DinoBora
19-08-2003, 19:22
Some of Britain's biggest employers are to conduct gay and lesbian audits of their staff to try to avoid compensation claims for discrimination brought under laws that come into force this year.
The gay rights group Stonewall and the CBI report a rush of inquiries from companies and public bodies planning to use monitoring to identify how many gays and lesbians they employ. The move has been prompted by guidance from the conciliation service Acas and the Government, warning businesses that ignorance will be no defence to a claim based on the new grounds for sexual orientation discrimination.
The merchant bank JP Morgan is among City employers that intend to ask staff their sexual orientation before the regulations become law. Eversheds, one of Britain's biggest law firms, has set up an independent review committee on the legislation and is considering finding out how many gay and lesbian staff it employs. BT Group says "the jury is still out" on whether it will follow suit. The London Fire Brigade has put the question to its 7,000 staff, who answered anonymously.
Under the legislation, the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003, an employee can claim for unlimited compensation for harassment, victimisation or unfavourable treatment at work.
The law builds on the sex and race relations legislation from the 1970s, which has given rise to record compensation payouts in the City. The Acas guidance, drafted with the Department of Trade and Industry, says: "Organisations may consider asking a question about sexual orientation on their equal opportunities questionnaire ... [and] wish to consider seeking specialist assistance concerning the expert monitoring in this sensitive area." The guidance warns employers that a complainant need not be gay or lesbian. Heterosexual workers made the butt of gay or lesbian jokes can also win compensation.
The moves to monitor staff in an attempt to identify individual gays and lesbians have been criticised by civil liberty groups and lawyers. A spokes-woman for Stonewall said: "A lot of employers have contacted us about monitoring their workers but this can be counter-productive if people do not feel comfortable about outing themselves in the workplace because the climate is not right and they don't think they will get the right response."
Lawyers said it may be a breach of the right to a private life, under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, to require employees to disclose sexual orientation.
Neil Bennett, head of employee relations at the CBI, said it had lobbied the Government for clear guidelines on what constituted discrimination, harassment or victimisation for sexual orientation. "Employers need to be sensitive about sexual orientation, especially if they decide to ascertain what proportion of their staff are gay or lesbian. But it will be difficult to introduce measures to cope with an issue which is largely hidden. If the guidance is not right, there will be a potential explosion of unnecessary tribunal cases."
Robert Verkaik 19/08/ 2003
independent
ps:/ marasmus that's the only appropriate word I find for this situation :confused:
The gay rights group Stonewall and the CBI report a rush of inquiries from companies and public bodies planning to use monitoring to identify how many gays and lesbians they employ. The move has been prompted by guidance from the conciliation service Acas and the Government, warning businesses that ignorance will be no defence to a claim based on the new grounds for sexual orientation discrimination.
The merchant bank JP Morgan is among City employers that intend to ask staff their sexual orientation before the regulations become law. Eversheds, one of Britain's biggest law firms, has set up an independent review committee on the legislation and is considering finding out how many gay and lesbian staff it employs. BT Group says "the jury is still out" on whether it will follow suit. The London Fire Brigade has put the question to its 7,000 staff, who answered anonymously.
Under the legislation, the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003, an employee can claim for unlimited compensation for harassment, victimisation or unfavourable treatment at work.
The law builds on the sex and race relations legislation from the 1970s, which has given rise to record compensation payouts in the City. The Acas guidance, drafted with the Department of Trade and Industry, says: "Organisations may consider asking a question about sexual orientation on their equal opportunities questionnaire ... [and] wish to consider seeking specialist assistance concerning the expert monitoring in this sensitive area." The guidance warns employers that a complainant need not be gay or lesbian. Heterosexual workers made the butt of gay or lesbian jokes can also win compensation.
The moves to monitor staff in an attempt to identify individual gays and lesbians have been criticised by civil liberty groups and lawyers. A spokes-woman for Stonewall said: "A lot of employers have contacted us about monitoring their workers but this can be counter-productive if people do not feel comfortable about outing themselves in the workplace because the climate is not right and they don't think they will get the right response."
Lawyers said it may be a breach of the right to a private life, under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, to require employees to disclose sexual orientation.
Neil Bennett, head of employee relations at the CBI, said it had lobbied the Government for clear guidelines on what constituted discrimination, harassment or victimisation for sexual orientation. "Employers need to be sensitive about sexual orientation, especially if they decide to ascertain what proportion of their staff are gay or lesbian. But it will be difficult to introduce measures to cope with an issue which is largely hidden. If the guidance is not right, there will be a potential explosion of unnecessary tribunal cases."
Robert Verkaik 19/08/ 2003
independent
ps:/ marasmus that's the only appropriate word I find for this situation :confused: