cover ethnicity and disability, implementing an enforcement unit to oversee equal pay in the GB.
Although GB is no longer bound by new EU legislation, the introduction of the EU Pay Transparency Directive in 2023 could still impact on GB businesses through a need to remain competitive and pressure from society to keep pace. Under this legislation, employers with 100 or more employers are required to report on their gender pay gap, provide a salary on job adverts for candidates, and share information with employees on how pay is set and managed.
Some GB businesses may be inclined to follow suit and reduce or remove their own programmes and initiatives, particularly if they operate across both continents. However, they should ensure that if a part or all their business operates in GB, they comply with the relevant laws when it comes to equality, diversity and inclusion. Failing to do so, could not only see the business landed with costly tribunal claims, but also suffer from reputational damage if their actions don’t align with that of the society they operate in. Whilst this topic is likely to spark discussion for the foreseeable future, as far as GB is concerned, the result of current laws and future intent from the government means the focus on equality and diversity is only likely to intensify.
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Peninsula Team, Peninsula Team
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Peninsula Team, Peninsula Team
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